The past month has been busy! On 7th September three of us attended the Central Council of Church Bellringers AGM in Exeter. This annual meeting is a good place to meet other ringers in leadership positions and share experiences and ideas. There is a full report of the meeting on the website and links to further information for those interested. One thing to bring to your attention though is a poster for display in towers that has QR code links to useful resources such as Belfry Upkeep, Running a Tower, and Organising a Project: take a look here.
The following weekend was the Guild Striking Competition and we were blessed with a bright and sunny Saturday for the event which was split between Bishops Cannings for the 8 bell and All Cannings for the 6 bell and Novice competitions. I was delighted to see the novice teams, all quite nervous before ringing but feeling upbeat after ringing, and hope to see more next year – it is a competition but not a frightening one, as the aim is to show off what each band can do. We also had seven 6 bell method entries and five 8 bell entries ringing Plain Bob Triples. After all the hard work on the end of ropes we adjourned to All Cannings Village Hall for a bring and share tea during which the Judges, Matthew Higby (8 bell) and Nicki Lang and Robert Perry (6 bell), all from our neighbouring Bath and Wells Association, commented on the ringing and awarded fault scores. West Dorset triumphed across the board winning all three trophies. Congratulations to them on a fantastic achievement.
In between I’ve been involved in discussions on the Rules Review, Insurance, Member Mojo, the New Members leaflet, and Terms of Reference for a Recruitment and Retention Workgroup. We will be asking for a few volunteers to join a workgroup to look at how we recruit and develop our ringers across the Guild, so if this interests you please do let me know. It is planned to have a rolling membership so you won’t be trapped on it for ever!
As Autumn is approaching and the evenings draw in, we also come to AGM Season. Pat, Kathryn and I will be doing our best to visit as many Branches as we can during this time. There is also Guild Quarter Peal Week coming up between 2nd and 10th November. Let’s see if we can beat last years number of Quarter Peals and have some more firsts this year. Do ask your Ringing Master if you would like to have a go at a quarter or a new method, or repeat one you have done before to get it really consolidated. They will be happy to help you!
October also sees the next Guild Executive meeting and we will, as usual, have a full agenda, discussing items such as Insurance, the rise in the Central Council Membership Fee, the Rules review work and starting to plan items for the AGM in May.
Do please encourage your young ringers (under 25) to apply for the new Eric Hitchins award which is a fantastic opportunity to be selected to attend a residential ringing course and be funded by the Award Committee. Application forms and further details are here.
And finally, please let the news team know of anything your tower, or branch has been doing – they love to have news and a photo to accompany it for the website and newsletter!
Vicki
Vicki Rowse
Master
Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers
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