Ringing Forums

OK.HELP PLEASE!!!

I have got 7,152 towers in an excel spreadsheet. We can filter it by County, by Diocese, or Affiliatiion, (and other options too) I am looking for volunteers to ADD a new level of detail, i.e. ** branches of associations ** in a separate column in excel. You can easily filter the file. As an example, the G&B has 264 rows - I can do this by referring to the Annual Report. If I can get a small group of c60 people to also do this in local areas, we can quickly add this extra level of data. Please form an orderly queue. :cool: And thank you! — Jason Carter

Here is the file. I did the G&B last night using the annual report. It took a couple of hours. If anyone can do similar it shouldnt take too long to get a complete picture

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fWvSOx1YuJ1F5fQaZuidxgVBI-OqS7IZE2ITT7-6OL0/edit#gid=0

OK.HELP PLEASE!!!

I have got 7,152 towers in an excel spreadsheet. We can filter it by County, by Diocese, or Affiliatiion, (and other options too) I am looking for volunteers to ADD a new level of detail, i.e. ** branches of associations ** in a separate column in excel. You can easily filter the file. As an example, the G&B has 264 rows - I can do this by referring to the Annual Report. If I can get a small group of c60 people to also do this in local areas, we can quickly add this extra level of data. Please form an orderly queue. :cool: And thank you!

Yes, Instagram is a good way of reaching the young (and increasingly the not-so-young). TikTok is inadvisable unless it is a young person running it; it requires a very specific format and humour level to get engagement. — Tristan Lockheart

Interesting... maybe I can embrace Insta... I'm too much of a dinosaur to go for TikTok. However, I would prefer someone younger and cooler than me to take this on though...

thanks for sharing those. I have saved them down for reference.

It's OK doing a survey, but you then need to turn it into action. Otherwise, it will just be ignored — Roger Booth

I am very conscious of this Roger. My immediate concern is my branch, so if we can get this survey off the ground, I will be very keen to understand what the 21 towers locally want. And I am most interested in how many teachers I have got out there, and how many more could be persuaded with a bit of help or training. Everyone who wants to engage with this project will no doubt want to look at this from their local perspective as well, and in my opinion, this is THE most important level, and easiest for action to be taken.

But then we can roll it up to an association level and a national level as well, and we need to work very hard at asking ourselves at those bigger picture levels the question: so what? One of the most important themes for me is where the young people are? There is not a critical mass of young ringers in Swindon but there are some. There is a G&B team, but I know there are some just over the border in neighboring associations. Finding a way to bring these people together more frequently, for some ringing, pizza, friendship and bowling, could help retention of the most important commodity. Teenagers. Because they learn so much quicker.

There are two problems with ringing: one is that everyone has only a limited appetite or capacity for it, and the second is that we are very attached to our home tower. The capacity will be different for any one ringer, but I think if every ringer could shift their normal ringing month to focus, maybe 20% of their time, into bringing other ringers on rather than just "their normal ringing month", this could make a big difference. If every ringer who can ring Cambridge minor went to one additional practice a month, and either rang lots of call changes and plain hunt. or stood behind someone to help them, how much difference could that make? And if I know my 6 bell tower is going to have 8 ringers on a Sunday, could I maybe... just once a month... go and ring at a different tower...?

We need to work more as a team. Collaborate. Help each other out to strengthen every tower's capability, rather than just focusing on our own ringing, or our own tower.

JLC

no problem we will create a paper version too, and thanks for the offer of help.

We have a WhatsApp group in our band which everyone likes and there are probably messages exchanged on average 3 or 4 days per week. It might drive some mad, but it works well for us.

We also have a WhatsApp group for "One More Ringer". It is request only i.e. you have to opt in. We have 22 members from across the branch so far and it is strictly for asking for ringing help. It works very well for weddings, and I am trying to increase its use for that one extra ringer that you might need on a practice night.

I cant really decide whether the grassroots ringers that talks about don't want to communicate, or potentially worse, have so little awareness of the bigger picture that they don't even know anything exists if they did want to communicate up the chain. It is really down to how well educated ringers are by their teachers about the exercise as a whole.

I agree that not having a recruitment initiative for the coronation would have been a very big missed opportunity. It had to be done. I agree that from a post*-pandemic perspective the time is now right. I have watched the recruitment video and it is excellent. The links with national media have been very well handled. What has been done at the centre/top is worthy of much praise.

But there is a but. I am a member of three associations/guilds. I don't think there has even been a mention in dispatches from any of them yet. Chatting down the pub it seems that those that knew about the initiative had heard items in the national media, not through ringing channels. — A J Barnfield

Totally agree we have to move now, but maybe only in areas that are ready. But a better system of communication by Associations is needed. I shared the initiative in my branch and also in my local FB group and have two new recruits coming on Thursday. That's all I need, that's all every tower needs, but on a regular basis. If we can improve the distribution of "what is coming from the centre" to those that can act on it, then we can start now. If Ringing 2030 can unlock how I recruit 12-20 year olds, scouts, guides and youth groups, then I will throw 100% of my weight behind it and mobilise local people to get those young people trained.

ok, thanks John

Here you go:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZlmtNf52veNZoVuUkH-bNt7Jq_hycpQg

What's rather depressing is that all of the problems that were identified 34 years ago still seem to be endemic. — John de Overa

Hi John, apologies if I am being thick but I cant see a spreadsheet...?

you might be surprised. Maybe we should ask the question. At the regular simulator sessions I hold we generally get about £10 from voluntary donations; and there are only 4-5 learners, so the helpers are paying too. And I know that more established centres are charging more, something i am thinking about...

↪Lucy Chandhial Vicki Chapman, CC PRO, is working on it. There are only so many spare hours in the day and she's been a bit overwhelmed by how quickly this has snowballed. You can never be sure what the press will pick up on, but after the initial appearance of the article in the Times there have been multiple requests from TV and radio and the PR workroup has been busy arranging half a dozen bands to satisfy the demands of media around the country. — Simon Linford

Maybe the first paid for post should be PRO...

What could ringing do with £1 million a year? — John de Overa

30,000 ringers x £1 per week = £1,560,000

I've given you access to a copy of the original survey questionnaire. — Roger Booth

Thanks Roger, I have copied it into my (new) Google Forms account.

I agree with this:
Jason Carter - But sharing what media focus is coming up from the centre, so that those ringers that want to, can piggy back off it, is really important, in my humble opinion.

I was surprised that we had the Times article and various other pieces about Ring for the King but no distributed ‘press pack’ for all Associations / towers to make use.
Maybe something has been sent to Association PR contacts but nothing has filtered down (in my area) or maybe the National PR started before the press pack is ready but it is a shame not to be able to quickly capitalise on it in an easy and efficient way. — Lucy Chandhial

Thanks Lucy. We need to develop a community that can be *pushed* information about upcoming national media activity, so that they can use it locally on FB, Instagram and Tiktok. I shared 'Ring for the King' related stuff on FB on Friday and have two new recruits coming on Thursday. It is probably a (old skool) 'PR' group or maybe a more modern 'Social Media hub' that we need to support the good work that Vicki Chapman is doing. It is the follow up that needs to deliver, behind the scenes

As a relatively new ringer, I still remember seeing a "Ringing Masters Practice" and the immediate thought was "Definitely not for me !" , expecting that they will be ringing "high brow" stuff, and because it was never explained, I still don;t know what they are, but I know enough people now that a) I feel I can ask without embarrassment and b) even if it is way above the level that I ring at, there will probably be an opportunity to hunt the treble to something, or bong behind at some point so I would go along with that sort of expectation, but my point is that I wouldn't have done that a couple of years ago ( pre-covid ) and in fact I didn't. — Steve Farmer

Steve, all or your post is well put, but I am focusing on the above... Please don't be put off by what you might see as "higher quality of ability" ringing. Watching any ringing from the side offers huge benefits; because you are not having to try and control the bell. So you can focus one hundred percent of your attention on trying to see what is going on . This is hugely beneficial!!! If you can stand with a capable treble ringer who can talk you through what they are doing, you can learn a lot. I was lucky to learn in a 12 bell tower and I used to sit behind the tenor ringing Yorkshire Maximus. I didn't know the line at that stage but I could gauge what was happening and I learnt a lot from it. I range the treble to Cambridge minor today at a simulator practice and talked one of my learners who is not ready for treble bob yet through what i was doing. I am confident this will have helped their ropesite.

The language of ringing is complicated. Please never think that you cant ask what something means. There is probably someone else thinking about asking the same question.

And also, don't be intimidated by what you might see as more experienced ringers looking down their nose at you apparent lack of capability. There are some, I won't pretend that there are not, but most ringers remember where we came from, and are more than willing to ring to assist someone who is trying to learn something new.

Please keep taking every opportunity to push yourself, and your learners forward.

Jason

were they successful?

So I have two experiences of involvement in a ringing centre. The first was when Moulton, Northants got one, courtesy of a grant of circa £1,000 from the Worshipful Company of Founders (a long time ago). We held some tied practices offering basic 8 bell sessions both plain and basic surprise methods. I was young and inexperienced and it was still a new idea back then and not easy to advertise. On reflection we didn't make much progress. In the last 12 months or so we have installed a simulator at CC, Swindon. Pleased to see we are on the map - I didn't instigate that!! Generous grants from the G&B and a few local ringers delivered this. It was launched due to a realisation that after COVID we needed to recruit and teach. In the last year we have held 11 sessions, with 14 learners and another 17 more experienced supporters. We have settled into offering a 2 hour session for four learners, offering whatever they want to try (with a band around them).. This has worked fine and every session has had enough support. But only one person (me) is teaching at the moment and this is the pinchpoint. With a non-ringing spouse, I cannot offer any more time, but if we could get a small team who can lead the sessions, we could offer more frequent sessions. We are making progress.... two of (my home tower learners, one of which has only 15 months experience) made good progress today on plain hunt. The fundamental gap is teachers, and I think a lot of us can do it... it is just about having the confidence to step forward and give it a try.

I have often wondered if the night school model could help recruitment. We have all had the autumn brochure through the letterbox from the council that offers French lessons along with a myriad of other subjects: singing, dance, origami, chess etc. Why not bellringing...?

If we ran a 12 week course for bellringing - at a very reasonable rate - £5 per hour session (Or more... I was born in Yorkshire :yikes: so don't judge me!) then we could give some initial tuition (and enough to enable most people to have mastered basic handling) Then at the end of the course you could tell them bellringing is free/cheap and just to keep going (and by the way the money you paid will be reinvested in recruitment of more ringers) Whilst it might need a period of volunteer support, if it worked, eventually you may be able to pay (or at least support) someone to lead this activity on an ongoing basis...

btw - I have this weekend posted on FB about 'Ring for the King' and have two new interested recruits coming on Thursday... I know FB is not the ultimate way forward...but... a constant stream of recruitment is what we need. As Nike would say: Just do it!

I still have the Google form from the 2019 survey and can send it to you if you wish, to avoid the need to re-key the questions. — Roger Booth

Yes please Roger, as I start to scratch the surface of this I am beginning to realise that defining the right questions is much harder than I first thought. I have about 30 questions, but I think nearly all of them need refinement...

The 1988 survey picked a weekend that was kept under wraps and released at the last moment (the aim being to not distort results by people turning up to swell the ranks on that day i.e. to survey 'normal'). 's Kent survey above looked at ringing during a chosen "ordinary" month of November i.e. avoiding holidays and big events e.g. Easter. I was thinking about just asking what is "normal" for the tower, but I wonder whether there is a risk of this approach giving an overly optimistic view of what is normal. Thoughts welcome about what period the survey questions should be examining.