The Summer holidays seem a distant memory now I’ve noticed autumnal hints when I am out and about. I’ve also noticed this week how dark it is at the beginning of practice night. However, there are many upcoming events in the Association’s calendar which are worth noting.
This coming weekend sees the Association’s 6-bell striking competitions which will be hosted by the Maidstone District at Barming on Saturday 27th September. Whilst entries are now closed, you may wish to go along to listen to the competing teams. The Inter-District 6-Bell Striking Competition will start at 10.00am and the Association 6-Bell Call Change Competition begins at 2.00pm.
October is on the horizon and this is the month where each District holds their Annual District Meeting. This is the time where the new District Committee are elected for the forthcoming year.
I have always noticed a reluctance at these meeting to get involved with District activities and have in the past noticed the detrimental effect that this has had on ringing in different Districts. I recall writing in a previous Words from the Chair that we are better if we can work together as towers and the District events provide an opportunity for ringers from different towers to get together and ring something that may not be possible at their home tower.
As with many organisations, we rely on volunteers to help run the Districts as well as the Association. We are already volunteering our time to ring the bells at our tower (and possibly elsewhere) but being able to offer a little more time to help with running a District usually requires very little additional time commitment. It also can help a District bring in new ideas. Might you consider joining your District’s committee this year?
I am pleased to publicise an initiative that is being set up by Rona Joiner (Rochester District Ringing Master) and Philippa Rooke (KCACR Librarian). They are looking to set up a Ladies’ Conducting Group. This is intended as a welcoming space that has been created to encourage, support and enable women who are looking to start, or continue their conducting journey.
This morning, I looked through the Association’s list of Quarter Peal Conductors. There are currently 92 different conductors of quarter peals listed, of which only 19 are women. Of these, only one woman is currently listed in the leading 10 quarter peal conductors for this year.
Whilst it may be that, historically, it was not the norm for women to conduct in ringing, this attitude should no longer be the case and towers should be encouraging women to take a greater part in learning to conduct, whether it is just calling some call-changes or calling a quarter peal or even a peal.
It may be that opportunities do not arise within a tower setting for ringers to do more than calling call changes so Rona and Philippa are starting this group as a safe space to have a go at anything, from saying go and stop to plain hunt, to calling Stedman and Surprise, or just getting the confidence to have a go in a non-judgemental environment. Over the course of a few months, they hope to be sharing ideas and resources, encouraging one another, discussing challenges and celebrating wins, and building a network of support.
The first session will be primarily aimed at getting to know each other, understanding the barriers that women are facing, and working together to gain the tools to overcome these. It will be held at St Martin’s, Chelsfield on Saturday 1 November from 10 am to 12 noon. If you’d like to come along, please RSVP to so that they know how much coffee to provide!
Another forthcoming event that has become an annual occasion is the Association Evensong which will, this year, be held again at Canterbury Cathedral at 5:30pm on Sunday 16th November. The Cathedral has recently adopted a new procedure for visiting ringers so it will be necessary for those who wish to ring to inform the Cathedral beforehand. More details will follow in due course.
I did mention previously that it would be good if this event could be hosted at other venues besides Kent’s two Cathedrals and have already had an offer from the Lewisham District for 2026. I wonder if another District may consider hosting an Association Evensong in November in 2027? This might be something for your new District Committee to discuss.
Finally, the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers Annual General Meeting and Ringing Roadshow took place in Sheffield over the weekend of the 6th and 7th September. This was preceded by the Ringing World Annual General Meeting on the 6th September which Central Council Representatives are able to attend if they indicate that they wish to be a member of the Ringing World Limited.
The general circulation of the Ringing World is dropping. This is not surprising considering that the number of ringers is also falling, however the rate of decline in subscriptions is proportionally lower than the current estimated number of ringers. However, the Ringing World contains a wealth of information about ringing and its many aspects, including the history of a tower, biographical histories of notable ringers and features about ringing events and occasions. It helps readers to keep abreast of what is going on beyond their own tower.
With an annual subscription working out at just over £2.00 per week or an annual tower which provides one tower copy and allows three ringers online access to the current edition costing just £6.00 more than an annual subscription, perhaps it might be worth taking a look. The Ringing World website (https://ringingworld.co.uk/) has more details.
The CCCBR Annual General Meeting took place on the afternoon of the 6th September. The main part of the meeting was devoted to reports from the various workgroups and updates of the plans which are gearing up to the Ringing 2030 project. This is an initiative intended to raise the profile of bellringing and effectively develop recruitment and retention of ringers.
One of the main initiatives is targeted at schools and universities; these will be our main source of future ringers and future leaders in ringing. Good progress is being made in developing resources in both of these areas and it is hoped that these will start to be rolled out within the next few months.
The other main issues discussed at the AGM were some rule changes, the first being to tidy up the current rules through some rewording and renumbering to improve clarity. The second linked to the rules regarding the inclusion of small societies and the affiliation fees paid by these societies. Both of the amendments were carried.
The Roadshow took place on the Sunday which was supported by 22 Exhibitors of Bell-related hard and software, together with 4 mini-rings including the delightful Matthew Higby new ring of 6 tuneful and easy going bells fitted onto a small trailer. The Roadshow is likely to take place again at the Central Council meeting in 2027. A question was asked at the AGM as to whether the Roadshow could be an annual event but it was pointed out that it requires a great deal of commitment from the exhibitors, many of whom travel a long way to be present and are not able to take additional time off in lieu of attending the event.
Neil Jones
KCACR Chairman
Categories: Association News