Last year over 1,000 parishes and 25 cathedrals came together to ring out their warning about our environmental crises on the eve of COP 26. There was a string of bell ringing and community events across the US and Canada and some bells even rang out in Australia!
Click here for details: https://t.co/Zk4aFZ0E15
Are you under 30? Then a new ringing organisation might be for you
Launched this weekend, on the eve of the Ringing World National Youth Contest in Worcester, the Young Change Ringers Association will be a group for young ringers, run by young ringers.
Initially there are two main areas of activity: three gatherings of young ringers every year to meet and ring with each other, and individual mentoring schemes for young ringers to learn from each other.
The website is https://ycra.org.uk/
An article introducing the idea appeared in Ringing World of Friday September 10th : https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/issues/2021/820
Hello Everyone,
I hope this message finds you well.
Given where we are with the Covid-19 pandemic and our ability to be active in our hobby, we (The Learning & Development Workgroup aka The Education sub-Committee) thought it would be a great idea to understand how the Guild’s younger membership were doing. To that end we are with immediate effect, launching the ‘ODG Young Ringers Lockdown Award’ which we sincerely hope will be a one off.
Obviously the ringing opportunities for all but a very few are very limited at the moment so we are looking for entries for anything at all related to ringing from the sensible (learned to ring handbells) to the completely ‘whacky’ (built their own mini ring out of matchsticks). Here are a few examples:
1. Ringing crosswords
2. Rope splicing (or using bell ropes to make something)
3. Handbell ringing
4. Use of Ringing Room, Abel, Handbell Stadium or other ringing platforms. What did you learn?
5. Arts & Crafts (have you painted your local church, made a model bell, made a tapestry or cross stitch picture which is ringing related? – Anything goes)
6. Composition (Methods, Touches, Peal etc)
7. Anything else no matter how abstract, the more imaginative the better.
The Rules
1. Entrants must be 18 or under at any time during 2021.
2. Young Ringers can nominate themselves, or they can be nominated by an adult.
3. Submission forms for the award are attached to this message and will be resent at intervals between now and the closing date.
4. Multiple entries from each young ringer are permitted (the more the better)
5. All entries to be received by 31st August 2021 (there will be an awards ceremony virtual or face to face by the end of September)
6. There are no more rules
Electronic submissions are preferred to youngaward@odg.org.uk<mailto:youngaward@odg.org.uk>. Please attach photographs of any physical artefacts and any other file attachments which support the submission. If a different method of submission is required, please contact youngaward@odg.org.uk<mailto:youngaward@odg.org.uk> and someone will get back to you..
Best wishes
Jo Druce
Colin Newman
Dear Committee Members
You are all invited to attend the General Committee meeting on Saturday 28th
November 2020. The meeting is be held online for which you must
pre-register. Details are below.
The agenda, reports and accompanying papers can be found at
http://odg.org.uk/general-committee-meeting-nov-2020/ . Apologies for
absence should be sent to me (secretary@odg.org.uk
<mailto:secretary@odg.org.uk> ).
I would remind Branch secretaries that they need to forward this email to
their Branch Reps, since I do not have access to all names and email
addresses.
Ken
Ken Darvill. Hon General Secretary, Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell
Ringers
All North Bucks Branch ringing activities including Branch Practices and Midweek Group meetings are cancelled with immediate effect until further notice.
The Central Council of Church Bellringers formal notice is given below:
New updates on the Coronavirus have been issued by the UK government today (Monday 16th March), which include avoiding any “non-essential” travel and contact with others and avoiding pubs, clubs theatres and social gatherings. If you haven’t already decided to cancel ringing activities, it seems that now is the time to do so.
We must all ensure that we are following the most up to date advice from the Chief Medical Officer (or overseas equivalent) with regard to the Covid 19 outbreak. Of course the Central Council is not in a position to provide professional advice, however there are some simple guidelines to consider to ensure that we adopt sensible precautions and support each other through a period of rapid change and uncertainty. The advice is changing almost daily and the latest messages concern potential restriction of movement of people over the age of 70 in the coming weeks, if not sooner.
The demographics of the ringing community has a large proportion who fit in to the over 70 year old and/or medically vulnerable category, and ringers can be quite stubborn when it comes to continuing ringing, insisting that we “keep calm and carry on”. However, under the current circumstances, we have a duty to be responsible for ourselves and towards others we ring with. If you fit into a category that has been advised to socially distance yourself, please heed that advice. If not for you, then to help prevent putting other people at risk.
Having said that, socially distancing yourself can create a sense of isolation, and we must ensure that we maintain contact with our ringing friends, and offer any help and support where we can. Please check in with those who are advised to stay home, phone them for a chat to ask how they are, drop them a quick text, Whatsapp or social media message to let them know they haven’t been forgotten.
If you find yourself self-isolating, consider how you might get your ringing fix if not on the end of a rope. There are many apps for phones and computers that you can utilise to learn methods, practise listening skills and so on. There’s a multitude of YouTube videos on various aspects of ringing, ringing up and down, rope splicing and many other tower tasks that need doing. Get out some good old paper and pencil to write out methods, learn the place notation, write out touches etc – that’ll keep you busy for hours! Keep in touch with friends on the various bellringing social media communities, maybe even start one of your own. Get that tower website up to date. Get around to writing up last year’s tower AGM minutes. Plan what you are going to do once the restrictions have been lifted, maybe organise a reunion.
Keep up to date with the latest advice from the government, ensure that you support each other, keep calm and keep safe.
FOR ALL RINGERS
SUNDAY 8 TH SEPTEMBER 9.30AM TO 4.30PM
Goldsmiths College, London SE14 6NW
21 TALKS–by expert speakers including :
17 STANDS
4 TRAINING BELLS AND 3 MINI RINGS
