Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers

Because of changes at our website hosting company the forwarding of emails addressed to committeeofficer@sacbr.org.uk is not possible at this time. The webmaster is working on finding a solution. Until then please address enquiries to our secretary, Sue Dancey [ ].

Five learners attended the Association’s first Training Morning of the year. Gill Glover led the training with assistance from eleven other ringers. Refreshments, including home-made cookies, were available throughout the morning. The ringing included lots of rounds, call changes, plain hunt on 5, and Plain Bob Doubles. There was also Stedman Triples for the more experienced ringers.

Thanks go to all those who helped make this event so enjoyable.

The next Association Training Morning is scheduled for 17 May, from 10am to 12:30pm, at Meole Brace. Please contact Gill Glover [ ] if you are interested in attending.

The next Wednesday morning practice is scheduled for Wednesday 19 March 2025, at Lilleshall from 10:00am to 12:30pm. A donation of £2 is requested to cover the use of the bells.

The church is hosting a coffee morning at the same time as our practice, so tea / coffee and refreshments will be able for an additional donation.

Please let Matt Lawrence [ ] know if you are planning to attend, so that he can make sure that there are enough ringers to make this a viable practice.

The March 2025 Newsletter, which has a report of the New Members' Morning, and details of some upcoming Association events, including a Young Ringers' Get Together on 5 April, can be read and downloaded here.

Congratulations to Jenny Gray who has rung her first quarter peal.

All new (and newish) members of the Association were invited to get together at Lilleshall to meet other new members and the Association committee. The practice was directed by Gill Glover, with a lot of help from other experienced ringers. The towers represented at the practice included Calverhall, Forton, Newport, Oswestry, Shawbury, Meole Brace, Dawley, and Tibberton. Most of the ringing was rounds, call changes, and plain hunt. Those who needed a bit of extra assistance were helped by experienced ringers.

Members who had been elected at the 2025 AGM were able to collect their New Member packs. Tea, coffee and delicious baked goods were available throughout the morning. The Association’s box of Books for Ringers, and items of Association clothing were available for perusal.

Thanks go to all those who helped make this event so enjoyable

The new Association Rules, approved at the recent AGM, are now to be found by clicking the link on the left.

Some of the items from the Central Council that were avaialble on this page have now moved to the Links page. The items that have been moved are Index of YouTube Videos, "Calling It Round", Tower Access Guidance Notes, and Belfry Upkeep

The Church of England has been working on an updated framework for Safeguarding training within the church. Dave Bassford (CCCBR Safeguarding Officer) and The Ringing World have given the Shropshire Association permission to include on this website an article written by Dave and appearing in the 21 January 2022 issue of The Ringing World.

In this article Dave explains that all ringers must take the Basic Awareness training (formerly C0). This is free, done online, takes about an hour to complete, and must be renewed every three years.

The Lichfield Diocese requires Tower Captains and those ringers in a role which involves work with children, young people or adults at risk, to also take the Foundation training (formerly C1), but not the Leadership training.

The trainings can be accessed by going to https://safeguardingtraining.cofeportal.org/.

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers has issued three documents about its work, volunteering with the Central Council, and what it means to be a Central Council Representative.

Those documents can be read and downloaded here:
What's the point of the Central Council.pdf,
Volunteering with the Central Council.pdf,
What does being a Central Council Rep mean?

We can now offer members a range of items embroidered with the SACBR logo. These are embroidered to order: contact Biff Patterson [ ] for details or to place an order.

COLOUR
The background colour for ‘corporate’ events is burgundy (as shown) but feel free to choose a different background for personal use. Check availability but navy or black are obvious options.

PRICES
Short sleeve polo shirt £15.
Long sleeve polo shirt £20.
Sweat shirt £20.
Full zip-front fleece £25.

SIZING – READ CAREFULLY PLEASE
The polo shirts are pure cotton, wash very well, BUT are skimpy. Biff suggests going up one or even two sizes on what you would normally select. Available in standard rectangular shape, quite long in the body. Choose from M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL.

Are you looking for some practical, written help for yourself or your tower but don’t know what is out there? If so, Books for Bellringers may be what you need. It is a small collection of books aimed mostly at beginners but with some material for those learning methods. Towers can borrow the collection for a period of up to two months so that everyone has a chance to see what they might find useful. Individuals or towers can order copies of the books using the details in the catalogue supplied.

If you would like to borrow the collection please contact Gill Glover [] .

The next Association committee meeting will be held on Sunday, 9 March 2025.