Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers

All new (and newish) members of the Association were invited to get together at Edgmond to meet other new members and the Association committee. The meeting/practice was directed by Gill Glover, with a lot of help from our hosts, Paul Lewis, Mark Adams and Rob Davis. The towers represented at the practice included Bicton, Dawley, High Ercall, Market Drayton, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, and Wellington. Ringers came with a variety of ringing experiences, from having started to learn recently to being able to ring Plain Bob Doubles on an inside bell. Those who needed a bit of extra assistance were helped by experienced ringers. Several of the learners remarked how nice the bells are, and how well they were able to manage them. The ringing included rounds and call changes on six and eight bells, Plain Hunt, Plain Bob Doubles, and Grandsire Triples (for the helpers).

Members who had been elected at the 2024 AGM were able to collect their New Member packs. Tea, coffee and delightful baked goods were available throughout the morning. Jad Bienek kindly brought the Association’s box of Books for Ringers was available for perusal, and some books were available for purchase.

It was great to hear a lot of happy chatter and laughter, not to mention happy eating! Thanks go to all those who helped make this event so enjoyable.

It is with great sadness we must let you know of the death of Andy Harris on Thursday 15th February, a longstanding ringer at Oswestry. His father, mother and sister rang here too. Andy was just 57.

Seven of us rang a half-muffled QP of Plain Bob Triples with his sister on Sunday 18th February at Oswestry, and three of our ringers rang a handbell QP of Plain Bob Minor on Monday 19th in his memory. A quarter peal of 4 Spliced Surprise Major was also rung remembering Andy at St Chad’s, Shrewsbury, on the 18th February.

The first Association peal of 2024 has been rung at Moreton Corbet, celebrating the 80th birthday of Ann Williams and the centenary of the recasting of the Moreton Corbet bells.

The Shropshire Association’s 2024 AGM was held at Hodnet. Prior to the meetings there was ringing, led by Nik Galton, followed by a service of thanksgiving. The service was led by Janice Parker, and the organist was Rodney Bellamy. The readings were read by Karen Powell and Ross Underwood, both from the Hodnet band. Forty seven ringers attended the meetings which were led by Matt Lawrence.

The following were elected as new members of the Association: Chris Adamson, Jane Beauchamp, Lauren Tait, Oisîn Tait, Karen Turner (Albrighton); Julie Bowen (Bicton); Roger Pugh (Edgmond); Marian Gardner, Hannah Gilman (Ellesmere); Hilary Critcher (Lilleshall); Janet Cheney (Market Drayton); Sarah Syrda (Newport); Julia Baldwin, Rob Hughes (St Martins); Ernest Matthews (Sheriffhales); Helen Kent, Mary Lucas, Josephine Wrin (Shrewsbury, Meole Brace); Lisa Collins, Sheryl Davis, Liz Holloway, Jet Pariera-Jenks, Paul Partridge (Shrewsbury, St Chad); Paulin Chadwick (Telford, Dawley); Ella Grainger, David Grivell, David Plimmer, Grace Price, Olivia Price (Telford, Wellington).

There was discussion of the proposed amendments to the Association Rules and the BRF Rules, which had been discussed at the October Quarterly meeting. It was proposed and seconded to add ‘or any other appropriate person nominated by the committee’ to Rule 5 of the Association Rules. The changes were passed by the meeting.

David Beckwith gave the Treasurer’s report. The balance in the General Fund was £2,597.08, and the balance in the Bell Restoration Fund (BRF) was £51,448.01. Grants from the BRF had been made to Montford. Expenses from the General Fund had included attendance at the Central Council AGM, website subscription, Association badges, and insurance. The external examination of the accounts was still to be carried out. David thanked Biff Patterson for her work in handling the membership subscriptions.

Vicki Sivess thanked all those who had supported the ceilidh. Matt Lawrence reported that there had been four training sessions during the year and they had been well-received by the students. The Wednesday morning sessions at Lilleshall had continued. Matt thanked those who had those supported the trainings. Gill Glover reported (by email) that the library continues to be a lightly-used resource, but books had been loaned to four people in 2023.

Paul Lewis reported on the Central Council (CC) annual meeting. Paul reported that Tina Stoecklin had taken over from Simon Linford as President of the CC, with Vicki Chapman as Vice-President. The CC Library was expected to be taken over by the Loughborough Foundry Trust and that the library would move from Worthen, sometime during 2024. The 2024 CC meeting will be held in Exeter in September.

Elections for the Committee were held. Gareth Jones had resigned from the positions of Ringing Master and Bell Adviser. Matt decided not to continue as Training Officer, Madeline Harris decided not to continue as General Secretary, and Shaun Greenfield had decided not to continue as PRO. Andrew Gordon was elected as Bell Adviser and Madeline Harris was elected as Report Editor. The positions of Ringing Master, General Secretary, Training Officer, and PRO remained unfilled at the end of the meeting. There were no other changes to the members of the committee and the nominations were proposed and seconded.

The raffle raised £117 for the BRF, the winners being Hilary Critcher, Jad Bienek, Madeline Harris, Paul Lewis, Chris Hoare, Simon Rice, and Sue Dancey.

The final draw of the 2023 100+ Club was held and the winners are Geoff Harding (£50), John Peppiatt (£25), and Gareth Jones (£15).

Matt Lawrence led a round of applause for the Hodnet ringers who provided a delicious lunch.

The next quarterly meeting will be held on Saturday 13 April 2024, at Hinstock, and the next AGM will be held at Ellesmere on 11th January 2025.