Answer: Quite a lot, actually…
…including Bell Handling Posters!
Our Guild is affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (thankfully shortened to CCCBR!). You may have heard of them — or perhaps wondered what they actually do for us.
In simple terms, the CCCBR is the international umbrella body for ringing. They work through dedicated Workgroups to support ringing development, teaching, youth engagement, technology, and much more. If you’re curious, you can find plenty of information on their website.
I’ll admit, when I was one of our Guild’s CCCBR representatives about 30 years ago, I sat through my first meeting thinking, “Very little of this feels relevant to me — or to my tower.” After all, a lot of us spend our time teaching learners or ringing rounds, call changes, plain hunt — and if we’re lucky, Bob Doubles on a good practice night! It didn’t always feel like the wider discussions connected with what we were doing week by week.
Happily, things have been changing.
The CCCBR launched the Ringing 2030 initiative, which focuses on supporting Guilds like ours to recruit more ringers — both new learners and returners — and to train more ringing teachers. It’s a positive and practical effort to help secure the future of ringing, and well worth a look if you’d like to find out more. A few years ago, the CCCBR also went through a major reorganisation. The old committee structure was replaced with more flexible Workgroups. One of these — the Ringing 2030 Recruitment and Development Workgroup — has been working on some very practical resources.
Which brings us to the Bell Handling Posters!
Their aim is for two A4 laminated Bell Handling posters to be displayed in every active tower nationwide. These posters clearly illustrate common handling problems and provide a really helpful visual aid for both teacher and student, especially in the early stages of learning. Some towers may already have them, as they’ve been available for a while and are often distributed on ART courses.
I’m currently coordinating the distribution of these posters across the Guild. Your tower should be receiving its copies soon via your Branch Secretary or Training Officer, as they’re being collected at the Executive Committee meeting at the end of February.
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch.
Sue Bateman
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On behalf of the SDGR Recruitment, Retention and Development Workgroup
