BEDFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

Update

Latest news and information for all towers and ringers in Bedfordshire

January 2022
Please share this update with ringers in your tower.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Forthcoming Training Sessions and Meetings

Annual District Meetings

Biggleswade District - Saturday 8 January, 18:00 in Campton Church.
Business meeting only. After discussions with the Rector, due to the rising cases of omicron we are unable to provide refreshments or to have any open ringing.

Bedford District -  Saturday 15 January, 18.00 via Zoom 

Luton District - Saturday 22 January  - details tbc

Please consider whether you can contribute to ringing in your area by joining your District Committee! Have a chat with any of the current members of your District Committee to find out what's involved!

Please check the calendar of District Events on the website, https://www.bacbr.org.uk/ which will be updated once details of other meetings are known.

Bedfordshire Young Ringers
No meeting in January.
 

Second Saturday Training
 

at the R J Sharp Ringing Centre 
at St Andrews Biggleswade

Next sessions:
Saturday 8 January and Saturday 12 February, 10:00 - 12:00

Open to all Bedfordshire ringers.  The sessions are aimed at less experienced, mainly adult ringers, who can handle a bell but want to improve technique, confidence and progress; The focus is on handling, ringing up and down, moving on to call changes and plain hunting.  
For more details, please contact Philippa Whittington, pw48@btinternet.com or Sue Silver, vicepresident@bacbr.org.uk

Plain Bob Doubles Training Course

This will be in two parts:
 

Theory Session via Zoom Wednesday 26 January
18.30 - 19.30

This one hour online course is designed as a preliminary theory session for those attending the practical session on Saturday 29 January. However, anyone interested is very welcome to attend this zoom session. The online course will cover:

• The "structure" of Plain Bob Doubles.
• the terminology (including dodging, places, blue line, circle of work, coursing, place notation.)
• the relevance of Place Bells and passing the treble.

This will be followed by a

Practical session at the R J Sharp Ringing Centre at St Andrews Biggleswade
Saturday 29 January, 09:30 - 13:00
 

This half day course is aimed at ringers who can ring Plain Hunt confidently, using ropesight.
By the end of the course students should achieve some, or all, of the following:

• Write out a course of Plain Bob Doubles.
• Ring plain courses of Plain Bob Double on different bells
• Identify (and aim to correct) striking errors.
• Extension: Understand what happens at a bobs and ring a touch
• Have had fun!

(Note: Numbers for this practical session are limited. Priority will be given to those who can attend both parts of the course. However, if there are spaces, those who can't attend the zoom course will be welcome and will be sent a little bit of theory homework to do in advance! For those who cannot attend the zoom session, available places for the practical session will be confirmed by Thursday 27 January.)

Please register separately for both parts of the course via Eventbrite by Tuesday 25 January, using the links below:

Theory Session via Zoom, Wednesday 26 January:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/plain-bob-doubles-theory-session-via-zoom-tickets-237521803107

Practical Session at the R J Sharp Ringing Centre, Saturday 29 January:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/plain-bob-doubles-course-practical-session-at-the-rj-sharp-ringing-centre-tickets-237533427877

Ring a First in February

This is a new initiative which we hope will provide opportunities for ringers to build up to and achieve a first, agreed in advance with their tower captain / mentor, sometime during the month of February. This might be a first Quarter / ringing a touch of ... / calling call changes / calling a touch ... for the first time.

During January, please be thinking about a possible target which you as an individual ringer or members of your band (or those who you mentor) might work towards to achieve a First in February.

Please discuss how you might achieve this and what additional practice / help from more experienced ringers you might need. It might be possible to achieve your target with your local band, or perhaps by including ringers from another local tower, or there might be an opportunity to ring it at your District meeting. If additional resources are needed to achieve your "First", Nearer the time, District co-ordinators will be available who will try to put you in touch with more experienced ringers willing to help.

We will record all "Firsts" on the Association website. There will also be an "Event" on BellBoard (https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/) to which performances can be linked.

Further details, including who to contact in each District for help if required, will be on the website by the end of January, and included in the next Update in early February. Any queries at this stage, please contact Linda on backtoringing@bacbr.org.uk

Dates for your diary!

Please put these dates in your diary. Further details to follow!

70th Anniversary of HM The Queen's Accession to the Throne

Sunday 6 February

On Sunday 6 February, Her Majesty The Queen 
becomes the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

It would be wonderful if there could be special ringing on this day in churches across Bedfordshire to mark this historic milestone ... perhaps combining it with some "Firsts"! Please do arrange something at your tower if at all possible on, or close to, this date and publicise in your community that this is happening.

Details of all ringing which takes place to mark the anniversary will be collated (more info in the next Update!) and sent to Buckingham Palace, to the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire and to the Bishop.

As you are probably aware, there will be extended bank holiday, from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 June, which will provide an opportunity for communities and people throughout the United Kingdom to come together to celebrate the historic milestone, and we hope that bells will play a part in these celebrations too!

Other dates:

Saturday 5 February, 10:00 - 12:30 - General Committee Meeting
Either at All Saints Campton or via Zoom (tbc)

Saturday 5th March, 10:00 - 12:00 - Association Surprise Major practice 
Venue tbc

Other News and Events

Calling all past and present
Bedfordshire Young Ringers!

The newly formed national Young Change Ringers Association is open to all ringers below the age of 30.

This is a great opportunity to make new friends, to ring with people your own age from across the country and almost certainly to have loads of fun! Details of how to join and forthcoming events (an outing in Birmingham on 15th January) can be found on https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/11/19/ycra-event/

Updates from the Central Council of Church Bellringers

Please keep an eye on the Central Council website for updates on the latest coronavirus guidance, plus lots of other helpful information!
https://cccbr.org.uk/

Latest coronavirus guidance:
The most recent guidance, dated 17 December, can be found here: 
https://cccbr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Guidance-at-a-glance-2.6.pdf

Linda Garton
President, BACBR 
backtoringing@bacbr.org.uk

www.bacbr.org.uk

You have received this because you are an Association member, a past member who wishes to remain in touch or a Tower Contact for the Association

You can  unsubscribe from this list.