The full programme for the Central Council weekend at Goldsmiths College, SE14 6NW has now been confirmed, including all towers and speakers.
The highlights on Friday 6th September include ringing at a number of City and nearby towers (including Southwark Cathedral), tours of St. Paul’s Cathedral; kindly organised by the St. Paul’s ringers and a quiz evening at Goldsmiths which promises to be a very enjoyable event.
Saturday will see the Council’s formal business meeting and the Ringing World AGM, along with Workgroup presentations, an act Worship and Celebration, led by Canon David Grimwood, and the Council’s annual dinner, preceded by a champagne reception.
On Sunday, we have been invited to ring at eleven City and nearby churches whose bells are not often rung for Sunday services, along with four other churches at the request of the local band. The list of towers includes some iconic City of London churches as well as others within easy travelling distance of Goldsmiths College whose bells are not often heard. This will be followed by a new style of event, a Mini-roadshow. The success of the last Ringing Roadshow at Newbury in 2014 (which attracted over 2,000 ringers) led to a suggestion of a regular annual event bringing ringing organisations, trade suppliers and ringers together.
The full programme for the Mini-roadshow has now been confirmed and can be found online at https://cccbr.org.uk/about/annual-meetings/2019-meeting/mini-roadshow/.
The programme of 21 speaker events brings together acknowledged experts from all parts of the ringing community, including Bill Hibbert, Simon Linford, Lesley Belcher and Steve Coleman. Subjects are as diverse as the science of bell tuning, the story behind Ringing Remembers, and Project Pickled Egg. A further fourteen stands include the unique Carter Ringing Machine, the Central Council’s library on tour and stands from a diverse range of trade suppliers and ringing organisations.
In addition, the Mini-roadshow will feature four Training Bells and three mini-rings to have a go on. The Mini-roadshow is open to all ringers, of whatever level and anyone interested in ringing, as are indeed all the weekend’s events.
Goldsmiths College, close to New Cross Gate station is conveniently located for travel from all parts of London and the South East. There is plenty of space for a picnic on College Green if the weather is kind, or Goldsmiths has a café where a range of sandwiches, drinks and real ale may be purchased.
Central Council weekends have traditionally been attended mainly by Council members and their partners. However, on this occasion I would like to ask you, if you live within a reasonable travelling time of London, to encourage other ringers in your guild to attend, and in particular to take advantage of the Mini-roadshow. There are posters available to download by using the link above. The Central Council have devoted some seed funding to this year’s first mini-roadshow and if successful it will be used as a model for future events, held alongside the Council’s annual meeting.
HOW TO BOOK
The booking system has recently been enhanced and all tower and speaker selections can now be made online at the time of booking. Those who have already reserved places will receive an email inviting them to make their selections via a separate form and will automatically receive priority in the event that any events are over-booked.
Bookings can be made by clicking through the Mini-roadshow site at the above link, or going direct to the booking system at https://events.cccbr.org.uk/product/annual-meeting-2019/.
On behalf of the Executive I look forward to welcoming you at the new style Central Council weekend.
David Kirkcaldy
Deputy President, CCCBR