Ruth Gilbert writes:
There has been lots of teaching and learning going on in the Ringing Room at Carlisle Cathedral. Happily this has resulted in lots of success. Eleven Cathedral ringers have achieved the standard to pass at least one of the ART Levels within the first six months of 2024. Everyone has worked really hard and it has been a joy to celebrate their achievements with them.
Carlisle Cathedral has 33 ringers listed as tower members and has rung all 12 bells every Sunday in 2024. This is an envious position to be in, but it has not happened by accident. Recruitment has stopped for now (12 ringers are Level 3 or below, not comfortable on a method inside bell and still needing sessions “for them”) but the teachers are still giving handling lessons to band family members. If a number of our current band left, we would resume ongoing recruitment with A-boards outside the Cathedral; and we would have a recruitment focus to our regular open days, rather than the current historic interest focused tours.
The bells were installed as a millennium project, which included a simulator. It is very well used – with 3 tied bell practices per week and an additional 7 tied bell practices each month. All of these practices are well attended by a good mixture of leaders (the tower has 6 teachers who have passed at least one of the ART modules), learners and helpers. One of the reasons for this level of commitment is that the ringers have each set their personal goals, and the practices are designed to help them achieve that aim at their own speed of learning.
The tied bell practices are focused on a subset of the ringers (including some for the more experienced ringers in the band, for example – monthly 10 bell method practice), but there is still the more traditional format of the weekly open practice, which aims to have something for everyone.
Nowhere is close to anywhere in Cumbria, but the ringers do regularly support practices and/or Sunday Service ringing at four other towers, and have also recently supported some focused training sessions for other Guild towers.
The five tower steeple keepers are able to resolve any immediate problem, for example – modelling a blank stay ready for replacement before the next ring. The steeple keepers’ latest project has been to build and install a dumbbell within the tower which we look forward to utilising in future practices.
Outside of ringing, the band enjoy a coffee together before and/or after most ringing. Band members who are taking a break from ringing continue to be included in tower communications and often join the band socially – this makes their return to ringing both easier and more likely.
Many of these actions to recruit and retain would work equally well on a smaller scale in a smaller tower, and (with the exception of the simulator or strong sound control) they are not co-reliant on each other but do require planning, coordination and diligent action.