Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers

The next Wednesday morning practice is scheduled for Wednesday 27 November, 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 November Newsletter, which contains a report of the ceilidh, can be read and downloaded here.

The Shropshire Association’s October practice and Quarterly meeting were held at Moreton Corbet. The practice was directed by Tony Freemont and included call changes, Plain Bob Doubles, Grandsire Doubles, St Simon’s Bob Doubles, and Cambridge Surprise Minor.

The meeting was directed by Sue Dancey.

David Beckwith gave the Treasurer’s report. The balance in the General Fund was £3473.86, and the balance in the Bell Restoration Fund (BRF) was £42119.81. A grant of £7978.00 had been made to Moreton Corbet. Expenses from the General Fund had included attendance at the Central Council AGM, and the website subscription.

Sue brought the proposed changes to the Association Rules to the attention of those present. Any changes to the Rules will be voted on at the AGM in January. Please contact any Association committee member if you would like to discuss the proposals further.

Ann Williams gave an appreciation of the life of Don Lawson who was a member of the Association in the 1970s. Ann also talked about the Centenary dinner, which will take place on Friday 15 May 2026 at Hawkstone Park Hotel. The room for the meal has been booked, a bar will be available, and Simon Linford (former Central Council President) will be the speaker.

Paul Lewis and Ann Williams spoke about the Central Council (CC) and Ringing World AGMs that they had attended. The CC library has moved from Worthen to Loughborough; the National Ringing Centre project has been halted; the CC AGM will be in Sheffield in 2025 and Coventry in 2026. The CC affiliation fee would rise from about £0.20 per person to £1 per person in two years’ time. The number of churches with bells which could close within the next 10 years was estimated to be between 10% and 20%. To be aware of any potential church closures (and possible non-access to the bells) it is suggested that a ringer become a member of the PCC. Associations should consider carefully BRF requests and the closure risk of the church involved. It was also suggested that Associations work closely with the Diocesan Bell Adviser.

Vicki reminded everyone about the ceilidh on 19 October. There are still some tickets available.

Tony Freemont spoke about the Lichfield Diocese’s Safeguarding policy. Previously it was expected that Tower Captains and those with Training responsibilities would do levels 1 and 2 training. Now it seems that Lichfield Diocese requires Tower Captains to do levels 1, 2, and 3, and ringers to do level 1 training. Tony has raised the issue of ringers being expected to take Safeguarding training but parishioners do not.

The raffle raised £51 for the BRF. The winners of confectionery, alcohol, and fruit are Paul Heminsley, Paul Lewis, Adrian Roberts, Tony Freemont and Madeline Harris.

The draw for the 100+ Club was held and the winners are Nick Byne (£50), Derek Dancey (£25), and Keith Atkey (£15).

The next quarterly meeting will be held on Saturday 11 January 2025, at Ellesmere, and will be followed by the AGM.

The Stewardship & Management Workgroup of the Central Council are pleased to announce Belfry Upkeep, an online document aimed at the Steeple Keeper – the person responsible for keeping the bells in order.

• To help you understand the installation in your tower.
• To describe the checks you should carry out to identify any problems.
• To advise you on the maintenance tasks that you should be able to carry out, possibly with expert advice or assistance.
• Most importantly, to help you recognise the tasks that require specialist knowledge from a Bell Hanger or other expert

The document can be found at https://belfryupkeep.cccbr.org.uk

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 has issued a new publication focused on the first steps in calling and conducting from any bell. The publication has been written by Bryn Marie Reinstadler and is free and available at
https://callingitround.cccbr.org.uk/

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?

The Central Council has put together a list of training webinars and videos which have been recorded and posted on YouTube.

https://cccbr.org.uk/youtube-index/

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
Polo shirts, as worn by those manning the Lichfield Diocesan Mobile Belfry at Newport Show, £15. Biff has one lady-fit medium in stock. If you would normally buy small, this is for you.
Sweat shirts £17.50 Rugby shirts £25.
If you supply a garment it can be embroidered for a cost of £6.

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 (men or unisex), quite long in the body; or lady-fit, which is shorter and more shaped. Choose from M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL.
Sweat shirts are only available unisex: S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL.
Rugby shirts are available in men’s or women’s: S, 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 me at: or telephone 01939 291014.

The Towers and Belfries Committee of the Central Council has produced some guidance notes on the various ways we access towers. The notes cover the condition of stairs and ladders; handholds; lighting; doorways and trap doors; and some potential hazards.

The notes can be found at, and downloaded from, https://cccbr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/stairways.pdf

The next Association committee meeting will be held on Sunday, 15 December 2024.