A key way to improve and develop your ringing is to ring at different towers and make opportunities for yourself. But knowing where to go and what to develop can be a bit of a challenge.
This is where a mentor can really help. All experienced ringers will have been on your journey, and many are very willing to help you as they were helped, to ‘pay forward’ to use a currently popular term. But, they will not necessarily know that you might want help unless you ask. I’ve heard learners say, ’nobody said anything to me about that’ when something is pointed out, or ‘nobody helped me when I was struggling’. There are several reasons for this; they may not want to cause offence by saying something; they may not have the right skill set themselves to be able to help with that particular issue, or they may not have noticed you were struggling.
One way of finding a mentor is to identify someone who you either admire, get along with, trust or just simply ‘click’ with, and go and talk to them. Tell them what you want to learn or ask them their opinion on what steps to take to get to a particular goal. This relationship can be a short or long term one, but is often one that creates opportunities for you both. A mentor can signpost you to resources, introduce you to other ringers who are keen to help others develop, and provide opportunities for you to ring, in for example a particular method practice or quarter peal, to consolidate your learning. The advantage for a mentor is they develop their skills and may well get opportunities themselves to ring things they might not get a chance to otherwise.
Developing deeper understanding is an important aspect of development, so someone who can explain things in a way that works for you is really important. We have all had experiences where our tower captain has told us something many times, and someone else comes along and says it in a slightly different way, and Eureka! – it now makes sense. That’s because that person explained it in the way that worked for you. Finding that person can unlock a new world of ringing.
Vicki Rowse
Master
Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers
