Ringing Forums

I think you are right that career development for ringers has to be organised more professionally.

Dear All,
It's a triage problem, perhaps?
The largest third - is those ringers who find change ringing quite difficult. Peal ringing is irrelevant to them. A few times through well-struck plain hunt doubles can give satisfaction to them and their teachers, and pleasure to listeners.
The smallest third - is those ringers who are lucky in their abilities and their geographical position. I imagine they will always find peal bands.
The middle third - which I suppose is the one Simon is concerned about - is those ringers who could be quite good if given the chance to ring with really good ringers. So, if there were lots of peal bands, they could get adopted by peal bands and have their chance.
Well, yes. But although this would be a good thing, if it's gone, it's gone. So I suppose one has to look at other ways of giving one's talented students that experience.
Best wishes,
Barbara

Dear All,
Several people have said that peal ringing is the best, or even the only, way to achieve a high standard of ringing. That is why they are concerned that peal ringing has become less popular.
My opinion, however, is that it is much more important to work on getting a good standard of ringing at more basic levels.
So, no, I don't think it matters that fewer people are ringing peals. I think that what matters is to get ringers at a basic level able to understand how to ring plain hunt doubles that flows nicely
There are several reasons I think plain hunt doubles is more important than peals - the main one is that there is a lot more of it!
Regards, Barbara

John, go for Cambridge Major. It's honestly not particularly difficult. if you can treble bob you can ring Cambridge. Go for it !

Thank you for your most interesting comments. My feeling is that being competitive and individualistic are not necessarily incompatible with being community-minded. An individualistic person might be thrilled at the chance to put their good ideas into practice, and a competitive person might like the idea of pursuing success for themselves and others. So, as others have said, we need to find what motivates each individual.

Thanks folks. What I am wondering is - if it is necessary to recruit people who are competitive and individualistic (as Tom's book implies it will be) is it better to:
a) encourage them that being competitive and individualistic will assist their rapid progress?
or b) tell them "here you can have a rest from being competitive and individualistic"?
Just wondering which would appeal more.

I understand, Tom, that the Association provides much-needed stability.
But my suggestion would capitalise on the "blossoming" towers that you mention.
The Association could, for instance, operate a calendar on which the towers of the Association are each given a month to be "lead tower". As you know, my home tower is currently on a roll. So imagine that I think "What the Association needs is a beer festival". I then see that my tower is "lead tower" in October 2024. So I round up my chaps and say "Let's organise a beer festival in October". And we do it.

Thank you John, that is a good point.

That's really interesting, Tom. Actually I think the pendulum is swinging back and we are getting more community minded again these days. But perhaps we now have a different way of implementing it..
I really like your idea of a new organisational structure. How about - each TOWER leads the Association for a month? So a person with a good idea gets a chance to implement it without feeling that they are insulting the current post-holder by pushing in.
The following might be relevant - a quote from the barman at a very successful beer festival I attended over the weekend: "The main thing was - everyone had a good time. That's why we do it." Perhaps that should be the mission statement of our ringing societies. Perhaps that is what community-minded means these days, rather than the pious and worthy Victorian sentiments that we oldies are used to.
Regards, Barbara

Hello Philip, a bell hanger recommended us to tie the stay to the frame using a ratchet strap. A second operative should hold the bell back at set. Both operatives should lean away from the bell as much as possible.
The argument for recommending this was that, for the top bells in our two-tier frame, this was actually safer than balancing precariously on an insecure footing on top of the lower tier.
Regards, Barbara

Thank you all very much for your most helpful responses. The microphone would have to be inside, as it is intended to be a permanent fixture. I will pass your comments on to the company which is installing the church's sound system.
Happy New Year!

Thank you. The Beach Bellringers (i.e. the band at All Saints' Landbeach) would be very pleased to be a test site for this. Let us know how we can help you / you can help us.

Thank you so much Tristan, I have done as you advise.
Best wishes, Barbara

Dear All,
Tristan Lockhart mentioned the Yellow Yoyo report. Please could it be made generally available, urgently?
The reason I ask is that our tower has a massive recruitment opportunity, with a new town being built on our doorstep. But we need to know how to run our sales pitch, and for that it would be a big help to see the Yellow Yoyo report.
To tie in with the ageism concept, I confess that we will be looking particularly for young adults (by which I mean 20-40). The reason being above all that they will still be active ringers in 20 years' time. Whereas most of the current band (including me) won't!
Just observing - unless you are yourself an older learner, you probably won't notice ageism even if it does exist. Not because you are rude or prejudiced yourself - just because it is hard to notice any sort of prejudice unless you happen to be the target of it.
Best wishes & Happy Ringing!
Barbara

If you can find a tower with a simulator, that is willing for you and your father to go there together and practise on your own, you can learn methods that way. You just set Abel (or whatever program you are running) to Cambridge (or whatever) and off you go. You can ring it solidly for an hour if that is what it takes.
I would never have progressed in method ringing had I not been able to do this.
If you are really keen you can install your own mini-ring in your house. Seriously!

Thanks Lucy.

Thank you John

Thanks Alison, here at All Saints' Landbeach we shall shortly be requiring a dedication board for our 2 new bells, so would also like to know whom to ask to make it.

Definitely worth trying as an exercise to give your hands a different viewpoint.

Is it perhaps more not just about that one event, but about building a relationship with the media? We actually gave our reporter a present (home-laid eggs) so he would remember us and come back when we have our new bells installed.