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!

You can download a copy of the programme here.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

Live from Clive

A heavily redacted version of the Guild Annual Report is available online here.


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.

From: Graham Jenkins   Re: Quiz Night 2024

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

From: Andrew Darling   Re: The Cheshire School of Bell Ringing

 

The Cheshire School of Bell Ringing launched on the 23rd of September


We are starting off by running two courses in parallel:


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

From Andrew Darling   Re: Surprise Major Practice

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:

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:

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]

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

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