I am writing this as we move towards the end of the first month of 2026. Christmas is, for many, just a memory (although we have not yet reached Candlemas) and thoughts for some are perhaps of jetting off to warmer climes to get away from the Winter weather.
I mentioned the progress made on the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and many of you probably saw my subsequent message regarding signing a petition to signify that you are in agreement of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers submitting a request for the inclusion of bellringing on this register. I know that many of you have done so and would like to thank you for signing this document. For those who may not yet have done so, please could I urge you to sign up. Due to the conditions laid down regarding which activities are listed, the request has to come from the practitioners and supporters of the tradition and the Central Council submits an application on behalf of those who have requested the inclusion.
In some cases, it is a tradition that is restricted to a particular village or region. I have looked at the listings and there are a very diverse range of cultural traditions already recorded on the UNESCO register. However, some traditions and practices (such as bellringing) is a more national tradition so the application needs to reflect the fact that ringing is part of our national heritage. From my understanding, it is not essential that just the practitioners of the tradition sign the petition and those who support the tradition are also invited to add their names to the request. For those who have not yet signed it, the link to the petition is here: https://cccbr.org.uk/heritage/
I mentioned last month that we were thinking about holding a seminar for tower captains, budding tower captains, those responsible for running the ringing at their tower or those who are just curious to find out more about elements of leadership. This will be taking place at St John the Baptist, Bredgar, ME9 8EX on Saturday 9th May between 2.00pm and 5:30pm. This will provide a range of discussions and input on subjects such as the role of a leader in ringing, what may need to be considered when running a practice and an opportunity to share ideas with others in a similar role. There will be no charge for the event but a donation towards the use of the church and refreshments would be appreciated. If you are interested in attending, please let me know via
I would also like to put out a plea to members regarding training. As you may be aware, w currently run three teaching hubs in the Association; one in each of the Rochester, Maidstone/Tonbridge and Canterbury Districts. There are further similar hubs being run by towers on a smaller scale too. The way in which ringing is taught has evolved over recent years. We are seeing fewer youngsters learning and more people are starting to ring later on in life. It is great that we can draw in new ringers from across the age spectrum but we also need to provide the resources in order to keep our recruits engaged and interested. It is also important to realise that the expectations and learning capacity of adult learners, some of who may not have learnt a new skill for many years, is far different to that of young people who are still in full time education.
It has been proven in Birmingham that regular, focussed teaching sessions for small groups really do work and the concept that was established there is gradually becoming an accepted way of teaching across the country. A training session comprising of 45 minutes of solid ringing is far more beneficial to a learner than the odd 5 minutes in a practice night. We would really like to expand our capacity with the ringing hubs. I know that the three that we advertise on the web site are very well attended often oversubscribed.
If you are interested in starting another teaching hub up in your locality on behalf of the KCACR, please let me know. We do not run them as ART hubs but follow the guidance of the ART M1 (learning to handle a bell) and M2F (rounds to plain hunt) courses. We do hope that anybody leading the hub would have awareness of these courses and it would be even better if they had undertaken the course and were either accredited or working towards accreditation at that level.
Finally, just a reminder that the Association AGM will be taking place at Tenterden on Monday 6th April. We will need a new General Secretary as Joanne will be standing down from this post. The post of Chairman will also become vacant as I have been invited to become the new chairman of the Association of Ringing Teachers.
Please do not hesitate to contact myself or Joanne should you want to find out more about either of these roles.
Neil Jones
KCACR Chairman