(As published in the RW 6th December 2024 – Where we examine some significant numbers, membership fun with Miro, the ART Awards, and considering the leadership styles in Cobra Kai) 

Where to start, where to start?  As I write this blog, I’m distracted by thinking about leadership styles and parallels between ringing and martial arts (an idea suggested to me from an ART member).  If you have been a follower of Cobra Kai, you may think that this is not the best leadership model for us.  (Or, you might think the adults need to grow up a little bit). 

Over the past few weeks, I and other Central Council volunteers have been talking to various of the lovely and very dedicated people who make ART happen, including getting some useful advice on employment practices, and a gentle reminder that the CCCBRs internal comms are not what they need to be.   After a few conversations and introductions, I have realised two things: one, how very much we have missed having a Public Relations Officer; and two, Angela Elliott, who is now our PRO, was worth the wait. 

Keeping on the subject of ART, two other themes have emerged from meetings with associations and other ringing groups.  One is a national shortage of people available and equipped to train new ringers and the genuine concern about the impact of this, and the second is a reluctance, in some ringing associations and areas, to accept ART as a solution. Some of this reluctance is due to unfamiliarity, and some is from legitimate ‘critical friend’ concerns.    

I can sit back and say these are problems for ART to address (and ART is not blind to these issues), but shall we get real?    On the one hand we have a real problem that we recognise blocks progress; on the other, there is an organisation that is strategically and operationally placed to address that very real problem.  It works and it works at scale.   If we aren’t using ART it is our problem. 

In other news, we have had some very productive conversations including an Open Meeting on membership systems and whether this was something we could centralise.  This meeting was marked with a hilariously chaotic effort to have nearly 50 people use a Miro board through Zoom (which is the digital version of a whiteboard and sticky notes).  I can’t say it worked all that well, but it did generate a load of good thinking and structured ways to organise that thinking in a hurry.   What I like about these kinds of tool is how it gets everyone participating, and the meeting whizzed by. 

 It also generated a team of volunteers who are taking this away and developing the requirements so we can sensibly compare membership system offerings.  I’m looking forward to seeing the results. 

Another thing kicked off was a group to help us with our financial planning – not just for the coming year but for putting together a toolkit we can use to track budget, profile spend and measure multi-year projects.  It’s not going to be instantaneous results but will reap benefits over the coming years.    We are considering having a longer-term group that would act to support the Executive and Workgroup Leads in this type of planning, and it feels like a logical step in bringing the Council to a more mature and accountable way of operating. 

One of the themes that came up in the recent meeting of Workgroup Leads was that some of the things they are working on are long projects, and how to manage expectations that everything isn’t going to happen in 10 minutes.  Keeping ringers updated as they go seems an obvious answer, but it is a tough sell during planning phases.  However, you will see that Andrea Haynes has started off with a few articles on young ringers’ projects, including the most recent update on School Lesson plans.  For this latter it is key that we do this well, and present these as a professional package, and in a way that is easy for schools to use.  Again, the offer to come in and share some time and expertise is open. 

With these last couple of weeks taken up in parsing numbers of some kind or another, I couldn’t help noticing a lot of significant numbers making an appearance this month.  There is the number 8000, which is the number of peals Colin Turner has now rung, which is almost impossible to imagine.  There is also the number 70,000, which is the number of Compositions now available in CompLib, fast becoming the definitive resource of compositions (if it has not already).   

Finally the more modest but no less significant number of 25, which is the number of years ago that David Pipe’s composition of Cyclic 6 Maximus was rung for the first time.  Unusually, it was a handbell peal, and I found this out because I watched the video my husband produced about it.   Between that and the recent ‘Fun with Bells’ podcast about the Kent Young Ringers, there is plenty to keep you occupied while doing the ironing.   

Finally, a (very )belated Happy Thanksgiving to all our American ringers and friends.  This holiday often coincides with the St Andrew’s day holiday in Scotland, so we were able to celebrate only a day late, with friends and hiding from the relentless sales.    I hope you all had as nice a weekend as I did.