What is great in this job is when stuff happens without me needing to do any work. Arrangements for the 2023 Council meeting in Ipswich in September are a case in point, with the local team well up to speed. Meeting venue sorted, towers for the Friday booked (ringing development sessions with local ringers like last year), Saturday evening social event with local CAMRA input 😊, service ringing, Sunday workshop programme being developed. All looking good. I managed to slip some running onto the agenda for Sunday morning, after the invitation to “Run with the President” in Nottingham received a grand total of no takers. Although this time on Sunday morning I won’t actually be President, so my successor had better bring their trainers.

We had a very good call with the CofE’s national safeguarding lead, with two Diocesan Safeguarding Advisers supporting our case for tailored safeguarding training for bellringers. The position we have got to now is a clear appetite for incorporating activity-specific questions and scenarios into the CofE’s safeguarding training, with ringing being the first activity to be considered (recognising that we are a very numerous special case). We are being asked to develop ringing specific case studies to be incorporated into the training to make it much more relevant to us. A core group will be assembled to develop these scenarios and associated questions by autumn – let me know if you’d like to be in a wider group reviewing / inputting into this material.

The appointment of Simon Ridley as one of the Council Safeguarding Officers alongside Helen Fuller-Whelan means Ann White has finally been able to stand down. Ann White and Dave Bassford spent a good few years in the role and we are grateful for their hard work.

Last time I reported on the work we are doing developing a new strategic plan to make sure we are focusing on the right things to achieve the vision of Ringing 2030. Last week we had our second meeting considering the three ‘legs’ or ‘pillars’ of the strategy (we still haven’t decided which word to use) – how we can support local and regional structures to recruit potential new ringers and attract lapsed ringers back to ringing, then ensure their expectations are met as they progress. If we are successful in increasing the profile of ringing and making more people keen to learn, meeting their expectations will be a challenge.

I was helping teach a couple of learners two weeks ago and I asked what had attracted them to ringing. They said they had been in the car just after Christmas, heard about the shortage of ringers on the radio, thought it sounded like something new for them to do, got home to Birmingham where a Google search quickly found the St Martin’s Guild and the School, and within a month they were enrolled for their first block of 10 lessons (paid for in advance). So that is an example of the process working, and of people being willing to pay to learn to ring if the set up looks professional enough. There are lots of places where someone wanting to learn will find a good teacher and welcoming environment but there is much work to be done to make this a uniform experience.

This Friday (today for print edition) we have the first in person session with Yellowyoyo starting to brief them on what ringing is all about so they can start considering how we present and market ringing. They have done their own research and we have had some online sessions, but this is a full-on coffee-fuelled workshop. 30 people were involved in earlier sessions but now we have six of us in the workshop, including Katie Lane and Andrew Kelso (Masters of the ODG and Essex Association respectively), Tristan Lockheart from Leeds Uni, Elva Ainsworth, Vicki Chapman and me.

What if artificial intelligence (AI) was applied to the question of how best to market ringing? Ben Meyer asked ChatGPT for the benefits of change ringing, and the resultant answer is included at the foot of this blog. (If you have not heard of ChatGPT yet, it is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot. Those at school and university will be well aware of it as it is greatly reducing the amount of time needed to write essays.)

ChatGPT’s answer is what AI learns from what is on the internet anyway. I think it starts off well, but I wasn’t really sure about “It is a meditative activity that can help to reduce stress and improve mental well-being.” I wore a heart rate monitor to a particularly hairy peal of spliced recently and there was absolutely no evidence of it being meditative or stress reducing!

My local band joined the increasing number of bands ringing extents as a piece of ringing – long enough to achieve something useful or be a target, but without going on to ring a quarter. We rang one on meeting just six for morning service, and would have rung it the previous week had it not been for an irrecoverable difference of opinion as to what happens at a single. I have always thought it a bit odd that we take an extent of Minor, then add 540 changes to turn it into something that is a quarter of something else. There were old boards for 720s on the wall at Cannock when I learned to ring, and I saw a historic board at Taunton recently marking a 120, which must have been a significant achievement at the time.

Finally, I am encouraged to have had the first expressions of interest in the National Call Change Competition, which now has its own website with more details. A couple of local bands and a couple making the trek up from Devon. There is until 28^th February to express interest and you can read all about it here https://nccc.cccbr.org.uk/

Simon Linford
President CCCBR

The Benefits of Change Ringing (according to ChatGPT

Change ringing is a traditional English bell ringing method, in which bells are rung in a set sequence, with each bell being rung in a different order for each sequence. Change ringing is considered a form of exercise for the mind and body, as it requires coordination, concentration, and mental focus.

Physical exercise: Change ringing is a form of physical exercise that works the whole body. The bellringers use their arms, shoulders, back and legs to pull the ropes and control the bell’s motion. This type of exercise can help to improve cardiovascular health, increase muscle strength and endurance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Mental exercise: Change ringing requires a high level of concentration, mental focus, and problem-solving skills. Ringers must remember the sequence of the bell ringing and make decisions quickly to ensure that they are ringing the bell at the right time. This mental exercise can help to improve memory, cognitive function, and problem-solving skills.

Social interaction: Change ringing is a social activity that brings people together. Bellringers often form close-knit communities and bond over the shared experience of ringing the bells. This social interaction can help to reduce stress and improve mental well-being.

Sense of accomplishment: Change ringing is a challenging activity that requires skill and practice to master. Once a ringer has mastered the art of change ringing, they will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in their abilities. This sense of accomplishment can boost self-confidence and self-esteem.

Sense of tradition: Change ringing is a tradition that has been passed down for centuries. Bellringers often feel a sense of connection to the past and a sense of preserving a tradition that is important to their community. This sense of tradition can give a person a sense of purpose and belonging.

Stress relief: Change ringing is a meditative activity that allows a person to focus on the present moment and forget about their worries. The repetitive motions and the sound of the bells can help to create a sense of calm and tranquillity. This can help to reduce stress and improve mental well-being.

Teamwork: Change ringing is a team activity that requires coordination and communication. Bellringers must work together to ring the bells in the correct sequence and in time with one another. This teamwork can help to build trust and improve relationships among the bellringers.

Community service: Change ringing is often used to mark special occasions and events within the community. By ringing the bells, bellringers are providing a service to the community and contributing to its cultural heritage. This can give a person a sense of purpose and satisfaction.

In conclusion, change ringing offers many personal benefits, both physical and mental. It is an activity that requires skill and practice to master, which can help to boost self-confidence and self-esteem. Change ringing also offers a sense of tradition, community service, and teamwork. It is a meditative activity that can help to reduce stress and improve mental well-being. Overall, change ringing is a unique and rewarding activity that can offer many benefits to those who participate in it.