CDGCBR
East Cheshire Branch
The East Cheshire Branch of the Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (CDGCBR) comprises 34 towers in the North East of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester. The branch includes Stockport, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Buxton and Altrincham, as well as a number of smaller towns and villages in the area. The other branches in the guild are Chester Branch [19 towers with 6 or more bells], Mid Cheshire Branch [18 towers], South Cheshire Branch [22 towers], and Wirral Branch [20 towers]. As you can see by these numbers, we're the largest branch in terms of towers!
SEPTEMBER
Guild 6-bell competition · In Chester Branch · Saturday 9th
10-Bell practice · Stockport, St. Mary · Sunday 17th – 2.00 to 3.30 pm CONFIRMED
6-Bell practice · Chelford · Saturday 30th from 2.00 pm
OCTOBER
Join practice night · Disley · Tuesday 3rd from 7.30 pm CANCELLED
Sunday 15th – 2.00 to 3.30 pm - 10-Bell practice · Stockport, St. Mary
Saturday 21st - Guild AGM · In East Branch
Saturday 28th October - Guild 10-bell competition at Stockton Heath from 2.00pm.
NOVEMBER
10-Bell practice · Stockport, St. Mary · Sunday 12th (Remembrance Sunday) – CANCELLED
Branch AGM · Venue to be confirmed · Saturday 18th
DECEMBER
Winter break
JANUARY
Friday 26th January - QUIZ NIGHT 2024
Live from Clive
From: Andrew Darling Re: Cheshire School of Bell Ringing - Call for Helpers
Hello there,
We are coming to the end of the first 'term' of the Cheshire School of Bell Ringing and we are really pleased with how it's gone. In total we have been teaching 10 ringers - 5 have been focusing on bell handling and 5 have been working on their Foundation Skills. These students come from a number of different towers, ranging from Hyde to Marple, from Wilmslow to Knutsford.
Our aspiration is to gradually expand the School with a number of two-tower 'hubs' that will each serve distinct geographical areas. We are hoping to begin this first expansion at Poynton in Stockport, in January.
I firmly believe that the School can really help to allow all the towers across East Branch and beyond to grow and thrive.
For that to happen we desperately need a few more helpers. Within about 18 months of their opening, each hub will begin to become self-sustaining, with students becoming helpers and sometimes teachers themselves. Before that we need 'seed money' in the form of experienced ringers.
If you can ring bob minor confidently you are more than qualified to be a helper and you may well find the range and variety of activities really interesting and rewarding.
If you think that you could help out, even just one Saturday a month, that would be amazing. The workshops take place from 10.30 until 12.30 at Dunham Massey and at Bowdon. When Poynton comes online, the timings will be similar.
If you would like to know more, please don't hesitate to email me on andrew.darling@me.com or telephone on 07786 511 788.
Many thanks,
Andrew
From: Andrew Darling Re: ART Bell Handling Course - Saturday, 6th January at Dunham
Hi All,
The Cheshire School of Bell Ringing and Dunham Massey are hosting an ART Bell Handling Course on Saturday, 6th January.
If you've never attended one or fancy a refresh please do consider booking on. Even if you are already a very competent and experienced teacher of bell handling, it's a good experience and there are always little takeaway ideas that these courses provide.
The course is being opened up to the whole country on Tuesday, so if you want to book a place before then, now's the time.
This is the login: https://events.bellringing.org/en/events/courses/teaching-course-module-1-st-margaret-s-dunham-massey-cheshire
There is a PIN for an early bird booking - 25224.
Many thanks,
Andrew
From: Clive Re: East Branch Quiz Night 2024
See below for a note from Graham regarding the branch Quiz Night on Friday 26th January next year. Please put the date in your diary and, if you're coming to the Branch AGM next Saturday, bring your money for tickets! (The British Legion at Poynton limits numbers and in previous years some people applied too late.)
Otherwise contact Graham with your order ASAP.
From: Clive Re: Branch AGM
Before our AGM next Saturday please let me have the names of any members of your band who have died during the year so that they can be remembered at the meeting.
I would also like to hear from anyone who is willing to take over as one of the branch officers - so far there has been a resounding silence on this. Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Ringing Master. Some of us have done our bit for a long time and will willingly hand over to someone else!
Finally, if you're coming on Saturday and haven't yet ordered tea please do so now (should have been done by 10 Nov!) - Sarah Jacot is on 01260 253 773 or family@jacot.co.uk
Hoping to see you on Saturday
Here are all the documents for our branch AGM on Saturday, 18th November
You should already have had a poster with the details on but as a reminder:
Ringing at St Peter's, Macclesfield, from 2.15 till 3.00, then at St James, Sutton, from 3.15 till 4.00. This will be followed by the service (taken by our president, Rt Rev Sam Corley, Bishop of Stockport), tea (courtesy of the Sutton ringers) and then the AGM.
Names for tea need to be sent to Sarah Jacot not later than 10 November. Email family@jacot.co.uk or call 01260 253 773
East Branch AGM
Saturday, 18th November
Macclesfield St Michael & All Angels (SK10 1HG)
Download poster by clicking here
Ringing at St Peter's Macclesfield from 2.15 till 3.00.
Ringing at St James Sutton 3.1 5 till 4.00
Followed by service, tea and meeting.
Names for Tea to Sarah Jacot (family@jacot.co.ok
Or 01260 253 773) not later than 10th November. .
Links for all the documents for the AGM are above.
Please can you circulate the attached notification of the East Branch Quiz Night date for 2024. I have tickets available which will be on sale at the branch AGM next weekend.
Contact details for anyone wishing to reserve tickets are Graham Jenkins (07840 468688) graham.jenkins@fastmail.com
The Cheshire School of Bell Ringing launched on the 23rd of September
We are starting off by running two courses in parallel:
a 12 week bell handling course at Dunham Massey, run by Chris Broadley and Graeme Littler with the support of other amazing teachers.
a 16 week ART Level 2 course - Foundation Skills - at Bowdon. This course is all about building skills for Call Changes and Plain Hunt with plenty of games and activities to support it. This course will be run by myself with the generous support of other brilliant helpers.
Both courses will begin on Saturday, 23rd September.
The sessions will normally run on Saturdays from 10.30 until 12.30 and we are asking for £5 a session to cover tower donations, resources and the work of the school. We will only ask you to pay for the sessions you attend.
If you are interested in being a student on a course or have learners at your tower who would enjoy being a student, please contact us on cheshirebells@gmail.com. Alternatively, feel free to give me a call on 07786511788.
Many thanks,
Andrew Darling
Hello there,
In the recent surveys of ringers, many people said that they would like to see more specialized practices rather than just general branch practices. As part of this, I've been running twice monthly Surprise Major Practices. These are based on a model that I trialled with a lot of success in the Durham and Newcastle Association, some years ago. It is aimed at both experienced Surprise ringers but also at those who are wanting to start dipping their toes in the Surprise paddling pool.
There are the key ideas behind this:
Initially, practices will take place on the second Tuesday at Dunham and the fourth Tuesday at Bowdon, Prestbury or Cheadle.
We will work on Surprise Major
We'll have learning aims for each practice so that we build up capability steadily. Specifically, we'll work through the Core 7 methods https://wiki.changeringing.co.uk/Project_Pickled_Egg_-_Part_12.
There will be a quarter peal or more each month to allow us to consolidate what we've learnt.
Everyone will need to do their homework before each practice!
The dates of the practices are the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. The practices for November are
Tuesday, 14th November @ 7.30 - Dunham Massey
Tuesday, 28th November @ 7.30 - Bowdon
The focus is Major.
If you are interested in taking part, please can you drop me a quick email on andrew.darling@me.com or a text on 07786 511 788.
Re: Belfry Upkeep
This is worth looking at, even if you don't currently look after the bells at your tower.
From: Ernie de Legh-Runciman, Secretary, Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
Belfry Upkeep News Item
The Stewardship & Management Workgroup are pleased to announce Belfry Upkeep, an online document aimed at the Steeple Keeper – the person responsible for keeping the bells in order. The aims of the document are:
To help you understand the installation in your tower
To describe the checks you should carry out to identify any problems
To advise you on the maintenance tasks that you should be able to carry out, possibly with expert advice or assistance
Most importantly, to help you recognize the tasks that require specialist knowledge from a Bell Hanger or other expert
The document can be found at https://belfryupkeep.cccbr.org.uk
Learning the Ropes
The Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) regularly issues a newsletter called "Tower Talk". You don't have to be a member of ART to read the newsletters. Click here to see issue 26 (which is the latest issue). You can also click here for previous issues and other news.
Contact the Secretary
Members of the branch should have already received the above messages directly from Clive. If you haven't, click here to email Clive [clive.calton@btinternet.com] and get on his mailing list. If you need to get hold of Clive urgently, his mobile number is 07779 488359.
Site Map [Click on the link below to go to the relevant page]
Nearby Towers Towers within 100km radius
Interactive Branch Map . This map allows you to look up the details for any of the towers in the branch by clicking it [uses Google Maps]. There is also a tower directory underneath. This just reformats all the data to make it easier to read [this bit is identical to the form on the Contacts page].
Interactive Tower Map. Use this to compare towers - weights, practice night, number of bells. Just click on the column header in the table to sort the data. Clicking on a tower in the map will give you contact details. The information shown on this page is also available as a PDF by clicking here.
Reasons to Contact Us
Here are four good reasons to send us a message
Stay Informed. Are you getting regular emails from Clive? Maybe your tower captain is getting them, but not passing the information on to you. If you're not on Clive's email list, then click here and we'll make sure that you're added. If you no longer want to receive any of those emails, then just click here.
Get Help. Is your band struggling to learn a method? Does your tower need a bit of help with numbers? This is your opportunity to reach out for help. Just click here and tell us what you need and we'll do our best to help.
Help Us. We can only get better if people tell us what they like and/or don't like. It's up to you to tell us if you like what we're doing on this website, at the branch events, or at tower visits. Every opinion is important, so take a few minutes and let us know what you think. Click here and tell us what you think of us.