A big piece of work going on at the moment is revisiting the Strategic Priorities, with the wider team of the Council’s Executive members and Workgroup leaders putting their heads together. I think I reported on the meeting we had in Oxford just before Christmas when we were particularly considering how the existing SPs fit in which the Ringing 2030 project. I have now created a page, linked from the front page of the CC website specifically for Ringing 2030.

At the Oxford meeting we decided we needed a new strategic plan and we have already had the first of three meetings to develop it. The first meeting was focused on one of the three ‘legs’ or ‘pillars’ of the strategy – how we can raise awareness of, promote, and market ringing, generating demand of people wanting to learn. To an extent we have started with that one already with the branding project and appointment of Yellowyoyo, but we were also considering the follow-on work, and what we can commit to achieving in the next three years.

Moseley is looking forward to hosting a National Call Change Competition, supported by the CCCBR, on Saturday 3 June (photo credit: Jonathan Thorne). This is intended to be for bands who are practicing call change ringing, just as they do in Devon and the South West. Full details of the competition will appear in next week’s Ringing World, but I can reveal that the test piece will include ringing up, 60 on 3rds and ringing down, all in one continuous stream. There will be some differences to how Devon competitions work to make it more accessible to less experienced bands, for instance limiting the damage that can be done in the raise and lower. Expressions of interest should be sent to me, and the exact format will depend on how many bands want to enter. It should be a complete day out, with a beer tent, and other towers available.

When I lived in Jersey, ‘Plough Sunday’ was a feature of the calendar at St John’s Church, when there would be a parade of various farm animals during the service (the geese were the best). They would receive a blessing before being ushered out followed by nervous cleaners. I don’t suppose this is unique to Jersey, and other rural parishes probably celebrate Plough Sunday as well. Other groups have named Sundays in order to influence church worship. The RSCM promotes ‘Music Sunday’ encouraging churches to focus on the role music plays (and share their collections with the RSCM it seems).

So with the help of the Clerical Guild we are instigating Bell Sunday! It will be Sunday 14 May, the Sunday before St Dunstan’s Day, the Patron Saint of Bell Ringers. The intention of Bell Sunday is twofold. Firstly, it will be an opportunity for us to get the rest of our churches and congregations more aware of and interested in their bells and ringers. Secondly it can be an opportunity for church congregations to acknowledge the contribution of bell ringers to the life of the church community and thank them for it.

We are going to be developing various ideas and resources that can be used, just like the RSCM has. One thing is hymns. We’ve probably all sung “Unchanging God Who Livest” but what else is there? I sang a great one at the Devon Major Final last year which stuck in my head for a week. Apparently there is one in the Hereford? If you know of any other specific ringers hymns or prayers either send them to me or Max Drinkwater of the Clerical Guild.

Bell Sunday was just one of the many things that was discussed at the last meeting of the PR Workgroup, which I attend as its Executive Sponsor. (Each Workgroup has a member of the Executive as their ‘sponsor’ who takes particular interesting the Workgroup’s activities). The PR Workgroup is also working on such things as a generic PowerPoint presentation for those who want to do a talk on ringing to their community, a series of professionally filmed ringing videos, another ‘PR Matters Day’, and a collection / playlist of all the recent media coverage of ringing.

ART has got its new Chair lined up, with Andrew Slade taking over from Lesley Belcher at their March AGM. I had planned to go up and see Andrew on his home patch of Richmond in Yorkshire, but he spared me the journey when he turned up at my home tower on a recent Sunday morning and we were able to have our first chat in a Birmingham coffee shop. We are likely to work together closely on the NHLF bid in the next couple of months. I am looking forward to going to the ART Conference with quite a selection of hats on.

We have been putting some thought into whether anything can be done to address imbalance in male and female conducting. It is a fact that peal ringing in particular is dominated by male conductors and as I get to see the ringing world through the lens of a 15 year old girl as well as my own, that represents a lack of role models (“if you can’t see it you can’t be it”). Quarter peal land looks a bit different with a few more key prolific conductors. Some ideas will be forthcoming once they have been tested on small audiences.

I am used to taking the rough with the smooth in this job, and when a friend collared me towards the end of an alcohol-fuelled social darts evening and said “who’s responsible for the Resources section of the Central Council website” my heart sank, my defences went up, and I mis-heard the next two words “it’s mint!” (Check out mint in the urban dictionary). There followed a stream of compliments for the technical resources in particular. So that made me happy and made up for me not even being the highest placed darts player in my own family.

Simon Linford
President CCCBR