The future of peal ringing When I rang my first peal in 1992, I rang the treble to plain bob major. There followed peal of Grandsire Triples inside, Tenoring behind and other fairly "simple" performances. This meant I was able to get experience of ringing at a higher standard and for longer periods of time, without worrying about method complexity. One effect of the historic increase in peal ringing has been that the complexity level and entry bar, has hugely increased, I suspect leading to an exclusion of many ringers who would ring regular peals but cannot or do not wish to because of the high bar of entry. Looking 100 years ago a majority of peals were of of Grandsire, Stedman and Kent. Then, a young ringer with good striking capability, would be welcomed, today they would be excluded after a few peals if they did not ring Surprise. There is a certainly a place for cerebral excellence, but non-cerebral peals are often sniffed at by the very people in a prime position to offer opportunity to the in experienced. Some years ago I was asked to join a regular peal band but it was made clear to me that unless i was prepared to learn 23 method in as many weeks, I was not welcome. Lacking the time and brain to do this, I declined. This band has since collapsed. Perhaps if we want to see a resurgence in peal ringing we might want to stop treating ringing as a solely cerebral exercise and welcome young ringers who regard it differently.