The Executive Committee met at Tisbury on Saturday 11th October.
After remembering those members who had died since the last meeting by The Master reading out their names, followed by a short period of silence, we soon dealt with the routine procedure of accepting apologies for absence, agreeing the minutes of the previous meeting to allow us to move on to more relevant agenda items.
A discussion took place regarding the Striking Competitions held recently; we reviewed each competition in detail and considered feedback which had been given prior to the meeting. It was agreed the timing of the six and eight bell competitions needed to be reviewed as September now tends to be a popular holiday month for many and therefore, we decided to hold the eight-bell competition on the morning of the Guild Festival and AGM, the six-bell competition in June and the Novice Competition in July. A small workgroup was set up to look at the rules for the competitions. Furthermore, we agreed the competition venues should follow a rota basis, moving around the branches in turn.
The LEBRF Open Day was hailed as very successful event, advanced ticket sales had yielded £1440 and the overall proceeds for the day amounted to £1886, the highest total for many years. There had been a few comments about the day which the LEBRF Trustees will consider however the general feedback was very positive.
The Committee felt it was very important to decide on as many dates as possible for Guild events during 2026 and add them to the website calendar as Branches were beginning to make plans for their programmes for next year. The following were agreed:
- Firsts Week 5th -12th April
- Guild Festival, AGM and 8-bell striking competition 9th May
- Novice competition 4th July
- Quarter peal week 31st October – 8th November
- The dates for the 6-bell striking competition and peal week are still to be finalised.
The Calne Branch Representative gave a brief outline of arrangements for the Festival and AGM to be held at Calne on 9th May 2026. There will be a ringing route from the south with ringing at Calne from 12-30pm. The Service will be at 2-00 pm, the AGM at 3-30 pm, this will be in the Church, followed by tea at 5-00 pm in Marden House.
The Treasurer reported a healthy balance of Guild funds, with the forecast of breaking even for the financial year. It was decided not to renew the Guild Zoom licence as there is almost no usage of Zoom by the Guild now.
The President reported the Way Forward Workgroup were working on the procedures and processes to accompany the rules passed at this year’s AGM and would be in a position to present these to the Executive at the February meeting. The Master updated the meeting regarding the Recruitment and Retention Workgroup. The new display banners had been produced and were ready for members to borrow, the group would meet again and finalise any work left in line with its remit.
A report was given by Trish Hitchens relating to the CCCBR AGM, details of this can be found here. The two points which were emphasised were possible Church closures which could result in the loss of bells, we were all asked to be vigilant and report to the Secretary any instance where closures were being discussed. Secondly, we were reminded to take part in CCCBR Workgroups you do not need to be a member of the Council, anyone interested in joining a Workgroup should contact the Workgroup Lead or one of our CCCBR Representatives.
The Peal Secretary had submitted two proposals for consideration:
- The Guild should continue to record peals rung on four or more tower bells or handbells. Peals rung on fewer bells, and those rung using simulated sound or other technological assistance should be noted and recorded separately.
- The Peal Fee should be reduced to £0.00. Bands ringing peals and quarter peals for the SDGR should be encouraged to give a donation to the LEBRF.
The Committee agreed with both proposals and the peal fee change will be submitted for ratification at next year’s AGM.
Job Descriptions for Officer Roles were now completed and would be available to view on the website.
The Standing items discussed were:
Education, a Job Description for the Training Officer together with guidelines and application forms for training grants were presented, these needed further revision.
Under Health and Safety, it was emphasised the importance of carrying out Risk Assessments before Guild events, especially Training Courses, either by the course organiser or the course lead.
The Master and Safeguarding Officer are still in discussions with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team regarding the requirements for Safeguarding Training for ringers in the Diocese.
There was no report regarding the Young Ringers, however it was announced there is to be a Young Ringers Day at the end of October.
The Communications Officer explained he had now set up a Learning Zone on the website and would be adding resources to this over time. It was felt we needed a closer link with the Diocese regarding communication, we would seek to find someone who could gather information and feed it to the relevant department in the Diocese for publication to raise the profile of ringing and ringers more widely.
The LEBRF Chairman reported the requirement for a change to the rules of the LEBRF. Since receiving the large legacy and the need to invest the money, it had been discovered many financial institutions will only accept funds where all the Trustees are resident on UK mainland. This has resulted in the voluntary resignation of the Channel Islands Trustee and the need to reword the rules, so they apply to the mainland part of the Diocese.
Under Any Other Business we were reminded we would need to find members to take on the following Officer positions, General Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Training Officer. We were all asked to consider which members might fit into these roles.
The President reminded us the Guild will celebrate its 150th Anniversary in 2032. Although this seems a long way off it was emphasised how quickly the interim years will pass, we were all asked to think of ways of celebrating this important milestone in our history and seek suggestions from the members.
The Ringer of The Year Trophy has been inspected and it is beyond repair. A new trophy will be created by incorporating part of the old trophy ready for next year’s award.
Sadly, it was reported the bells at Donhead St Andrew are now unringable.
David Hacker
