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!

What's New from Sue

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

From: Pam, Guild Secretary

Please find attached a notice for next month’s AGM – 2 pages, notice and agenda.  Can you please circulate to your towers as soon as possible.

When Tom gets back we will make sure all the documents, last year’s minutes,  nomination form and proposed rule changes are on the web site (although they have already been circulated)

Can I ask that you let me know if any ringers from your branch have passed away since the last AGM and if you have any ringers who wish to be ratified as Life Members.

Hope that’s all.

Thanks

Pam

From: David White, Chair   Re: VE Day Ringing - Thursday 8 May 2025 - 6:30pm 

 On the 8th May 1945 bells rang out across Britain as the nation took to the streets in celebration of Victory in Europe Day.

 Eighty years later the Central Council is asking bellringers to help celebrate this momentous occasion by ringing to recreate that moment at 6:30pm local time on the 8th May and to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might live in a free world.

 It would be fitting to have as many of our East Branch towers as possible ringing for this anniversary.  Please do what you can, and don’t forget to upload your VE Day ringing to: https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/event.php?id=19733

From: Andrew Darling   Re: Bell School Call for Helpers

The Ringing School's course at Poynton is now evolving from Bell Handling to exploring Rounds and Call Changes. That means that we now need more helpers to move things along.

If you are a solid ringer and can ring Rounds and Call Changes and methods like Plain Bob Doubles and Plain Bob Minor we would love to have you come and join the school as a helper. The sessions run from 10 til 12 every Saturday during term time. There is always a warm, friendly, supportive atmosphere, as well as a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit half way through.

 You don't have to feel like you need to commit to ringing every Saturday - just once or twice a month would be brilliant. If you think that this is you, please do contact us at cheshirebells@gmail.com

 Many thanks!

    Andrew

 PS Did I mention the chocolate biscuit?

From: Sue   Re: St George (Stockport)

I was also asked to post this message about St George’s Stockport:-

• St George's (Stockport) is raising money to fix the roof over their bells. More details (with pictures) are available at Roof over the bells East Branch. Anyone interested in making a contribution can do so by visiting the Just Giving page for the Church at Donate - Donation amount - JustGiving

From: Clive   Re: Branch Mailing List IMPORTANT

At the Branch AGM at Knutsford, Sue Wareham from Nether Alderley agreed to take up the reins as branch secretary. 

In days of old, I could simply have passed on to her the contact details for all subscribers. However, sadly under data protection laws I cannot now do that. Instead, if you wish to continue to be kept aware of branch events you need to email Sue at s.e.wareham@talk21.com with the word YES (that should suffice to allow her to add you to her list of contacts).

Of course, if you are a tower captain/secretary or any other branch officer, your contact details will be in the Guild Report and so accessible to Sue from there. But if not please contact her as soon as possible. 

Hoping this makes sense. 

From: Pam Thomson  Re: Combined Youth Band

Hello all,

The North Staffs Association are thinking about starting a young ringers group and looking to the future, possibly entering the RWNYC. They have suggested that maybe some young ringers from the Chester Guild may be interested in joining them. They have already contacted the South Branch directly as they are obviously closest. I think the person heading the current discussion is Josie Martin jomartince@gmail.com. It is very much at the initial stages but if you know of any young ringers who might be interested in joining such a group please contact Josie.

Many thanks

Pam

From: Clive   Re: Changes to Guild Constitution

Please see attached proposed changes to the Guild rules and let me have any observations to pass on to the Guild Secretary. 

Please note:

1. All items in red are changes to the Rules. All have been approved by the Guild committee for a consultation with all branch members prior to the Guild AGM on 10th May 2025

2. Any item in red that is scored through is a removal of those words from the relevant rule.

3. Any item in red that is not scored through is an addition or change to the wording.

4. The numbers in square brackets [ ] are for footnotes. 

From: Stephen Aldridge   Re: WhatsApp group

We (‘we’ loosely being the officers of the Manchester Branch of LACR) have set up a WhatsApp group for ringing in the Manchester Area. It is not intended, however, to be connected officially to LACR or any other guild/association etc. The hope is that any ringers in the rough area of Manchester will join and events can be advertised, wedding ringers requested, socials organised etc. 

WhatsApp users can follow this link on their phones and it should take them directly to the group where they can join.

From: Andrew Darling   Re: Surprise Major Practice

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 April are

Tuesday, 8th April at 7.30 - Dunham

Tuesday, 22nd April at 7.30 - Prestbury

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. 

From: Clive   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

CCBR News - 2025 CCCBR AGM & Roadshow 

This year we will be hosting another Roadshow as part of the CCCBR AGM weekend in Sheffield.  Things are progressing well and more information, including booking arrangements will follow in due course.  In the meantime, here’s a flavour of what’s happening when so you can start thinking about accommodation needs.

Save the Date! 5-7 September 2025

The 2025 Central Council AGM weekend takes place in Yorkshire from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th September 2025 and this year includes a roadshow on the Sunday, supported by trades and exhibitors, speakers and ringing opportunities.

The weekend programme is open to all ringers and the full programme will be published in due course.  Keep an eye on the CCCBR website and social media for updates.

The CCCBR AGM and roadshow will take place at the Niagara Conference Centre, Niagara Road, Sheffield, S6 1LU, with other events being staged in Sheffield city centre.

Friday 5th Sept

• General ringing will be available at towers en route to Sheffield.  Routes will follow the main roads into the city.

• Evening ringing will be at Sheffield Cathedral with a social event in the church afterwards.

Saturday 6th Sept

• Welcome desk and registration.

• Ringing World AGM.

• CCCBR AGM.

• Social event in the Niagara Conference Centre.

Sunday 7th Sept

• •  Service ringing at local churches.

  •  Roadshow, including exhibitors, trades and speakers on a range of subjects, including Ringing 2030 and Workgroup updates.

Booking for all elements of the weekend will be essential and more details will be published as they are confirmed.  The booking and registration process will be accessible nearer the time.

Vicki Chapman

Deputy President, Central Council of Church Bell Ringers

CCCBR Business Plan and Budget

The Central Council's business plan and budget report are available by clicking on the relevant link. This information can also be found on the CCCBR's website at https://cccbr.org.uk/about/annual-meetings/current-budget/ 

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 31 (which is the latest issue). You can also click here for previous issues and other news.

Contact the Secretary

Members of the branch should already have received the above messages directly from Sue (and previously, Clive). If you haven't, click here to email Sue [or send her an email at s.e.wareham@talk21.com] and get on the mailing list. 

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 Sue? Maybe your tower captain is getting them, but not passing the information on to you. If you're not on Sue'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.