Dear Friends,
The last year has been one of intense activity and opportunity. Special ringing has been to the fore, with much media coverage, and particular efforts made for the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II and for the opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The ringing of bells has been demonstrated to an international audience to be a part of the British culture and way of life, and an amount of recruitment has taken place to train new ringers in time for these events, although not so concerted a drive as was made for the Millennium celebrations. The recruiting and training of ringers remains a priority, and I am encouraged by the numbers of members elected at District meetings. We all have some responsibility in welcoming them into a band or wider ringing group, and encouraging them in their progress. Bell ringing has a dual basis: marking national and civic occasions, and ringing for the services of the Church. Our Guild has the prime object of promoting the latter, and is couched in the wording of the nineteenth-century belfry reform movement, but it is generally recognized that both secular and sacred aspirations can happily co-exist.
There is a school of thought that ringers are retained most effectively when they receive good teaching and feel a part of a thriving group. I am always concerned when I observe ringers whose progress in change ringing appears to be hampered by uncorrected handling faults. Indeed, a recurrent topic of discussion introduced by delegates at District Officers’ Forums has centred on Teaching the Teachers, and how the general standard of teaching, particularly of bell handing, might be improved. In response to this the Education Committee organized an extra day course in the summer on Teaching Bell Handling, ably led by Sallie Ingram. Also, an ITTS Module One course on the same subject, the first in the Guild’s territory, was led by Pip Penney in the late autumn. Both were fully subscribed, and helped new and existing teachers develop their skills. With regard to the ITTS programme, it appears that nationally it has gained sufficient momentum and organisation to have the critical mass to be a self-sustaining operation. It continues to develop and refine its work, and the management and accreditation body ART (the Association of Ringing Teachers) has recently held its first Annual General Meeting. The ART website now has an informative information pack available to download which I commend to you.
I am coming to the end of my second term of office as Guild Master, and a new Master, along with other Officers, will need to be elected at the Annual General Meeting, to be hosted by the Channel Islands District in Jersey on 6 July. Please consider taking a break in the Channel Islands in the first week in July: apart from the natural attractions of the Islands themselves, all seven rings of bells in the District are expected to be available. I was a resident of the Channel Islands for six years myself, during which time I became Master. Since then I have had the pleasure of ringing with many of you at practices and other events, and of being with you at numerous meetings and on Education Days. I thank my fellow Officers and Committee members for all their commitment and work, and I thank you all for your hospitality and support on so many occasions.
Enjoy your ringing!
David A Strong