Fun with Bells

What should you do if the number of ringers is falling, your towers are in dire straits, and you need emergency measures to give ringing any kind of future in your area? 

This was the problem faced in the Lizard in Cornwall prior to COVID lockdown, and in this episode, podcast host Cathy Booth talks to the team who, against all the odds, have turned the situation around. 

The first step, is seems, is to find a Hayley, Miranda, Andy, and someone called Bob who has lots of mojo! By coming together as a tightknit team with the right set of skills, the Lizard ringers have created a successful hub for ringing recovery, recruitment and teaching. 

Once you have someone to work on the spreadsheets and strategy, someone who seems to know everyone in the local community, someone who wants to teach and someone who wants to learn to teach, then everything else falls into place. 

Add Facebook, fun and cake into the mix and local ringing will not only recover but may even experience a resurgence! A very inspiring yet practical podcast for all those struggling with empty towers and cancelled practice nights. 

Top 5 Takeaways

• Don’t forget the church organist, they’re musical after all! Lure them up the tower and they’ll get hooked. 
• If you have a group of learners, why not set up a Facebook group where you can update them weekly, and share news, learning tips and celebrate their successes? 
• What are the success factors of a teaching hub? Find a church that’s central to where your learners are, remote enough not to bother the neighbours, with easy bells, a ground floor ring, plenty of parking and electricity for refreshments. Oh, and add cake! 
• If you have ringers who would make good teachers, then get them signed up to an Association of Ringing Teachers course.https://events.bellringing.org/courses-for-teachers 
• Think strategically – work with your deanery to focus your recruitment efforts on churches with healthy congregations to protect against church closures.

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

In this month’s fascinating episode, Simon Aves takes host Cathy Booth on an entertaining romp through Scotland’s bell ringing history. You may be surprised to learn it is very different to England’s.

Who knew the Scots were so fond of peace and quiet? Cathy learns that in the past the best way to annoy people in Dundee was to travel up there and ring all their bells. And beware of the constable waiting at the bottom of the tower to arrest you for that very noisy peal you just rang. Or worse still, the constable might well follow you to the pub and then ban you from ringing, perish the thought!

Of course, all of this is history - very colourful history and brilliantly told at that. First bells, first peals, first women ringers, colourful characters, court cases and ringers being sick after their eight pints, this podcast has it all.


Top 5 Takeaways

• Read Simon’s book ‘A History of Change Ringing in Scotland’ on Amazon Kindle
• Are you up for the Inveraray challenge? Find out more about the bell tower and its fascinating history http://inveraraybelltower.co.uk/index.shtml
• Discover more about bell ringing in Scotland https://www.sacr.org
• Why not research and write the history of your tower or association
• For something completely different, why not plan a tower outing to a Worbey and Farrell performance! http://www.worbeyandfarrell.com

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

In this inspiring show, podcast host Cathy Booth meets Tim Sunter and hears about his amazing seven-year ringing journey from learner to teacher and Association of Ringing Teachers committee member.

Who could have imagined that a thought-proving tweet in the middle of a field could have such a domino effect, propelling Tim on a path to both individual fulfilment and a new way to reach out to his local community? But such is the power of bell ringing.

Tim shares the deep satisfaction that ringing can bring, both from the sense of achievement of learning to ring and bringing a tower back to life to introducing local schoolchildren to the joy of bells and encouraging the local community to celebrate its heritage.

Tim’s enthusiasm is clearly infectious and no doubt this podcast will set off yet another exciting chain of events and ringing adventures for him, and possibly for you.

Top 5 takeaways

• Check out the wide range of online ringing courses at https://onlinelearning.bellringing.org
• Why not get involved in Heritage Open Days to both recruit new ringers and engage with the wider community
• Thinking of ways to get your local schoolchildren interested in ringing? Dust off your set of handbells and get in touch with your local school and suggest they make music with them
• Why stop at learning to ring? Why not learn to teach bell ringing and share your hobby with others
• Close to Birmingham? Take a look at what’s on offer at the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing https://birminghambells.com

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

In this special Anniversary episode, podcast host Cathy Booth has two special guests discussing both the beginnings and the future of ART. No, Cathy’s not exploring painting or sculpting, but a landmark development in the teaching of bell ringing. ART stands for the Association of Ringing Teachers, currently marking it’s tenth year. Founder member Pip Penney and current Chair, Lesley Belcher, celebrate the success of the scheme and its plans for the next three years.

Pip, a physiotherapist, combined her understanding of learning a physical movement with her experience of learning to ring, to help develop an innovative approach to teaching bell ringing. Ten year’s down the line, Pip’s fundamental training approach remains the same and new ART chair, Lesley, is focused on delivering these skills in new and exciting ways.

Not deterred by the pandemic, ART’s courses are very much in demand as new generations of ringing teachers make the grade and learners pass through ART’s Learning the Ropes scheme.

Find out what’s next in the story of ART and watch out for an explosion of new teachers, new ringers and celebratory ringing festivals coming soon!

Top 5 takeaways

• Want to learn to ring with an ART teacher? Contact Rose who will help you find a teacher near you http://ringingteachers.org/people/directory/contact/0
• Why not share the teaching in your tower – as well as sharing the load, learners get input from different teachers
• Interested in learning to teach ringing the ART way? Check out the courses on their website http://ringingteachers.org/
• Look out for the Learning the Ropes Festival in Norwich on 20 August – more information coming soon
• There are some great resources available on YouTube – for a start, check out ART’s channel at   https://youtube.com/c/ringingteachers

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

This month, show host, Cathy Booth meets with three frank and formidable female ringers to understand the reasons why, although women make up about half of all ringers, they are greatly underrepresented in positions of responsibility and peal ringing, and conducting.

Elva Ainsworth, Julia Cater and Tessa Simpson - who have all participated in ‘groundbreaking, record breaking and point breaking’ ringing - talk freely about their own experiences and the self-fulfilling prophecy where lack of opportunity leads to a lack of confidence.

Yes, women can ring heavier bells. Yes, women can conduct (and may choose to do this from either the back or the front). And yes, some small girls are just itching to have a go on the tenor, but the boys always seem to get first dibs.

Rather than focusing on the negatives, though, this inspiring podcast offers some thoughtful suggestions about how to encourage greater equality of opportunity and how all bands can flourish with the greater participation of their women ringers.


Top 5 takeaways

• Find out more about the working group for gender balance in ringing at https://www.womeninringing.info
• If you’re a tower captain, don’t assume what the women in your tower want to do – be proactive, ask for feedback, and set-reflect. Could you do things differently to bring on your female talent?
• Watch Julia Cater’s master class on ringing big bells https://stmartinsguild.org/teaching/training-and-resources/how-to-ring-big-bells/
• If you are a woman ringer, ask yourself what skills you have that you could bring to your tower, or to your district association
• Catch up the Ringing World’s special issue on women in ringing from November 2020 –  you can buy and download a PDF copy https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/issues/5716

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

Fingers on buzzers, or perhaps that should be “look to”, as host Cathy Booth resumes the role of quizmaster in this latest Fun with Bells podcast quiz.

This time the focus is on the bells themselves, so tune in, listen up and get set for a different sort of hearing test. 

Everyone can play along, whatever their level, with straightforward questions for those new to ringing, alongside more obscure challenges for seasoned bell fans.

However, if you’re a regular listener to the show you may very well have a slight home advantage with the questions connected to previous episodes!

With its quirky questions, ringing recordings and fascinating facts, this episode is a perfect example of how you don’t need to be in the tower to have fun with bells.


Original recordings used in the quiz

The YouTube or other original recordings for each quiz answer can be found on the following page.

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

Show host, and adulty adult, Cathy Booth meets three more young ringers in this month’s episode, this time all founder members of the Young Change Ringers Association.

Josephine, Emily and Matt share the aims behind the new association, discuss the support that enables young ringers to become tower captains of the future and reveal the power of pizza.

There can be no better advert for YCRA membership than listening to these engaging, enthusiastic, and insightful leaders talk about how the association is meeting the needs of young ringers. And yes, as well as inspiring, it’s fun!

What more could you possibly want from a podcast? Well, a Fun with Bells pin-badge, for a start …


Top 5 takeaways

• If you’re an adult in a local ringing association, why not sign up all your young ringers in one go at https://ycra.org.uk 
• Looking for a new role that will look great on your CV? The YCRA are looking for a membership secretary, get in touch [email protected] 
• Ask your young ringers what they would like to do and listen – encourage them to conduct, or to lead a practice night and help them to become the tower captains of the future
• If someone is new to ringing don’t forget to explain tower etiquette to them, it can all be a bit baffling to a newcomer
• Forget about a quiz, if you need more fun at your next association meeting just wrap up your best ringers in toilet roll

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

What’s got 40 members, stretches across a large part of the country and is a brilliant way to have fun, improve your ringing and make friends? Well, if you are a young bell ringer, the answer must surely be the Liliputters.

Not, as host Cathy Booth discovers, a group from the fictional kingdom of tiny people, but an exciting national Guild for young ringers.

In this upbeat podcast, three Lilliputters - Simon, Molly and Euan - talk enthusiastically about the Guild, what it means to them and the joys of going on tour.

Sounds inspiring? Well if you’re between the ages of 10 and 30 and don’t want to miss out, why not join up now!


About the Lilliputters Guild

The Lilliputters Guild started life in August 2015 as a group of friends going away on a week’s ringing holiday. The accommodation for the week was The Lilliput Sea Scout Hut in Poole, Dorset – the closest Scout hut to Brownsea Island, incidentally – and it was from there that they took their name! The week, whose towers included Bournemouth, Poole, Winchester Cathedral and, naturally, Brownsea Island, was a roaring success. This prompted the formation of “The Guild” in April 2016, and another Tour that Summer, also based in Poole.

Since then, The Lilliputters Guild has grown, with new members and more events happening year on year. At the time of writing, it has some 40 members on the books, hailing from across the UK, with ages ranging from 13 to 35. In a “normal” year, they hold 3-4 main events, as well as other ad-hoc outings and quarter peal days, and even the occasional peal! The repertoire in The Guild ranges from call-changes to Surprise, and many Lilliputters have benefitted from ringing something new or different for the first time on a Guild event.

Equally important to the ringing is the social aspect of Lilliputters, be that evening activities (including the popular talent show) back at base during Summer Tours, pub or picnic lunches during days out, and even a theatre trip if an event is based in London!

Top 5 Takeaways

• The Lilliputters are a friendly group and welcome new members. Anyone interested in joining should email Simon Edwards on [email protected].
• Check out YouTube if you’d like to see the Lilliputters in action – catch up on their Guild Outing to London https://youtu.be/Ix61yHKDOvA
• Why not set up a group chat at your tower to keep in touch and help set up tours and quarter peals
• Make sure to listen to next month’s podcast to find out more about the new Young Change Ringers Association YCRA
• Encourage young ringers at your tower or in your association to help stand behind or mentor other young ringers

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

Avoid all ladders, black cats and don’t whatever you do break a mirror in your rush to listen to this month’s Fun with Bells podcast on bells and superstition.

From birth, through to death and beyond, bells have had played a fascinating role in the customs around our key rites of passage. Amongst the many special powers of bells include making the devil flee, warding off plague and pestilence, and easing childbirth. It’s curious to note that none of these warrant a footnote on Bell Board these days!

From bells marking executions, to bells themselves being executed, this podcast has all the grisly and gory details.

Finally, discover the role of bells in warning of the approach of the unclean, untrustworthy and morally corrupt. And no, that’s not the bell ringers!

For further details see www.funwithbells.com

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org

Just as change ringing on handbells requires each ringer to have two bells, this perfectly formed podcast on the subject has two guests. Host Cathy Booth chats with Tina and Simon, authors of the latest must-have handbell manual.

As always, this podcast asks all the right questions. What is best, tower or hand bells? Will online ringing last post lock-down? Is bell ringing music? And should you start with hand bells and then move onto tower bells, or vice versa?

As well as addressing the big issues Cathy also finds out the fascinating process behind writing and publishing their book, discovers the joy of e-bells and gets insider information on the progress of Volume 2 and likely publication date.

Think handbells aren’t for you? Then listen to this podcast and think again.


Top 5 takeaways

• Tina and Simon’s book ‘Change-Ringing on Handbells Volume 1:Basic Techniques’ is available from their website www.handbellringing.co.uk That’s also where you can read their blog
• Give handbell ringing a go at ringingroom.co.uk Alternatively, grab yourself some e-bells at https://ebells.co.uk and give handbell stadium a go https://handbellstadium.org
• Why not incorporate handbells into your tower bell practice night? It might keep your learners extra motivated whilst they are getting to grips with their bell handling
• Check out the survival and recovery toolbox from the Association of Ringing Teachers for some great resources to help your ringers return post-lockdown https://ringingteachers.org/survival-and-recovery-toolbox
• Take a leaf out of the book and consider building conducting in to standard training and development, rather than leaving until later or seeing it as a different skill

Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART).  To find out more about learning to ring, learning to teach or other resources to support your ringing go to bellringing.org

Podcast team:
Anne Tansley Thomas
Emily Roderick
John Gwynne
Emily Watts
Cathy Booth

Ringing by:
The Cambridge Youths (supplied by David Richards) and for later episodes, The Liliputters Guild (supplied by Simon Edwards).

For bellringing training and support for teachers and ringers see: bellringing.org