1990 CENTRAL COUNCIL MEETING: OFFICIAL REPORT

The 93rd annual meeting of the Central Council, which took place in the Blue School in Wells on May 29, was the first of a new triennium. As a result members were faced by a very long agenda: all the officers, committees and trustees were to be elected for the next three years, and there were in addition a number of motions down for debate and a range of suggestions from an ad hoc Centenary committee to be discussed.

The meeting was opened promptly at 10 o’clock by the President, the Revd. Dr. J.C. Baldwin (Llandaff & Monmouth DA), who welcomed the large number present before leading them in a short prayer.

The Secretary, Mr. C.A. Wratten (Life Member), reported that 70 societies were affiliated to the new Council. One - the S. Derbyshire and N. Leicestershire Association - continued to have insufficient members to be represented at the meeting, but the remaining 69 societies had between them elected 186 representatives. There were in addition 9 Life and 21 Honorary members, giving the Council a total membership of 216.

His report that all subscriptions had now been paid provoked a brief burst of laughter, since barely ten minutes earlier the screen by the officers’ table had been displaying a notice that one society’s subscription was then still outstanding.

Apologies for absence

The Secretary said that he had received apologies from two Life members - Messrs. W.B. Cartwright and F.E. Collins; from two Honorary members, Messrs. A.E. Bagworth and B.D. Threlfall; and from Messrs. D. Bleby (and subsequently from Mr. L. Reynolds, the alternate member who had been planning to represent ANZAB in Mr. Bleby’s stead), P. Dyson, N.A. Johnson, M. Quimby, C.C. Roberts, A.R. Smith and Mrs. V. Grossmith, all of them Representative members. (In the case of Mrs. Grossmith, the Zimbabwe Guild was being represented by an alternate member). Apologies were also relayed from Messrs. J. Ellams and D.R. Riley.

New members

As the Secretary read the list of new members of the Council, those named stood briefly.

There were in all thirty-six - Messrs. A.R. Kench (College Youths), M. Stone (ANZAB), M.J. de C. Henshaw (Beverley), P.J. Agg (Cambridge University), A.J. Illingworth (Coventry), B.N. Trowbridge (Derby), D. Walker (Durham & Newcastle), P.S. Seaman (Ely), F.J.P. Bone (Essex), Dr. Angela Newing (formerly an Honorary member but now representing the Gloucester & Bristol DA), A.W. Gordon (Guildford), J. Ellams (Hereford - not present), J.R. Mayne (another former Honorary member) and Miss D.M. Robotham (Hertford), M.J. Pomeroy and P.M. Talbot (Irish), F.W. Lewis and Mrs. D. Wraight (Kent), Mrs. F. Willgress (Ladies’), A.D.H. Bird (Lincoln), the Revd. J.M. Hughes (Llandaff & Monmouth), E.G. Mould (London CA), D.F. Morrison (N. American), Miss D.A. Jones (N. Wales), J.B. Morley and N.M. Thomas (Norwich), Miss J.M. Corby and J. Weaver (Peterborough), J.W. Lewis (St. Davids), Miss S.P.E. Legge (Salisbury), I.J.D. Whitear (Suffolk), N.J. Goodship and K.J. Matthews (Surrey), C.M. Foster (Bristol University), Dr. Alison Hodge (Verona), and R.F.B. Speed (Worcester); in addition Miss A. Phillips was present as an alternate member in place of Mrs. Grossmith (Zimbabwe).

Welcoming them on behalf of the remainder of the Council, Dr. Baldwin thanked them for their willingness to serve and hoped they would enjoy their membership of the Council. (Applause).

Losses through death

The Secretary read the names of members of the Council who had died since its last meeting: John Freeman (Lincoln, 1948-70, and subsequently a Life member); Walter Allman (Chester, 1957-60); Denis R. Carlisle (Derby, 1951-54 and 1966-72); and Mrs. Dorothy E. Beamish (Warwickshire, 1939-46; Coventry, 1946-72).

Members then stood in silence as the Very Revd. Gilbert Thurlow, a former President of the Council, lead the meeting in prayer.

Election of Officers

Mr. C.J. Groome, a representative of the Peterborough DG and Vice-President of the Council since 1987, had been proposed for the Presidency of the new Council in succession to Dr. Baldwin. In declaring him elected, Dr. Baldwin congratulated him on his appointment and trusted that he would enjoy the job as much as he had done. (Applause)

Thanking him, Mr. Groome said that he was very proud to be elected; the Exercise had meant a great deal to him ever since starting to ring in Oxford in 1961. He in turn thanked Dr. Baldwin for his work while in office (hear, hear). Not only had he conducted the Council’s meetings with gusto and style, he had played a major part in trying to discover from ringers and the Church what they wanted of the Council. The task now facing the Council was to turn the results of that work into action, he said. (Applause)

The new President then turned to the election of Vice-President. He reminded members that three names had been formally proposed and seconded - Professor R.J. Johnston (of the Yorkshire Association), Mr. A.W.R. Wilby (of the College Youths), and Mrs. M.J. Wilkinson (an Honorary member). Pen portraits of each had recently been published in The Ringing World, and the proposers had agreed that it was not necessary to speak further to their nominations. Unless anybody proposed otherwise, he intended the election to be on a straightforward “first past the post” basis.

Nobody objected to this suggestion, and a paper ballot was then held, with members of the Bath & Wells Association acting as tellers.

The result of the voting was announced by Mr. Groome a little later in the meeting. Professor Johnston had, he said, received 82 votes, Mr. Wilby 63, and Mrs. Wilkinson 52, and Mr. Johnston was therefore elected (applause).

Mr. C.A. Wratten was the only nominee for the post of Secretary and Treasurer. Declaring him elected, Mr. Groome thanked him most sincerely for all that he did for the Council, adding that Mrs. Wratten’s contribution should not be forgotten (applause).

Replying, Mr. Wratten said that he was most grateful to those who had yet again re-elected him. He added that it seemed that this was one job where one did not get remission for good conduct (laughter), but noted that this was the seventh time he had been re-elected. By the end of the present triennium he would have been the Council’s Secretary for some 23 years, and he therefore felt it right that he should give notice that he would not be seeking re-election in 1993.

The final post was that of Librarian. Again there was only one nominee, Mr. W.T. Cook (College Youths), and Mr. Groome declared him elected, amidst further applause.

Election of Honorary Members

Ten of the present Honorary Members completed their elected period at the end of this meeting, of whom one (Mr. B.D. Threlfall) did not seek re-election. There were already two vacancies, and since Dr. Newing was now a Representative member this meant that thirteen places were available.

In all ten names were separately nominated for election. They were Messrs. M.C.W. Sherwood, who was doing sterling work on the Methods Committee; M.J. Church, for his financial expertise (his proposer pointed out that he was one of the Council’s auditors, as well as de facto Financial Director of Ringing World Ltd); E.J. Billings, who had been responsible for all the Bell Restoration Fund’s seminars to date; Dr. D.W. Beard, in order to continue his work on collections of methods and on the Peal Compositions Committee; Miss Jean Sanderson, who provided a professional librarian’s expertise to the Publications Committee; Mrs. Wratten (her proposer suggesting that it was “important to have a wife to help the Secretary out on the job!”); Mr. A.J. Frost, the current chairman of the Towers and Belfries Committee; Mr. M.J. Tyler, a long-serving and valued member of the Education Committee; Dr. J.C. Eisel, in order to continue his work on both the Biographies Committee and the Ringing History project; and Mr. R.B. Smith, who was doing valuable work for the Exercise.

As required by the Council’s Rules, the election was by ballot. After the votes had been counted the President was able to announce that all those nominated had been elected. (Applause)

Auditors

The retiring auditors, Messrs. M.J. Church and E.G.H. Godfrey were in turn proposed for re-election, the former by Mr. Cooles and Mr. A.W. Gordon, the latter by Messrs. I.H. Oram (Cumberland Youths) and C.H. Rogers (Guildford). There were no other nominations, and the President therefore declared them elected, adding the Council’s thanks for their work in the past (applause).

Minutes of the last meeting

Adoption of the Minutes of the 1989 meeting in Birmingham, which had appeared in The Ringing World of March 2nd and were subsequently corrected, was proposed by the Secretary and seconded by Prof. Johnston. They were accepted without comment.

The Secretary said that, as a result of the Council’s decision that “Superlatyve” Surprise Royal should be renamed, he had written to the peal’s conductor, Mr. Robin Rogers. He quoted from the latter’s reply, which regretted that the Council had not considered the method’s line before voting: the method was, Mr. Rogers asserted, the best “look alike” to Superlative Major yet rung, and previous similar names - such as Premier Major/Premiere Maximus - had been accepted without query by the Council. In order to retain some link with Superlative, the band wished to rename the method Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Surprise Royal (laughter).

Secretary and Treasurer’s report

Mr. Wratten moved the adoption of the following report, and was seconded by Dr. Baldwin.

He said that late returns showed that in fact about one in six of the Council’s members were new, which was about the average at the start of a triennium; and he corrected the final figure to £50,000. The report was then adopted without further comment.

1989 Accounts

Mr. Wratten made a number of corrections to the accounts that had been sent to members, and commented that there had been little significant change during the year. Overall the Council’s financial worth had increased roughly in line with inflation.

There were no questions, but acceptance of the accounts was deferred until members had had an opportunity to discuss the Library and Publications Committees’ reports and their associated funds.

Committee reports

All thirteen committee reports had been circulated in advance. Few provoked major comment or debate, and it was evident that they had been comprehensively written and that members had read and studied them before the meeting. As a result this part of the agenda was covered with expedition, a process helped by firm direction from the new President.

Computer Coordination Committee

Presenting the report, Mr. P. Church (the Committee’s former chairman) thanked those on the old committee for their work. He remarked that, although computers were now being used in ringing in new ways - for example to aid administration and record-keeping - little use was apparently yet being made of the greater power now available. He was seconded by J.D. Cheesman (Surrey).

Five members were nominated for the new committee, and all were declared elected. They were Messrs. F.J.P. Bone (Essex), A.W. Gordon (Guildford), A. Hudson (Irish), M. Thomson (Chester) and B.N. Trowbridge (Derby). The chairman will be Mr. Gordon. The President repeated Mr. Church’s thanks to the out-going committee, mentioning particularly Mr. Church and G. Dodds, both of whom were no longer on the Council.

Peal Compositions Committee

The committee’s report was accepted without comment, having been proposed by P. Border (Coventry) and seconded by Dr. Beard:

Since seven names were proposed for the five available committee places, election was by ballot. Messrs. P.Q. Armitage (Oxford University), R. Bailey (Middlesex), D.W. Beard, P. Border and P. Sanderson (London University) were successful, and M.J.de C. Henshaw (Beverley) and S.D. Pettman (Suffolk) not. The new committee will be chaired by Mr. Sanderson.

Records Committee

In proposing the report Mr. Sibson made some amendments to the version that had been circulated (these have been incorporated below), and noted that two ostensibly new methods - Joule Surprise Major, rung for the Middx CA & London DG on 7 July, and Bastille Surprise Major, rung by a non-association band on 14 July - had not been included since the conductor had not divulged the notations.

He was seconded by Mr. J.R. Mayne (Hertford), and the report was adopted without further comment.

Since there were only five nominations, the President declared Messrs. P.J. Agg (Cambridge University), D.J. Buckley (Bath & Wells), J.R. Mayne, D.E. Sibson and C.A. Wratten elected to the new committee.

Methods Committee

The following report was formally proposed by Mr. A.P. Smith (Winchester & Portsmouth), equally formally seconded by Mr. Sherwood, and adopted without comment.

The meeting agreed that the new committee should have a membership of six, and as only six names were proposed, they were elected without more ado. They were Messrs. R. Bailey, F.T. Blagrove (Middlesex), C.K. Lewis (Honorary), P.D. Niblett (Oxford University), M.C.W. Sherwood and A.P. Smith. The latter will continue to chair the committee.

Peals Analysis Committee

The committee’s lengthy and detailed report read as follows, following verbal amendment by its proposer, Mr. C.H. Rogers (Guildford):

After Mr. Rogers had explained that the peals referred to in the report’s final recommendations had not been rung in accordance with the Council’s technical Decisions, and that the Council was therefore being asked to judge them either on their technical merit or on the local circumstances surrounding each, the President said that the recommendations would be taken separately.

Mr. W.F. Moreton (Life) said that the committee’s recommendation about the peal at Darfield was a sensible one. He nevertheless wished to propose that the peal be accepted as one of 5,220 changes, since it did not conflict with the spirit of the Decisions. He was seconded by Mr. N. Donovan (Yorkshire), but after Mr. Rogers had said that he had no comment, the motion was put to the vote - and lost.

Speaking of the Whepstead peal, Mr. S.D. Pettman (Suffolk) said that its conductor had in fact been in correspondence about it with the Methods Committee during 1988. It seemed that the peal was to be rejected only because he had made no similar case to the Peals Analysis Committee; and he proposed that the peal be accepted, and was seconded by another Suffolk Guild representative, Mr. Whitear.

Mr. Rogers commented that the peal, like those in the third recommendation, had not complied with Decision (D) C.3. If it was to be accepted it should be on the same terms - on the basis described in the Method Committee’s amendment. And it was in these terms that the peal was indeed accepted by the Council. There were no comments or questions about the remaining recommendations, nor indeed on the rest of the committee’s report, and all were accepted without further discussion.

Several members of the old committee, including Mr. Rogers, did not seek re-election, and Mr. Cheesman had asked for new members to be prepared to stand. The Administrative Committee’s recommendation that the new committee should have eight members having first been agreed, the eight following were then elected, there being no other nominations:

Messrs. J. Cheesman, C. Forster (Leeds University), D.H. Niblett (Kent), R.J. Perry (Truro), Dr. T.G. Pett (Oxford DG), the Revd. L. Pizzey (Suffolk), P.S. Seaman (Ely) and Dr. N.G. Sharp (N. Staffs). Dr. Niblett will be the new chairman.

Towers & Belfries Committee

By contrast, this committee’s report was accepted without comment. In proposing its adoption, Mr. Frost said that three of the publications referred to were now in print, while copies of the fourth, the Towers and Bells Handbook, had only to be bound. He took the opportunity of thanking those who did not seek re-election to the committee, mentioning particularly Brian Threlfall, who had served on the committee for 36 years but was no longer a member of the Council. The report read as follows:

Once more the Administrative Committee recommendation on size of committee (eleven members) was accepted; and once more precisely the right number of nominations were forthcoming. Those elected were consequently Messrs. R.G. Booth (London CA), G.A. Dawson (Southwell), A. Dempster (E. Derbys & W. Notts), A.J. Frost, P.L.R. Hayward (Sherwood Youths), F.D. Mack (Devonshire Guild), F. Reynolds (Lancashire), Preb. J.G.M. Scott (Honorary), B.J. Stone (Oxford Society), I.J.D. Whitear and H.M. Windsor (Coventry). Mr. Frost continues as chairman.

Education Committee

In proposing the report the chairman, Mr. R. Cater (Winchester & Portsmouth), drew particular attention to its fourth and fifth paragraphs; he said the committee would be only too pleased to help. The same point was made by Mr. S.J. Coleman (Honorary), who seconded: the Survey had, he said, clearly shown that ringers wanted their associations to run more courses, and he urged representatives present to encourage their societies to do so.

(The initials used at the end of the report refer to various members of the committee - Mrs. Franklin (CF) and Messrs. Cater (RC), Charles (HC), Coleman (SC), Hurcombe (PH), Mattingley (NM) and Tyler (MT).)

It was agreed that the committee should continue to have eight members, and the following were consequently elected, being the only nominations: Messrs. R. Cater (who will continue as chairman), H.J. Charles (Norwich), Mrs. C.N.J. Franklin (Leicester), P.W. Gay (N. Staffs), N.J. Goodship (Surrey), P.T. Hurcombe (Sussex), N. Mattingley (Hereford) and M.J. Tyler (Honorary).

Publications Committee

The committee’s report, which was proposed by Mr. W.J. Couperthwaite (Guildford) and seconded by Mr. D.J. Jones (Peterborough), said that:

Mr. Couperthwaite added that Mrs. Barbara Wheeler, one of the Durham & Newcastle DA’s representatives on the Council, would be taking over the storage and distribution of the publications in the near future; a notice would appear in The Ringing World in due course.

The offer of a reduced price for copies of the new Towers and Bells Handbook ordered and paid for at the Council meeting provoked a quick-fire exchange between Mr. Couperthwaite and the President - the latter initially commenting that the offer was like “something from Marks and Spencer’s”, Mr. Couperthwaite replying that “we learn from you, Mr. President” (Mr. Groome has published and marketed a number of ringing books), and the President expressing surprise that the committee should know anything about his underwear. Amidst growing laughter Mr. Couperthwaite was heard to gasp “Heaven forbid!”

Following this, it is perhaps not surprising that there were no questions about either the report itself or the Publications accounts. One suspects that not all members’ thoughts were yet back to the business of the meeting.

Seven nominations had already been received for the seven places which the meeting agreed the committee needed, and since no more were forthcoming from the floor, Mr. Groome declared Messrs. Couperthwaite, Jones, R.J. Johnston, J.R. Pratt (Guildford) and D.G. Thorne (Honorary), Miss Jean Sanderson (Honorary) and Mrs. Wheeler elected. Mr Couperthwaite continues to chair the committee.

Bell Restoration Funds Committee

Mr. J.S. Barnes succinctly proposed his committee’s report, adding only that the Barron Bell Trust had, he understood, made three grants in recent weeks, and that the committee had had a letter published in the non-ringing press, in This England. He was seconded by J.F. Mulvey (Lichfield), and the report was accepted without comment.

There were eight nominations for the new committee, against a recommended and agreed membership of seven, and the Bath & Wells Association’s tellers were once more brought into action.

The President was subsequently able to announce that, although Mrs. B. Winter (Coventry) had been unsuccessful in the poll, Messrs. Barnes, Billings, N.E. Booth (Scottish), N.A. Johnson, J.F. Mulvey, I.H. Oram (Cumberland Youths) and A.R. Smith had been elected. Mr. Barnes remains chairman.

Redundant Bells Committee

After Mrs. Wilkinson had proposed the following report, she was warmly thanked by her seconder, Mr P.A. Corby (Life), both for her work for, and her hospitality to, the committee during the previous year.

A ballot was again necessary to elect the new committee, thirteen nominations being received for the eleven places.

Those successful were Dr. Baldwin, E.A. Barnett (Life), R. Booth, R.J. Cooles, P.A. Corby, M.H.D. O’Callaghan (Honorary), A.J. Frost, G.W. Massey (Bath & Wells), Preb. J.G.M. Scott, Dean Thurlow and Mrs. Wilkinson. Mrs. Wilkinson remains the committee’s chairman. The unsuccessful nominees were Mr. K.J. Matthews (Surrey) and the Revd. P. Newing (Durham University).

At this juncture the President evidently decided to dampen matters on the top table. Opening a bottle of unexpectedly lively carbonated water, he managed - to the quite unwarranted delight of a surprising number of those present - to spray the Hon. Secretary’s papers, and almost the Hon. Secretary himself. Mopping-up operations, in a very literal sense, quickly restored the situation, and the President had the sip of water he evidently needed.

Biographies Committee

The Committee reported that

Mr. T.J. Lock (Middlesex) proposed the report, adding that the biographies sheets were now being microfilmed, but no offer had yet been received to write up new sheets. He was seconded by Dr. Eisel.

Mr. W. Butler (Oxford DG) enquired how many biography sheets there were - only 550 had been mentioned, and he had expected there to be more. Mr. H.J. Charles (Norwich) wondered whether a calligrapher was really necessary: would it not be more efficient to maintain the records on a computer?

Mr. Lock said that a further fifty or so sheets were waiting to be written up. The suggestion of using a computer would need to be considered, he added, but the committee did hold a number of relevant paper documents that were not readily amenable to computerisation.

A ballot for the committee’s five places determined that Messrs. G.A. Dawson, Dr. Eisel, T.J. Lock, D.J. Roberts (Devonshire G) and Dr. N.G. Sharp should be elected, and that Messrs. H.J. Charles and A.T. Collins (Salisbury) should be unsuccessful. It was noted that Dr. Sharp was both a calligrapher and a computer man (laughter), and that Mr. Roberts was also a calligrapher.

Mr. Lock continues as chairman.

Library Committee

After the Hon. Librarian, Mr. Cook, had proposed and Miss Sanderson had seconded adoption of the report, Mr. F.E. Dukes (Irish) remarked on the discrepancy in the accounts between the amount apparently paid out from the General Fund to the Library (£231) and that reported to have been received (£150) - Mr. Wratten said that the “missing” amount was the cost of insurance - and also enquired whether irreplaceable items in the Library had been copied or were held in facsimile.

Mr. Cook said that only the printed books were insured; to microfilm the 20% of manuscript material - much of which was of ephemeral value - would probably be prohibitively expensive. He did however accept a suggestion from the President that the new Library Committee should review the library’s insurance value and consider whether there was anything that ought to be copied.

Since the Hon. Librarian is an ex officio member of the committee only four further members needed to be elected. These were Messrs. A.F. Burley (Truro), W. Butler (Oxford DG), R.J. Johnston and Miss Sanderson, Mr. D.J. Jones (Peterborough) having declined nomination.

Public Relations Committee

Following suggestions from members, the committee’s chairman, Mr. A.W.R. Wilby, agreed to withdraw two rather provocative comments from the circulated report, the final version consequently reading as follows.

Mr. Wilby said that he was concerned by the encroachment of Government, through English Heritage, into the faculties procedures of the Church. The work of English Heritage was, he said, legitimised through the Town & Countryside Act and was concerned above all with preservation; but the Church was a living organisation, and its emphasis should be on renewal. He feared that ringers were generally unaware of the scale of the threat and did not appreciate that English Heritage was working on a national scale. The freedom of individual parishes to decide what to do with their churches was increasingly being restricted by their acceptance of grants from English Heritage - acceptance of a grant for the repair of, for example, the roof could effectively mean that nothing could in future be done to the bells or their fittings without English Heritage’s approval.

A number of speakers endorsed Mr. Wilby’s concerns, Preb. John Scott pointing out that for every £30 paid out by the Government in the form of an English Heritage grant £210 was recouped in VAT. Mr. Massey however commented that if the Church were indeed a living body it should have sufficient commitment to maintain its buildings - church people should pay their way, and not rely on the State to meet their bills. Nor were all English Heritage staff villains: most are experts in their own fields, and are receptive to others’ ideas. It is worth developing relationships with them and persuading them that many ringers are expects in their own field.

Dr. Baldwin was concerned that any intemperate reaction could damage the delicate relationship being built up with English Heritage members of the joint working party on the Code of Practice, where he and Mr. Taylor were working hard to educate them into the concerns of ringers. He urged tact.

After the President had remarked that the Committee had raised a very important question and said that he would be asking the Administrative Committee to ensure that the matter is debated further - perhaps at a future Open Meeting, Mr. Wilby answered various points that had been made.

He confirmed that English Heritage operated only in England; said that the Health & Safety at Work Act did not apply to churches; said that the now well-known coloured posters produced by the Committee continued to be available from the Ringing World office; and acknowledged Mr. Dukes’ disclaimer for responsibility for the many new rings overseas (Mr. Dukes had pointed out that the true credit belonged to the local societies concerned).

Attention then turned to the election of a new committee. It was accepted that this should continue to have nine members, and the following were nominated and duly elected: Mrs. S. Bianco (Honorary), Messrs. S.J. Coleman, F.E. Dukes, Dr. Alison Hodge (Verona), J. Illingworth (Coventry), R.G. Morris (Verona), Dr. Angela Newing (Gloucester & Bristol), H.W. Rogers (London CA), and D.G. Thorne. Dr. Newing becomes the committee’s chairman.

The President concluded this part of the agenda by thanking all committee members for the great amount of effort, and indeed money, that they freely gave for the benefit of the Council and the Exercise (applause).

Administrative Committee

This was the last of the committee reports, and it was adopted without comment after being proposed by the Hon. Secretary and seconded by Mr. M.J. Church.

The Administrative Committee consists of the Officers of the Council and the chairmen of committees, together with twelve elected members. As it was by this time almost 12.30 the President decided to defer the election until after lunch, in order to give the newly elected committees time to appoint their chairmen for the next three years. However, before the meeting was adjourned, acceptance of the Council’s accounts for 1989 was formally proposed by the Hon. Secretary, seconded by Mr. P. Sanderson, and agreed.

When the meeting reconvened twelve names were proposed and seconded: Dr. J Armstrong (Essex), Dr. J.C. Baldwin, M.J. Church, S.C. Coleman, R.J. Cooles, P.A. Corby, M.H.D. O’Callaghan, I.H. Oram, C.H. Rogers, Miss Stephanie Pattenden (Cumberland Youths), D.G. Thorne and A.W.R. Wilby. All were elected.

Centenary Committee report

At its meeting in Birmingham last year the Council accepted a proposal to set up a committee “to consider possibilities, and make plans, for a suitable project (to mark the Council’s centenary in 1991) with a view to reporting to the Council in 1990.” The proposer of that motion and chairman of the resulting committee, Mr. J.S. Barnes, had produced a wide-ranging report, the main recommendation of which was that a mobile exhibition centre, incorporating a light ring of bells, should be acquired by the Council. Readers will have seen a series of articles in The Ringing World on this idea, and at Mr. Barnes’ initiative it has been discussed by many associations.

The proposal prompted one of the longest debates - if not the longest - at a Council meeting for many years.

Proposing that the recommendation be adopted, Mr. Barnes said that it met the requirement for something tangible to mark the centenary; it would help to meet the needs brought out by the Survey of Ringing, attracting recruits, increasing public awareness of ringers and ringing and dispelling the common impression of remoteness and eccentricity; and it would help societies in their own efforts in these areas as well as promoting bell restoration work. Most importantly it would provide the opportunity to make contact with the public - at shows and exhibitions, whether in large cities or small rural parishes; it was not intended as a plaything on which ringers could indulge themselves.

The committee suggested that there would need to be a small management team, of perhaps eight people, to administer and maintain the centre. Quoted costs were, he assured members, realistic and contained some element for inflation. The bellfounders had offered to supply the bells free of charge (but not the frame), and he had that weekend been offered a flatbed trailer on which to mount the display. Income could be anticipated from sponsorship, sales, and hirings for private use such as peals or to ring for weddings at churches with no bells of their own. The committee was unanimous that there should be no charge to societies for the use of the centre, apart perhaps for a contribution to the insurance cost, but they would have to provide a towing vehicle to collect and return it.

He concluded by saying the proposal presented the Council with a great challenge: it would need to commit a large amount of capital, and members would need to commit themselves to be involved and to help the scheme to succeed.

His proposal that “the commemorative project for the Central Council centenary be the provision of a mobile exhibition centre incorporating a ring of bells” was seconded by Mrs. Stella Bianco.

Reaction from members was generally of the “enthusiastic - but” variety. Mr. D. Potter thought a 1 cwt. ring would be unacceptably light - they would be rung too fast, would not sound particularly attractive, and would give a misleading impression of what ringing was like; Mr. G. Morris (Verona) disagreed - the Veronese Association had found such rings an ideal advertisement for ringing. (Later in the discussion a motion from Mr. Potter, seconded by Mr. Lufkin, that the Centre should have “a ring of six bells with a tenor weighing not less than 3 cwt” was defeated after Mr. R.B. Smith (Honorary) had pointed out that that it would be quite impossible to install such a ring in the proposed vehicle.)

Speaking on behalf of the Kent County Association Mr. D.C. Manger said that their own experience of using a mobile exhibition had been disheartening: it attracted great interest but as far as they could tell absolutely no recruits; there were problems in manning it; costs constantly increased. In short the considerable cost could not be justified, and his Association had asked its representatives to vote against the proposal. Mr. Wilby also argued against the proposal, on PR, financial and political grounds. He said the case for the project was too generalised: what market was it aimed at? He believed the costs to be significantly underestimated - the maintenance costs would be heavy, and if the centre were to be used for PR purposes material (which would have to be paid for) should be given away, not sold. Associations who had replied in favour of the project had done so with no knowledge of the likely true cost to them. The Expo tower had been restored, and would be in use on Horse Guards Parade on the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday - its reappearance would make a Council ring superfluous. Finally, he read from a letter he had received from Mr. Alan Hughes of the Whitechapel Foundry, in which Mr. Hughes stressed that his company did not endorse the proposal, about whose technical feasibility it had considerable doubts. Council money should not be used for such a project, said Mr. Wilby.

Both Mr. B. Peachey (Police) and Mr. H.W. Rogers commended the idea, the latter commenting that the heavy use made of the Council’s exhibition material showed that a need existed. Mr. Coleman questioned Mr. Wilby’s figures, reiterating that the aim was that Associations should have to pay the Council nothing for their use of the centre. Constant supervision and direction would be provided by somebody from the Council, and the whole scheme would provide a visible sign of the Council helping the Exercise. Enthusiasm was the main thing, not money.

In spite of this statement discussion began to centre on the likely costs, several members saying that they would be prepared to support the idea were it not for their concern about the finances. Mr. A.P. Smith said he would worry less about this if he were satisfied that the scheme represented value for money: would not a single bell be adequate? Mr. D.J. Jones added his concern that the centre would not only be a gimmick but would not make the essential link between ringing and the Church; he considered the enthusiasm, commitment and money of which others had spoken would be better seains. The latter point was questioned by Mr. J.A. Harrison (Oxford DG), who reminded the Council that the Exercise needed also to recruit non-churchgoers.

Both Mr. P.W. Gay, who was responsible for most of the detailed design of the proposed centre, and Mr. Barnes replied to the various points that had been made. One bell would be inadequate, since the centre would be used to demonstrate change-ringing; a heavier ring would bring significant technical problems; the centre would need to be maintained in pristine condition, and the exhibition material changed to meet changing requirements; the benefits looked for were primarily goodwill and increased interest rather than new ringers.

The President summarised the position that had now been reached. He said that a number of issues would need to be clarified before the Officers, as trustees, could commit Council money: they would need to be sure that sponsorship was available and that a team existed to achieve and run the project. This prompted Mr. Corby ultimately to propose and Mr. Cooles to second an amendment “That this Council requests the principal officers, as trustees, to consider the possibility of providing, as a commemorative project, a mobile exhibition centre incorporating a ring of bells; and asks the Administrative Committee to appoint a subcommittee to evaluate the financial and engineering practicalities and to report to next year’s Council with specific recommendations.”

This amendment was passed on a show of hands, but on being put again to the meeting as the substantive motion was apparently defeated. To be sure that there had been no mistake, the President asked the Bath & Wells Association’s tellers to count a repeated vote, and this they did. After he had received their report, Mr. Groome announced that the motion had indeed been lost, by 92 votes to 85.

Turning to the remainder of the report, Mr. Barnes said that the committee had made a number of suggestions - regional meetings between the Council and affiliated societies, to discuss the Survey findings and to enable committee chairmen to describe the services they offered; the provision of more tower captains’ courses; a series of exhibitions on ringers and ringing by all societies, mounted with the help of the Public Relations Committee; a special Post Office cover or postmark; and increased public relations activity, such as a video to promote ringing and articles in the non-ringing press. He proposed the adoption of this part of the report, and was seconded by Mrs. Bianco.

Mr. Potter enquired how, if the report were adopted, its proposals would be funded. The President replied that they would have to be funded through the normal committee budgetting procedures. Mr. H.C. Charles expressed disappointment at the report’s content, and surprise that the Education Committee had not been consulted in advance: a committee of only eight would not be able to provide all the courses recommended. Ideas had not been thought through, he said.

Dr. Newing had similar concerns about the load the report’s adoption would bring to the Public Relations Committee. Mr. Frost said some things that had been suggested - for example, that the Towers & Belfries Committee should consider becoming a limited company - had already been dealt with, but this had been ignored. Mr. Cater said that leadership courses already existed. It was the Education Committee’s policy to encourage societies to run their own courses, but not to tell them what sorts of course to run. Many societies did not need assistance. As for regional meetings, his own experiences at Newcastle-on-Tyne had shown that they could be run much more cheaply than had been suggested.

In defence of the committee Mrs. Wilkinson pointed out that its main recommendation had been the exhibition centre, and it was therefore understandable that the other ideas had not been worked through. She asked whether there might be any hope of resurrecting the idea of a centre if sponsorship were forthcoming; the vote had been close, she said.

Mr. Church commented that everyone seemed to be trying desperately to find a project on which to hang the Centenary label. If that was so, a later agenda item (the Administrative Committee’s motion concerning the establishment of a ringing centre) was very relevant.

The President suggested that the most sensible step to take would be for the Council to receive the report and to refer its recommendations to the various committees for their consideration. Both proposer and seconder agreed, and this was then done.

Before the next item, Mr. H.W. Rogers intervened to thank Mr. Gay for the considerable time, money and expertise he had spent on working up the exhibition centre proposal. The point was acknowledged by loud applause.

Motions

The first of the four motions, proposed on behalf of the Administrative Committee by the Hon. Secretary and seconded by Mr. J.W. Lewis of the St. David’s Guild, dealt with affiliated societies’ right to representation at meetings of the Council.

Mr. Wratten reminded members that the same motion had last year been referred to the Administrative Committee for consideration. The Committee had done as requested, and had decided to support the motion. He pointed out that, under the present Rules, the membership of an affiliated non-territorial society might dwindle to one without it losing its right to be represented; but if a territorial society’s membership dropped below 75 it was disenfranchised.

He admitted that he had twice during his term of office turned a Nelsonian eye on the strict letter of this Rule (gasp!), and had had his action endorsed by the Administrative Committee. But if the Rule could justifiably be bent in such a way it was better to lower to crucial membership threshold from 75 to 50. This would not lead to any increase in Council membership, and instead of spurning any small affiliated society in difficulties would encourage it to rally its forces.

Seconding, Mr. Lewis said he spoke for such a small society. It had only twelve towers in an area the size of Somerset, and it sometimes had difficulty in maintaining a membership of 75. He hoped members would support the motion.

After the motion had been agreed by a verbal “aye”, Mr. Sibson questioned whether, since it entailed a change to the Rules, this was a valid procedure. On being put to a show of hands, three members abstained, and none voted against. The President accordingly declared the motion passed.

The second motion asked the Administrative Committee “to examine the Rules of the Council relating to the representation of societies, with the object of reducing multiple representation of resident ringing members and of clarifying the situation relating to the affiliation of new societies.”

Proposing it on behalf of the Coventry DG, Mr. P. Border said that two years ago he had proposed the affiliation of the Four Shires Guild; this had been rejected because it would have caused multi-representation. Two applications from the Medical Guild had been rejected on the same grounds. And yet multi-representation already existed, and the argument had therefore been quite illogical. If multi-representation was indeed undesirable the Rules would need to be reconsidered. To attempt to do so in public debate was impractical, and the motion therefore sought to refer the matter to the Administrative Committee, which should bring its recommendations to the 1991 meeting.

Mr. H.M. Windsor (Coventry) seconded him. As a member of the Council he found it increasingly difficult to know how to vote on applications to affiliate, he said; the Council’s Constitution had evolved, Topsy-like, and now needed sorting out.

Nobody spoke against the motion, although Preb. Scott said there shouldbeady affiliated. The Committee would need to bear in mind the Council’s first objective (“to promote and foster the ringing of bells for Christian worship”), and suggested that the main criterion for affiliation should be that the society in question included responsibility for ringing church bells on Sundays as part of its routine activities. Mr. Mulvey disagreed. He said the Council was inconsistent in the way it dealt with University societies, and the Committee should look at the present membership.

Mr. R.J. Perry (Truro) thought the Rules concerning territorial societies should also be reviewed, and Mr. Potter said that the position of the Veronese Association should be particularly considered. The Council was, he said, a body of English church bell fingers, and he believed it had been mistaken in accepting the Verona society into full membership.

The Police Guild’s representative, Mr. B. Peachey, agreed that something needed to be done. He accepted that it was anomalous for his Guild to be represented but not the Medical Guild. Referring to John Scott’s point, however, he pointed out that some non-territorial societies contained members who were not also members of territorial bodies - for example some shift-working ringers in the Police and Railway Guilds who had little opportunity for Sunday ringing.

The motion was then passed, only two members voting against.

The third motion was, like the first, initiated by the Administrative Committee. Moved by Mr. P.M.J. Gray (ANZAB), it proposed that the Council set up “a working party to investigate further the setting-up of a Ringing Centre with paid full- or part-time staff”; the working party was to keep the Administrative Committee informed of its progress and is to report at the 1991 meeting of the Council.

Mr. Gray said that the motion had been put on the agenda in order to let members see a paper that had been produced for the Administrative Committee, and to decide in principle whether it wished the ideas it contained for a ringing centre to be taken further. He felt it important that there should be real support for the idea, so that any further work done would not in the end prove nugatory; if there no support, the idea should be dropped forthwith.

He went on to say that the case for such a centre was in three stages. The basis was the state of ringing as shown by the Survey: at parochial level this seemed to have changed little in the past 20-30 years and to have reached a plateau. This lead to the question of what might be done that was not being done already. A highly technical service was at present being provided on a largely voluntary basis, and depended upon how far individuals were willing to commit their spare time. He suggested that ringing and the general condition of bells and their fittings might well benefit from back-up in the form of paid, professional, tuition. If this was so, effort should, he suggested, be concentrated in a single centre. The idea nevertheless needed much more development. The main points were that things should start in a small way and that money should be spent on people rather than on bricks and mortar.

Seconding the motion, Mr. Church said that such a centre would make courses and information much more readily available; would help to relieve Guilds and Associations from the pressure for ever more courses; would enable ringers to relate more closely to the Council; and would provide Council committees with a focal point and administrative support. Like the proposer, he looked for a clear statement of support from the Council in order to justify the further work that would be needed.

While in favour of the proposal, both Mr. Lufkin and Mr. Massey were doubtful about the parallel drawn in the accompanying paper between the Royal School of Church Music and the proposed centre. The former felt that, while the School had done much to raise standards in larger churches, the ringing associations had much closer links with individual parish bands than the RSCM had with small parish choirs; while the latter pointed out that the RSCM was heavily dependent upon affiliation fees from individuals and choirs - a situation unlikely to apply with a ringing centre. He felt the idea of such a centre should be considered by the associations before any commitment was made - certainly individual representatives could not commit their societies without first consulting them.

Mr. Lufkin had also expressed misgivings about the idea of professional instructors, but accepted that professional management and administration of the centre’s functions would be necessary. He suggested that a redundant church might provide a suitable base - an idea dismissed by Mr. Massey, who said that churches tended to become redundant not because they lacked a congregation but because the building needed a great deal of money to be spent on it.

Mr. Cater said he felt guilty about having reservations about such a commendable proposal, but pointed out that while the use of professional tuition was one possible solution, there were others.

In response to Mr. Wilby, who doubted whether the last speakers were talking about the motion before the meeting, Mr. Massey said that he was not unhappy about the wording of the motion, but considered that the outcome of the investigations should be referred to affiliated societies for discussion before any decision was made.

Mr. Charles proposed an amendment, that the working party should be appointed at the Council’s next meeting and should report in 1992 “and that in the meantime the Administrative Committee should publish in The Ringing World the documents presented to the Council in order to canvass reaction from the Exercise at large.” He was seconded by Mr. M.J. Tyler. Mr. Frost thought that the latter element would be a routine part of the proposed investigation; and Mr. R. Bailey (Middlesex) thereupon proposed that the amendment be put. He was appropriately seconded, and the amendment was heavily defeated.

Mr. Gay said he objected to the original motion, since he did not believe it would be cost-effective to pay people to teach others ringing. The Council was not even paying all the out-of-pocket expenses of its own committee members, he added.

At this point Mr. Bailey again moved that the motion be put, and was seconded by Mr. J.R. Taylor (Gloucester & Bristol). This was agreed, and on this occasion the motion was successful.

In reply to a general question from the President about the size of the new working party, Mr. Sanderson proposed that it should have six members, and was seconded by Mr. A.P. Smith. This was agreed and Messrs. Cater, Church, Cooles, Frost, Potter and a representative of the Public Relations Committee were elected, Messrs. Bailey, Couperthwaite, Gray and Groome having refused nomination.

The fourth and final motion was proposed on behalf of the Methods Committee by Mr. A.P. Smith and seconded by Mr. M.C.W. Sherwood. It proposed deletion of the existing restriction in the Council Decisions, whereby a lead of a Doubles variation containing a call may not constitute a plain lead of another method.

Mr. Smith said that the motion had been triggered by the peal at Burton-on-Trent that was referred to in the Peals Analysis Committee’s report. This peal had consisted of variations with bobs and singles made below the treble, and the leads containing singles had happened to produce plain leads of other methods. He said that it was very easy to fall foul of the existing restriction when using asymmetric calls or those affecting the work below the treble; but the restriction actually served no useful purpose.

Members had earlier decided to accept the Burton peal, and could now finish the job by endorsing the motion, he concluded.

Seconding, Mr. Sherwood said that acceptance of the proposal would not allow any increase in the number of names reported in a peal.

The motion was then passed without further discussion.

Rescue Fund for Redundant Bells

Adoption of the Fund’s report and accounts was proposed by Mr. Cooles and seconded by Mr. O’Callaghan. In reply to a question from Mr. Oram, Mr. Cooles said that building problems that had arisen at Stoneycroft meant that the former Widnes bells had not been hung there. The Lancashire Association was now looking for an alternative home for the bells in the Liverpool area. Both report and accounts were then adopted.

Trustees’ reports

The Trustee of the Council’s Rolls of Honour, Mr. W.T. Cook (ASCY), proposed the adoption of the following report, and was seconded by Mr. C. Forster (Leeds University):

After the report had been accepted, without discussion, Mr. D. Potter (Yorkshire) proposed and Mr. B.G. Warwick (Leicester) seconded Mr. Cook’s re-election as Trustee. This too was agreed.

The report of the Trustees of the Carter Ringing Machine was proposed by Mr. W.H. Dobbie (Honorary), who said that the Birmingham Museum mentioned was in fact the Museum of Science and Industry, and added that one member of its staff was a ringer:

He was seconded by Mr. E.A. Barnett (Life), and the report was adopted.

Mr. Barnett then proposed the election of Messrs. Dobbie and Bagworth as the Machine’s trustees for a further three years and, after the Revd. J.G.M. Scott (Honorary) had seconded the proposal, this was agreed.

The President concluded this part of the day’s business by thanking both lots of trustees for their work (applause).

Future meetings

The Secretary reminded members that invitations had been accepted from the College Youths, the Peterborough DG, and the Llandaff & Monmouth DA, for the next three meetings; that there were as yet no invitations for 1994 or 1995; and that invitations for 1996 (from the Shropshire A), 1997 (from both the Truro DG and the Ely DA), 1998 (Irish A) and 1999 (Lincoln DG) had been noted.

Mr. Wilby said that the 1991 meeting in London, marking the Council’s centenary, would be a four-day event. The officers and ringers of all affiliated societies would be invited to join Council members for a service in St. Paul’s Cathedral at 4 p.m. on the Saturday; the first-ever international eight-bell contest would be held at St. Lawrence Jewry on the Sunday, and would be followed by a centenary party in the evening; there would be a general ringing festival on the Monday, including a special contest at St. Mary-le-Bow for past winners of the 12-bell contest; and on the Tuesday, after a corporate Communion, the Council would meet in the City Livery Hall of the Guildhall.

Any other business

The Secretary announced that 61 of the 69 societies with representatives had been fully represented at the meeting and a further six had been partially represented. In addition seven Life and 19 Honorary members had been present, making a total attendance of 202. He said that this was not only a record attendance, but that it was the first time that two hundred members had attended a Council meeting (applause).

Commenting on the recent reports of irresponsible “grabbing” of unringable towers, Mr N.M. Thomas (Norwich) wondered what the legal position was in the event of wilful damage being caused in such a case, and whether there was anything the Council could do. The President said that the Administrative Committee would consider the question at its next meeting.

Dr. Baldwin then raised what he admitted was a rather embarrassing question. He stressed that it was in no way a reflection on the President’s handling of the day’s business, which had been excellent; but he suggested that the Administrative Committee might like to consider the timing in the meeting of the changeover between the out-going and new President. Judging from his own experience three years ago, be thought it might be advantageous if the handover were deferred until the end of the meeting. His remarks were endorsed by Mr. Corby, who also complimented Mr. Groome on his conduct of the meeting. Mr. Groome said the committee would indeed consider the point.

He then thanked, on behalf of the Council, all those who had contributed to a most successful and enjoyable weekend in Somerset, from the Bishops of Wells and Taunton to those in the parishes they had visited, the Association’s organising committee, and others too many to name (applause).

He declared the meeting closed at 6.20.

The Ringing World, July 13, 1990, pages 675 to 686

Report on Overseas Liaison for 1989

The Ringing World, Ringing Towers (ANZAB), The Clapper (NAGCR), S A Ringing Circle (S A Guild), Look-to (Zimbabwe Guild), were all perused for much of the material contained in this Report. Correspondence received from several areas, press and magazine notes provided material content, too. If any special items appear to have been omitted, sincere apologies are tendered to those parties concerned. The cause is due to information not being received, or through being inadvertently missed.

Due acknowledgement is made to the editors of the above-mentioned publications and to the several correspondents for the use of their material, with gratitude to them.

Council meeting at Birmingham

The most important event which took place at the Birmingham meeting as far as Overseas ringers was concerned was the election of the South African Guild as members of the Council, thus completing the association of bell-ringers in every tower throughout the world with the great family of ringers affiliated to the Central Council. It was praiseworthy that every Overseas society was represented at the Birmingham meeting. These representatives will, of course, have reported on the meeting itself to their respective guilds.

The Overseas display highlighted the South African ringing because of their application for affiliation which was included in the agenda of the meeting. It consisted of photographs of each tower and other material of a historical nature, kindly provided by the Guild’s indefatigable chairman, Mrs. Jane M. Webster.

The design of the University of W. Australia’s new tower to contain a ring of 16 bells, kindly supplied by Laith Reynolds, was also displayed, as were press cuttings relating to the installation of the bells of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, and the new ring in St. Bartholomew’s, Burnley.

Communications

It is encouraging to note that visitors from the U.K. were made so welcome in all Overseas areas, where it is hoped some mutual benefits were obtained by both visited and visitors. Again, we read of several Overseas ringers appearing in these islands, some of whom took part in quarter-peals and peals. Such personal contacts do much to bring closer ringers at home and abroad. Long may it continue.

“Newsletters” and personal letters to Overseas contacts by the Overseas Liaison continued unabated during the year, and the replies and letters received have been most graciously welcome. Many personal friendships have been formed and such means of communication hopefully ensure that Overseas ringers are not forgotten. It would be impossible for the Liaison officer to write to each ringer, so the editors of the Overseas Guilds newsletters and journals has been the means of ensuring that every ringer is kept in touch with “home”. The Clapper and S A Ringing Circle reproduce Overseas Newsletters in full, and Ringing Towers give appropriate abstracts. Look-to also will include extracts. May I say “thank you” to the respective editors for their kindness in ensuring that their readers know we think about them?

The Ringing World regularly includes accounts of Overseas ringers meeting and other events, along with accompanying photographs. Both the Transvaal and the South African guilds have expressed their appreciation and gratitude for this excellent coverage, which keeps us at “home” fully informed of what is going on abroad.

Additional rings of bells, augmentations and restorations

The one thing which bellringers have uppermost in their minds is the provision of more bells for ringing. It is therefore very encouraging to read of new installations being provided in places outside of the British Isles. We also read about restorations of existing rings. All of this adds up to keenness Overseas to extend the Art in the respective areas.

In Australia, a new ring was dedicated at St. Bartholomew’s, Burnley. It consists of an 8-bell chime with six hung for ringing. St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, finally received its 12th bell. A new installation is being provided at St. James’, Gardenville. The completion of the University of WA tower is awaited so that the 16 bells may be installed. We also learn of other possible rings and hopefully there will be something positive to report in 1990 about them.

Over in New Zealand, consideration was given to the possible restoration of unringable bells, but nothing positive seems possible in these cases. It is understood that the St. Paul’s Church, Papanui, as well as its tower, may have to be demolished, which means the likelihood of one ring less in those islands. Hopefully, the bells will soon be heard again in New Zealand in a new tower, should the demolition take place.

Linda Woodford of Boston was busy in September/October refurbishing the bells of Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver, which resulted in a “better go” of the installation.

Encouraging news comes from S. Africa. We understand that the Dean of Bloemfontein has commissioned a feasibility study for a prospective ring of bells in his Cathedral. The S A Guild have offered to train a team of ringers should the study bear fruit. Hopefully their encouragement will bear fruit. We also learn that the Guild’s officers have their “ears to the ground” and are watching possible developments in one or two other places where consideration is being given to the provision of rings of bells. They are deserving of our moral support in difficult situations.

Grahamstown Cathedral with the oldest ring in South Africa has sought estimates for a new steel bell-frame to replace the original timber one. Its condition is such that the ringing of all of the bells has been restricted. If the project goes ahead, an appeal for funds is proposed, and hopefully it will be supported to the extent that the restoration of the full ring will be realised in the near future. Local ringers, however, are in the process of executing major repairs to the bell fittings, including the installation of ball-bearings.

An inspection was carried out by Allen Nunley of the ring of six bells at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Abilene, Texas, after some adjustments were made to the clappers. The survey showed that upon ringing the bells, all except No. 5 were still clappering, and No. 5 swung for some minutes without the clapper striking the bell at all! Some further modifications are necessary to the bell pits, stays and sliders and the rope pulleys, to make full-circle ringing possible with comfort. We hope that these bells will be able to be rung by teams of ringers soon, after the further modifications by the original suppliers have been satisfactorily completed.

It is learned that there is a possibility of an additional ring of bells being installed in the Royal Cathedral, Honolulu, Hawaii. Laith Reynolds’ efforts in this case will, we trust, bring some success. Each bell, it is proposed, will be dedicated to a monarch.

Public relations and publicity

Following a complaint about the ringing of the bells of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, control of the sound from the tower was effected. Consequently it was possible to ring peals on the bells without any effort being made from the public arena to stop them. A special tribute was paid to the Dean, Monsignor L. Johnson, by Jack Cummins, for his generosity in permitting the ringing of frequent peals on the bells.

The Sunday Mail Magazine (Brisbane) provided a two-page spread, and The Sun did a single-page coverage, of articles on bellringing complete with photographs. The results of this publicity has been requests being made to the ringers in Brisbane to give talks on bells and ringing. Some groups made enquiries about visiting the Cathedral tower. There is a standing invitation to members of the congregation to come up to the ringing room to see the bellringing, and quite a few have accepted the invitation.

Local press photographers were in attendance at the ANZAB Festival held in Hobart in June, and publicity was given to that event.

The Sun presented a photograph of workmen installing the bells in St. Bartholomew’s, Burnley. There was also a write-up about these bells which were cast in Australia.

An appeal brochure, “Ringing the Changes” came to our notice. It related to the bells and tower project at the University of Western Australia, Perth. It included photographs of the old bells of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, after removal from that church, and one of the restored bells. The architects aspects of the tower design, a bell tower appeal and a donation form were included in the brochure.

The Patent World published some notes about the invention of aluminium bells, one of which was on display at a World Fair held in Brisbane.

The Media Center, of Kalamazoo College, has produced a good video documentary about the bells in the Stetson tower, which is to be used for general public relations and recruiting purposes. The center has offered to lend the tape to anyone wishing to see it. This is a commendable exercise.

To-Day’s Chemist wrote an article profiling Geoffrey Davies of Boston, amongst other things, also as a bellringer.

Jeff del Papa had an article about bells with particular reference to change-ringing published in the Boston Early Music News.

The general public were forewarned of the ringing events arranged in connection with the annual meeting of the South African Guild held in Durban. Daily News and the Natal Mercury became involved and gave much publicity to the occasion. Included were photographs of Alan Regin’s peal band and of Eric Webster proudly displaying the striking competition trophy won by the Durban team. The South African Broadcasting Corporation recorded the bells of St. Paul’s Church and interviewed a number of the ringers in attendance, and it was later “sent over the air” in the radio programme “Sunday at Home”. Bellringers travelled from Zimbabwe, Capetown, Transvaal, U.K., Grahamstown and Hong Kong. Due to the advanced publicity, the South African Television Service and the local press all turned up at St. Mary’s, Greyville, prior to the first peal on the ten bells in S. Africa. There was a large gathering at the church too, when the Mayor of Durban welcomed all present and explained that the peal was being dedicated to the memory of the men from Greyville who gave their lives in the First World War. The peal was given extensive coverage in the main TV news, which was all to the good for ringing in Durban.

Jane Gant, as she was then, was interviewed by Monica Fairall for a feature in the Woman’s World.

Both The Berea Mail and the Daily News gave space to the quarter-peal at Greyville to honour Colonel Freddy Hodgson’s 95th birthday. He was photographed with the band and the picture was published. The former also showed the Colonel, along with the Mayor of Durban and the Archdeacon.

The Natal Mercury also presented a photograph of Eric Webster checking the bells to ensure that all was well for them to be rung in the peal at Greyville.

The house magazine of the C G Smith Sugar Ltd., where Jane Webster works, Smithlink, devoted a page to the marriage of Jane Gant to Eric Webster. It included a coloured picture of the bride and ’groom holding a bell-rope in the belfry, and covered each of their experiences in the ringing sphere.

Out of Durban came a video dedicated to bellringing in Durban. The bells of both St. Paul’s and St. Mary’s are to be seen and heard. Also there are interviews with Jane Webster, Jill Laken and Eric Webster. The Zimbabwe contingent which attended the Guild’s A.G.M. are included, too. Those interviewed explain what goes on up in the tower and during the ringing itself. It is a short visual aid, very good and “to the point”.

The Overseas public relations and publicity is praiseworthy and it is evident that the bell-ringers and Guilds in the several areas are very cognisant about keeping the non-ringing public fully informed of ringing events, recruitment and publicising the Art in general. There is proof that the public is interested in what ringers are about and they like to be kept informed; so much so that many will take the trouble to “come along” and see for themselves. The above references to the relations with the general public show what is being done to foster good relations with the listening non-ringers.

In the Ringing Towers two notes of good advice were contained from Jack Cummins of Sydney and from the President of ANZAB, Christopher O’Mahony. The liberty is being taken of reproducing extracts from the references concerned:

Jack Cummins, in his about “How to conduct a tour”, concludes with these words: “Tours encourage good relations with the public and if tower open days on weekends are feasible these are excellent vehicles for recruitment”. Chris O’Mahony, in his President’s Message, says: “We have a responsibility to ourselves, our fellow ringers, and to the community at large, to take due consideration of our unseen listeners. There are some handy hints that can perhaps make our ‘public relations’ effort more effective:

• whenever we ring, we should ring to the best of our ability, always conscious that people outside will be listening.

• if a complaint is received, don’t ignore it. Instead, welcome it as a valuable opportunity to improve public awareness … a friendly visit to the complainer, or inviting the person to the tower, will do much to put them at ease.

• we should be thoughtful and considerate when we ring. In residential areas, practice nights should not go on too long on open bells. Handling lessons and so on should begin on tied or muffled bells. If attempting a peal, consider doing a letter-drop in the local area advising neighbours of the attempt.

• take opportunities to improve the public’s awareness … Try having the occasional ‘open day’, for parishioners and neighbours to see what it’s all about. Aim for a bit of positive reporting in the local newspapers. (N.B. - This can often help with recruiting!)

A thoughtful and responsible attitude to public relations can do much to promote ringing …”

Ringing Courses, Education

John Fielding of Durban, by using the “dumb” practice bells in St. Mary’s belfry to cause them to ring various methods of change-ringing, from a personal computer, constructed a model tower to house the “installation”. The aim of the exercise was firstly to benefit learners and hopefully to improve striking, and secondly, to take the equipment to hobby fairs and local shopping complexes for exhibition purposes and as an aid to raising funds for various purposes. Further, the software and electronic interface circuitry could be made available to owners of personal computers, so that they may have the benefit of John’s expertise.

In connection with the A.G.M. of the S African Guild in Durban, a lecture session was held under the tutorage of Alan Regin and Andrew Bolton. This was followed with a practical demonstration at St. Paul’s Church.

The Transvaal Guild was invited for the third time to present a talk about bellringing, which was supported by a practical session, to the Parktown Heritage body. There were about 100 persons present.

During the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, a special ringing session was arranged in the cathedral, and several visitors to the Festival went up to the ringing room to see the ringers in action.

Ringing courses were held in Melbourne, Australia, in January, at which every tower in Victoria was represented by a total of 48 delegates. It was a very successful occasion. Then in Wangaratta in April a further course took place and it enabled the local ringers to make notable progress. The main Advanced Ringing Course arranged by Philip Goodyer in Adelaide took place during the ANZAB weekend. The success of the weekend was three peals including one of 8-Spliced Surprise Major, and four quarter-peals in Surprise methods. Conductors were A. K. C. Brown, Esther Byers and W. Perrins.

Over in New Zealand a ringing weekend was held in Christ Church, which involved ringers from most of the towers. Advanced methods were practised and many present experienced their “first blows” in new Surprise methods. The weekend was graded as successful.

The Three Towers Festival was held at Trinity Cathedral, Little Rock, in April. The towers represented: Little Rock, Texarkana and Houston. During the weekend more experienced ringers were matched with less experienced ones in order to teach specific topics and skills, including the conducting area. This was the first such Festival in the area, and was a mixture of ringing, companionship, teaching and learning. There were at least two-dozen participants in the activities. The ringers from Raleigh gave a talk at Meredith College on handbell ringing as well as a demonstration of bellringing in the tower for the benefit of the students.

Prior to the Annual General Meeting of the N.A.G., the usual ringing course was held, during which a special training session was incorporated. There were several “firsts” celebrated even for some very experienced ringers.

Publications

Each affiliated society now presents its own journal or newsletter. Of course, the regulars from NAG and ANZAB, The Clapper and Ringing Towers respectively, continue to bring news and articles about ringing and change-ringing. Jessie Ravage, as editor of the American Journal, has produced most interesting items of historical interest, particularly about A. Nicholls and his Passion for Bells. Then Peter Whitehead, as editor of the Australian and New Zealand two-monthly production, has instituted a new format, and he too included interesting historical items. The standard of production of these publications is very high indeed. Zimbabwe for a number of years issues its newsletter, Look-to, and it contains much about the personal activities of its members. The South African Guild has no regular editor for its newsletter, S A Ringing Circle; instead each tower area, including Transvaal Guild, takes it in turn to produce the three-a-year issues. Here again we learn much about what is going on in South Africa, and there is a directory of towers included in each issue.

Notiziario is the periodical of the Associazione Suonatori di Campane a Sistema Veronese, in other words the “Ringing World” of Italian bellringers. It includes some interesting articles on Italian ringing, and in each issue there is at least one item of particular interest to the young bellringers. The Verona Guild, along with the Veneto, published pamphlets in Italian language under the title Mostra Storico - documentaria Arte Campanaria. They dealt with the Veronese demonstration of ringing held from 26th-29th August.

Where would we all be without The Ringing World, which unites all ringers, with news from at home and abroad. Photographs and reports of Overseas meetings appear regularly, and such appearances are appreciated by ringers everywhere.

Meetings

A decision was made at the Annual Meeting of the Christ Church Society in New Zealand, held in March, not to proceed with the provision of an additional treble bell in the Cathedral tower.

Hobart was the venue for the annual ringing festival and general meeting of ANZAB in June. Whilst in Houston, U.S.A., the annual meeting of NAGCR was held in September. Advantage of its proximity to the Johnson Space Center was to organise a tour to it. At this meeting, Marie Cross, Hon. Life Member, was the recipient of the Guild’s appreciation for her accomplishments in advancing change-ringing, and teaching and training ringers in so many towers. A Quebec weekend took place in May, when ringing at both towers was held. The first live striking competition ever held in America materialised at Raleigh in May. There were five teams competing and the trophy was won by Philadelphia. Results - improved striking.

A weekend of quarter-peal attempts and general practice was held in Kalamazoo College in February. In two days seven quarters were successful in the methods Rutland S. Major, 3-Spliced S. Major, etc., with several “firsts” - a worthwhile exercise.

The Zimbabwe Guild held its annual meeting in February, and the half-yearly meeting took place in Kwe-Kwe in July. At the latter an intensive learner session was held on both tower- and handbells.

Durban, R.S.A., was the venue for the first Annual General Meeting of the South Africa Guild at the end of June. During the weekend the contest for the Belgotex Shield took place and it was won by the “home” team, amidst great rejoicing.

At the quarterly meeting of the Transvaal Guild in May, a meeting of the Parktown Heritage was also being held at the Cathedral for a guided tour. So Steve Barton conducted a guided tour and gave a talk about the art and science of bellringing, aided with handbells.

Peals and quarter-peals

In the league of quarter-peal ringers for the year 1989 which appeared in The Ringing World, it was pleasing to note that the names of four Overseas ringers were included, namely: Esther Byers (96), Don Morrison (79), Valerie Stone (75) and Michael Stone (64). Congratulations!

For 1988, it was officially recorded that 108 peals were successful in Australia, being 10 more than we included in the table appended to last year’s Overseas Report. In fact, it was after that report was typed that the deficient peals appeared in print. This number was the largest ever recorded by an Overseas society in any year and, of course, it was related to the bi-centennial year celebrations.

During the year a peal of Doubles was rung on the back five of Adelaide Cathedral and it was claimed to be the “heaviest” peal yet rung on five bells. Also at the same tower, an all-ladies’ band scored the first by the “fair” sex of a quarter-peal of Grandsire Triples on the bells. In Sydney, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, a peal of 25-Spliced Surprise Major was rung, thus regaining the ANZAB record for them. The first peal of Spliced Surprise Royal in 3 methods at Christ Church, St. Laurence, Sydney was successful for ANZAB and at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, the resident band scored a quarter-peal of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus, being the first as such by a resident band in Australia. Two towers scored more than 25 quarter peals, namely St. Mary’s Cathedral (30) and St. Andrew’s Cathedral (28), both in Sydney. Many of them were in Surprise methods.

Over in New Zealand, two towers exceeded 25 quarter-peals in 1989. They were Auckland with 38 and Hamilton 28. Those in Auckland included a number of Surprise Major; and although Hamilton did have some Surprise quarters, their efforts were mainly in Plain methods.

Top American tower was Boston, Advent Church, with 49 quarters, with a number of Surprise Major and multi-method Surprise Minor attempts.

The table shows the number of quarter-peals and peals, in both hand and tower, for each country, based on recorded information up to and including 16th March 1990.

Miscellaneous Notes

Australia - A letter from Elizabeth Bleby in The Ringing World made very good sense. Its theme was “Quality rather than Quantity” in relation to the standard of ringing in peals and quarter-peals in particular, and ordinary ringing in general. Regret and tributes were paid to Ken Stacey, Captain of Turramurra for very many years, who died in May. He did much for bellringing in Australia and in his own tower in particular. Although the band at St. Andrew’s, Brisbane, had been in operation for eight months, the local ringers made such good progress that at the request of the Rector they rang a quarter-peal before the 21st annual service for Meals on Wheels Organisation.

Canada - An international band of ringers scored a peal of P.B. Royal at Victoria Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral. This tower is in a healthy state with more ringers than bells. Learners are given every encouragement to advance in change-ringing.

Italy - As ever, the Italian scene has been one of great activity. There were many local meetings and competitions for all grades of ringing, including those for young bands, as well as for more experienced ringers. All representatives attended the Council meeting in Birmingham and were accompanied by a number of “observers”. The raduno at Castelnovo ne’ Monte was a huge success with six ringing systems being demonstrated, as well as the Veronese mobile tower which was manned by three English and three Italian ringers. Tune-ringing on handbells by the Italian team appeared at the raduno for the first time. Another important event at which bells of the mobile tower were rung was the visit of the Premier, Sig. Andreotti, to Bozzolo in Mantova. In conjunction with the Education Committee, a bi-annual exchange of courses is being considered for the not-too-distant future. At the end of the year Giancarlo Tommasi with relatives and friends came to England, and although outside the scope of this report, he rang the tenor for a quarter-peal of Doubles, being the first Italian ringer to do so. This took place on 3rd January 1990.

Kilifi - No indication that any progress has been made to put bells into ringable condition.

Lahore - It seems that there is nothing doing here, in spite of efforts to organise a visit by a touring band of ringers.

New Zealand - A party of ringers from Christ Church and Auckland went on a coach tour to Dunedin and there they rang four quarter-peals, which included some of the local ringers, during the weekend of 30th September. Auckland and Hamilton societies organised a North Island quarter-peal day in Hamilton and succeeded in ringing three quarters of Major, in Cambridge, D.N.C.B. and Spliced P. and L. Bob.

South Africa - We are very fortunate to have such a genius with computers as John Fielding, who has produced simulation of bell-ringing. During the year, Mike Palmer, a great stalwart of Woodstock tower, died, to the great regret of his many friends in Capetown, and elsewhere. John Hill of Parktown scored his 531st peal at his home tower on the 40th anniversary of his first peal, being P.B. Major. Congratulations! The 95th birthday of Col. Freddy Hodgson of Durban was marked with a quarter-peal at St. Mary’s, Greyville. He was photographed with the band. It was a red-letter day on 19th August in Durban, when two prominent ringers were married. To Eric and Jane (Gant) Webster, best wishes for future happiness. The annual dinner of the Transvaal Guild was held in October, when visitors joined them from the U.K. and Zimbabwe. Six teams competed in the striking contest in Durban for the Belgotex Shield, which was won by a visiting Overseas team, who sportingly waived their rights, in favour of the Durban team who were only 3 points behind them. At a ringers’ service held in St. George’s, Parktown, peal boards and a new set of 27 handbells were dedicated.

U.S.A. - Some of the Boston ringers attended Groton College, at the request of the college, so that they would ring the Groton bells at the end of term. The opportunity was taken to assist local ringers with Plain Hunting. A party of eight ringers crossed the Atlantic, to be centred in Preston, Lancs. In 11 days, 60 towers were visited. They received a welcome from the Chairman of the Lancashire Tourism Committee and were interviewed for the press and radio.

Zimbabwe - Apart from the half-yearly meeting, visits were made on a number of occasions to Kwe-Kwe to assist and encourage the local ringers. Change-ringing makes great strides with several firsts in methods - Stedman, P. Bob, Cambridge S. and Kent T.B., as well as with multi-methods. Three of our members drove to Durban for the A.G.M. of the S. African Guild, and with some assistance entered for the striking contest and did not finish “last”. The A.G. Meeting was held in February and the half-yearly meeting was in July. At the latter intensive learner sessions took place.

THANKS: To the individual ringers Overseas, a sincere thank you for keeping the bells ringing. Also to the officers of the bellringing Guilds for their enthusiasm in organising events and bringing together ringers for meetings and practices in order to teach and advance in change-ringing, we express our gratitude.

Much time and energy is put into seeing that the various Journals and Newsletters are issued regularly. The editors concerned deserve our thoughts and support in their onerous tasks, for the benefit of their readers in particular and for Overseas ringing in general. Take away these publications and the cohesion would disintegrate: much depends on these willing workers on your behalf, so they deserve more than our thanks.

The prime binding force for news from Overseas is, of course, The Ringing World, whose editor is ever willing to include reports and photographs sent from abroad for our interest at home. During 1989 there were at least 98 references to Overseas ringing, apart from all the quarter-peals and peals reported. Thanks, David!

Personal letters to and from officers and individual ringers continue to flow; they always have something of interest about the respective places and such friendly correspondence is much appreciated.

That great friend of Italian ringing and ringers, George Morris of Malvern Link, is ever ready to keep the writer informed about that area. It is upon his reports that the references to Italian affairs included in this Report are based. I now acknowledge with gratitude that debt to George.

A sincere thank you is expressed to each and every one concerned with ringing Overseas from the Central Council in general, and from the Public Relations Committee in particular.

FRED E. DUKES,
Overseas Liaison

Meadow Cottage,
Whitecross, Drogheda,
Co. Louth, Ireland

The Ringing World, May 11, 1990, pages 459 to 462

THE RINGING WORLD LIMITED

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Very few major changes have occurred in 1989 and the year is perhaps best described as one of consolidation. A satisfactory financial position is recorded with a very close correlation to the year’s budget.

The setting of quarter peals by our team of outworkers continues and has now been extended inasmuch as some pages of peals are being set in this manner. Our thanks go to Frank Price for his work in getting this system under way. A remark made in my verbal report at last year’s AGM led to a mutually successful co-production of the 1990 calendar between the Bath and Wells Association and The Ringing World. At the time of writing this report discussions are taking place with other Guilds regarding a similar venture in 1991.

The numbers of peals and quarter peals submitted for publication continue to rise. This entails a considerable effort on the part of our staff to keep the paper up to date and our thanks and appreciation are due to David and Anne for their hard work throughout the year.

In its third year the Ringing World Diary has now settled down as a regular feature. Sales have levelled out at just under 7000 copies and whilst no dramatic changes are envisaged we continue to review the features within the Diary arid update and change as required.

Towards the end of the year there were indications that a harsher economic climate was beginning to affect some of our readers and that a potential saving was their subscription to the paper. We are extremely conscious of our need to keep costs to a minimum. We remain convinced that a weekly, 24 page, specialist journal with little recourse to profitable advertising copy is still, by the standard ringer’s yardstick of well under the cost of a pint of beer, remarkably good value. Our request to you, the members of the company, is to get this message over to our potential readership and actively encourage support for The Ringing World.

H.W. Egglestone

Unpublished