Dear Ringers,

It was good to see many of you, virtually, at our Zoom AGM last Saturday, 15 January. In particular, it was helpful to put faces to names, so thank you to all those who were able to attend.

The minutes are now on the Petbells downloads page for those who would like to read them. The minutes also give details of the new Committee, for those who were unable to attend, but would like to know who is on it.

There is no real change, but we are looking for a new Press Correspondent, as Terry Wright has decided to stand down. Thank you, Terry, for your contribution over the last 5 years in this role. It has been much appreciated by all. Would anyone like to consider volunteering? All offers to the Secretary, please.

Best wishes,

Julie Pocock

Branch Secretary

Dear All,

It was good to see many of you at the Branch AGM on Saturday afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to attend.

Here is Helen’s latest update for you to read. It includes suggestions for Jubilee ringing for HM The Queen on or around 6 February, to celebrate the day She ascended the Throne. This year, 6 February is a Sunday.

There is also the “Golden Blog” by Simon Linford, our President. Open it to find out why he has named it thus. Keen photographers can participate in the photo competition.

Finally, there is a Guild update.

Enjoy the read,

Best wishes,

Julie

Helen’s text:

To: Branch chairs, secretaries & treasurers: please forward on to members. 

Happy New year to you all. Half-way through January and we have completed 7 out of 10 branch AGMs, it’s good to see the business of the Guild proceeding to plan. I know that branches will be in touch with members and contacts to ensure that details are correct for the 2021 report, which will capture activity in another very unusual year. One for posterity to ponder over. 

Jubilee ringing

6^th February sees the 70^th anniversary of the Queen ascending to the throne. While the main celebration of the Jubilee will be the extended bank holiday weekend in June, ringing on or around the 6^th February would be welcomed by the church. There is a little more information on the CCCBR website. https://cccbr.org.uk/2022/01/12/hm-queens-jubilee/ If you can arrange to ring, please do and please register it on Bellboard AND let secretaries know that you rang. The Guild will, again, let the Queen’s representatives in our area know that we have rung to mark this occasion. 

If you rang for the death of the King or the coronation of the Queen, please get in touch with Cathy Dixon (pro@pdg.org.uk) or me (secretary@pdg.org.uk). We’d like to support the CCCBR and have some small articles prepared for distribution locally.  

CCCBR update

The President’s first blog of 2022 has been published. https://cccbr.org.uk/2022/01/05/presidents-golden-blog/

Photo Contest

With the weather having had a seasonable turn (it’s been cold, clear and bright!) you may have been able to take a seasonable picture of your church recently. In which case consider submitting it to the Guild’s photo contest. Images will be selected to form a Guild calendar for the 10^th anniversary year, in 2024. Consider sending in your images to be part of this event. More details available on the website. https://pdg.org.uk/latest-news/photo-contest

Guild Update

Just to remind members that they have a say in how the Guild in run. They can propose someone for Guild office unto the Guild AGM in June. That can be in writing (e-mail is acceptable) to the Guild secretary or in person at the AGM itself. 

At the 2021 GMC there was a sub-committee created to review the rules that the Guild, the branches and the Bell repair fund follow. This has not been actively pursued during 2021, when meeting was difficult, but is now being revived. If you are interested in contributing to this project, please let the Guild Secretary know. 

The next few months see the bulk of the planning activity for the Guild for the year. Any thoughts you have that you would like to see considered are welcome. What do you want to see your Guild do? Let us know, we’re good, but we’re not very psychic! 

Thanks

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: www.pdg.org.uk

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

Telephone: 01832 735 266

Dear Ringers,

This is the final reminder for the Branch AGM.

To join the AGM at 16.00 on Saturday 15 January 2022, please e-mail Hilary Hardie here at least 24 hours in advance and she will send you the link.

Please check the downloads page of PetBells later on today to see all documents relevant to the meeting.

See you on Saturday.

Best wishes,

Julie Pocock

Branch Secretary

Dear Ringers,

After e-mail exchanges with Alex, we have decided to switch the physical AGM to a Zoom meeting at 16.00 on Saturday 15 January 2022. Alex’s decision is explained in his message below:

“Dear Friends, I have decided to move the AGM to a Zoom meeting. I have taken this decision for several reasons. There have only been eight acceptances to date, and thirteen apologies, so there could to be a low turnout on the day, and with the uncertainty of what may or not develop over the next 10 days or so, I felt it needed decisive action sooner rather than later. Hilary has kindly offered to host the AGM on Zoom, but this needed to be actioned now. Finally, having had my own PCR testing positive, I didn’t feel happy mixing with folk a week on Saturday, even though I was legally allowed to do so. Alex”

This is an opportunity for all members to participate in the Branch AGM Zoom meeting. To join the AGM at 16.00 on Saturday 15 January 2022, please e-mail Hilary Hardie here at least 24 hours in advance and she will send you the link.

It is disappointing not to be holding the full AGM at Castor. It offered Branch members the opportunity physically to meet after, for some, a long time. As Secretary, I was particularly looking forward to meeting Tower Correspondents with whom I have communicated only by e-mail.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Zoom AGM.

Best wishes,

Julie Pocock
Branch Secretary

Dear Ringers,

After e-mail exchanges with Alex, we have decided to switch the physical AGM to a Zoom meeting at 16.00 on Saturday 15 January 2022.  Alex’s decision  is explained in his message below:

“Dear Friends, I have decided to move the AGM to a Zoom meeting. I have taken this decision for several reasons. There have only been eight acceptances to date, and thirteen apologies, so there could to be a low turnout on the day, and with the uncertainty of what may or not develop over the next 10 days or so, I felt it needed decisive action sooner rather than later. Hilary has kindly offered to host the AGM on Zoom, but this needed to be actioned now. Finally, having had my own PCR testing positive, I didn’t feel happy mixing with folk a week on Saturday, even though I was legally allowed to do so. Alex”

There is an opportunity for ringers not on the Committee to participate in the Branch AGM Zoom meeting. To join the Committee at 16.00 on Saturday 15 January 2022, please e-mail Hilary Hardie here and she will send you the link.

It is disappointing not to be holding the full AGM at Castor. It offered Branch members the opportunity physically to meet after, for some, a long time. As Secretary, I was particularly looking forward to meeting Tower Correspondents with whom I have communicated only by e-mail.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Zoom AGM.

Best wishes,

Julie

Julie Pocock

Branch Secretary

Dear Ringers,

A happy and healthy New Year to you all. LEt’s hope 2022 brings better cheer and joy than 2021.

I wrote on 14 December giving you details about our Branch AGM. This is a reminder. To refresh your memories the venue is the church of St Kyneburgha and the Cedar Centre at Castor (postcode PE5 7AX). Here is the schedule:

14.00 Ringing. Please note it is a first floor ringing chamber, with a spiral staircase leading up to it.

16.00 Service

16.45 Tea. Given January is a cold month, tea will be hot soup, sandwiches, cake, biscuits and, of course, tea and coffee.

18.00 AGM

19.30 or earlier: resumption of ringing.

RSVP’s from you all would be really helpful. It would allow us to cater, properly, for our Tea. Also give the Committee a better sense of numbers attending the ringing and the AGM. The current COVID rules may well influence your decision to attend, or not, but do please respond to me here with your acceptance or regret by Friday 7 January.

Some of you may already be familiar with St Kyneburgha and the Cedar Centre and remember how spacious it is. The Cedar Centre has reduced its guest capacity from 72 to 42 to allow better space for all those attending meetings, in this case our AGM. Current guidelines would mean masks would need to worn at all times, apart from when seated and having tea.

II look forward to hearing from you all before 7 January.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Julie

Julie Pocock

Branch Secretary

Dear all,

Barring anything dramatic happening between now and 31 December, this is Helen’s last update for the year.

There is plenty in it to read, so settle down with a cup of tea and a mince pie and get reading.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas. Let’s hope 2022 is a better year all round.

Best wishes,

Julie

Helen’s text:

To: Branch Chairs, Secretaries & Treasurers. Please pass to members. 

Guild news: 

I hope that you are able to ring over Christmas, there should be more opportunity this year than last. January always sees a raft of branch AGMs taking place. Latest details can be found on the Guild website. (Branches – please keep webmaster@pdg.org.uk up to date in case of late changes). https://pdg.org.uk/events

Another date for your diary is January 22^nd, which sees the next in the series of Guild 10-bell practices, 10:30 – 12:30. Location still tbc. The first was held in Kettering and it was a good, busy practice, with 27 attendees, ringing ranging from Little Bob & Grandsire to Surprise Royal. Hopefully everyone appreciated the opportunity and were able to try something outside their usual fare. 

December 100 Club winners are David Westerman, Kelvin Broad and Ann Dowling. Congratulations to all three. Cheques will be in the post. Contact Cathy Dixon (100club@pdg.org.uk) or your branch 100 club co-ordinator for details of how to join. 

Should Santa not bring you any ringing or reading matter, the bumper Christmas Ringing World is available here: https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/issue.php?no=5773 A mixture of articles and some puzzles to stop the braincells suffocating under the turkey. Non-subscribers can purchase a single issue. 

CCCBR news:

I know some branches have already circulated this. 

The CCCBR has been working with the CofE recovery group and the guidance on ringing in certain circumstances have been clarified. In cases where ringing takes place in a separate space ringers can choose whether to wear masks, a decision that will vary from individual to individual, based on their personal situation. I would like to again remind ringers that ringing takes place with the agreement of the incumbent, who can place conditions as they see fit. There are a lot of strong opinions on the topic. I would hope that at a time when the greeting from the angels is “Peace and good will” that a little goodwill can be exercised within the ringing community. 

The latest information can be found here: https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/12/17/guidance-for-england-under-plan-b/

The President has a Christmas blog and a Christmas Jumper. Not sure I can recommend the second element of that pairing. https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/12/15/presidents-yule-blog-2/

Mentioned in the blog is the new NorthWest Training course. Details are provisional but can be found here: https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/12/10/the-north-west-ringing-course/ I’d also like to remind ringers that attendance on ringing related training courses can be eligible for a grant from the Guild’s training fund. For more details, and how to make an application, see the Guild’s website. https://pdg.org.uk/homepage/content-2/training-fund

Another event that may interest our younger ringers is the YACR event in Birmingham on the 15^th January. Details can be found on their website. https://www.ycra.org.uk/events.php The Guild would consider that attending these events may be advantageous to young ringers, yet they may be the group least able to afford to travel. In which case the Guild executive has agreed that attendance at an event arranged by the YCRA may also be subject to a grant from the training fund for some expenses. Contact Simon Dixon on master@pdg.org.uk for more details. 

Safeguarding

You may have seen the latest from the CCCBR or from the CofE relating to the most recent Safeguarding arrangements. The Guild has been working with the Diocesan Safeguarding advisor and our advice is as follows:

All ringers are strongly recommended to take the C0 Basic Awareness online awareness course as soon as practical.

All Tower Captains should do C0 Basic and also C1 Foundation, both online courses.

Tower Captains can apply to take the virtual in-person C2 Leadership Pathway course if they wish to extend their skills and confidence in Safeguarding. 

See the diocesan website for more details of these courses: https://www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/training/training

For help in applying for any of these courses please contact Sharon Welbourne via email: Sharon.welbourne@peterborough-diocese.org.uk . 

Contact the Guild’s safeguarding officer on safeguarding@pdg.org.uk in case of any queries.  

And with that may I take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Unless something dramatic happens (always possible), or I get very bored next weekend (unlikely), you can expect to hear from me in 2022.  

Thanks

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: www.pdg.org.uk

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

Telephone: 01832 735 266

Dear Ringers,

The above date is for your diary. As Secretary of the Peterborough Branch, I am writing to give you advance notice of the date for the Branch AGM. We are working on the basis, for the present, that we will be able physically to gather for the AGM and ringing.

I took over as Secretary during the first lockdown and haven’t had the chance to meet many of you in person, given the restrictions over the last 18 months. So, it would be lovely to meet as many of you as possible at the Branch AGM.

The venue is St. Kyneburgha, Castor. The full address is: 47 Peterborough Road, Castor, Peterborough, PE5 7AX.

The tea and the AGM will be held in the Cedar Centre, in the grounds of St. Kyneburgha. The Centre will be open from 14.00.

The programme is as follows:

14.00 Ringing. Please note it is a first floor ringing chamber, with a spiral staircase leading up to it.

16.00 Service

16.45 Tea. Given January is a cold month, tea will be hot soup, sandwiches, cake, biscuits and, of course, tea and coffee. .

18.00 AGM

19.30 or earlier: resumption of ringing.

It would be really helpful to know whether you plan to attend all or part of the afternoon, especially the tea, so we can get the catering right. Should anyone planning to attend have any dietary restrictions, it would be helpful to be made aware of them too.

Please reply to me by clicking here by Friday 7 January 2022.

Please note that the Minutes of the last AGM, held on 16 January 2021 (via Zoom) can be found in the Download Section of Petbells here, as can the 2020 Branch Accounts and the Agenda for the forthcoming AGM.

In the meantime, let me wish you all a happy and healthy Christmas and hope that 2022 is a more positive year for everyone.

Best wishes,

Julie

Branch Secretary

Dear all,

James Thorpe has kindly sent out details of the CCCBR’s guidance following the Government’s move to Plan B on Covid and the latest Omicron variant. The new mandatory rule comes into effect Friday 10 December.

Helen goes on to say that at this stage there is no reason for Branch AGMs not to proceed. I will be sending out information on the Peterborough Branch AGM scheduled for Saturday 15 January 2022 next week. Until told otherwise, we will “Keep Calm and Carry On” with arrangements for our Branch AGM.

Best wishes,

Julie

Helen’s full text is below:

To branch chairs, secretaries & treasurers.

The PM’s move to “Plan B” this week, with the introduction of mask wearing in more locations, will no doubt have ringers wondering where that leaves them. The CCCBR’s website on the subject (https://cccbr.org.uk/coronavirus/) has been partly updated today and it includes the following text:

The Church of England guidance for Plan B in England has now been published and it includes the following words: “Face coverings are currently mandatory on public transport and in a range of indoor venues including places of worship. While there are exemptions, outlined below, this is a legal requirement” (their emphasis).

It goes on to list the exemptions. The CofE Recovery Group has not offered any general exemption for bellringing. The full document can be found here. Although an early paragraph suggests that face coverings might be at the discretion of individual churches, that appears to be misleading as later paragraphs on pages 2 and 3 confirm that face coverings are a legal requirement.

The Government guidance that includes places of worship in the list of mandated places for face coverings is here.

Please circulate to towers such that they can let ringers know of the change, which comes into effect on Friday, 10^th December.

With the current guidance there is nothing to indicate that Branch AGMs cannot proceed as planned – there is no limit on numbers meeting in a venue. Obviously, that will be a decision for each branch. There is an exemption to remove masks when it is necessary for clear communication, which could be read to include the chair and other members, when speaking. If there are any questions, please get back to me. I can’t promise to help, I’m likely to be as flummoxed as you are, but I will try.

Thanks

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: www.pdg.org.uk

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

Telephone: 01832 735 266

Dear all,

No intro from me tonight. I’ll leave you to read and digest Helen’s latest update.

Best wishes,

Julie

To: Branch Chairs, secretaries & treasurers, please pass on to members. 

It seems that winter has decided to arrive with a vengeance over the weekend. Worcester Cathedral lost a pinnacle after storm Arwen blew one off and through the roof. Hopefully nothing like that happened to anyone. 

St Peters & Old Black Lion project 

Lots of progress on the project in the last few weeks. The CCT is looking to partner with an operator for the pub. As ringers have a certain affinity with pubs, you may know someone who may be able to make a success of this. If so, point them in the direction of the CCT website: https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/news/cct-is-seeking-a-suitable-hospitality-operator-for-the-old-black-lion-pub.html

The project was also granted planning permission and listed building consent for the changes to be made. https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/news/planning-permission-and-listed-building-consent-granted-for-old-black-lion-pub-in-northampton.html

And, finally, the CCCBR signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CCT over the ringing centre element of the plans. This is featured in the President’s latest blog: https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/11/16/presidents-blog-47/

CCCBR 

The Central Council’s Covid guidance team has recently met to consider revising guidance, not least because there is anecdotal evidence that some bands and towers are still more locked down than they may need to be, and the team wants to facilitate responsible ringing as far as possible. The team has a further meeting with the Church of England Recovery Group next week and in advance of that we are interested to hear of any instances of difficulties with guidance, contrary views on ringing guidance from clergy or churchwardens, or any specific issues that you think need to be addressed or clarified as we approach our first ‘vaccinated winter’. 

Please send any observations directly to simon.linford@cccbr.org.uk

The first YACR event is planned for early January. YACR is open to ringers aged under 30. https://cccbr.org.uk/2021/11/19/ycra-event/

Guild reminders

12 days of giving

As we approach the Christmas season, Ecclesiastical are again running their 12 days of giving campaign in December. You just have to nominate the Guild, and we go into the 12 draws that take place between the 6^th & 21^st December. The more nominations, the more likelihood there is of us being awarded one of 120 grants of £1000 each. This would go to the Guild’s training fund. This has received a number of applications as ringing starts up again. 

We’ve been successful in the last few years; all it needs is you to get your clicking fingers out. The link below takes you to a page with prefilled details, just scroll down the page, complete the form and submit. 

Photo contest
Seeing the weather’s turned frosty, how about getting out and taking a seasonal picture of your church for the Guild photo contest. Or has it been adorned with festive lights and decorations? Seasonal entries are most definitely welcomes. 

January AGMs

Branches should be sharing details of their AGMs now, if they haven’t already. Keep up to date with the where and when by looking at the events page of the Guild website. https://pdg.org.uk/events. I know that branches are always looking for help and support to arrange the events that are laid on for ringers across the year. They would love you to get involved, if you are able to. 

I had my first Christmas dinner last night, Towcester branch’s annual dinner. Excellent event with some very good speeches and handbells to get us all in festive mood. This is the first of several dinners for us between now and Christmas day – at none of them will I be ordering turkey. Knowing how much I dislike the cold; you’ll not be surprised to hear that I did pick my outfit based on how warm it was. One day I will work out how to effectively pair an evening gown with a jumper and fluffy slippers, but not this year. 

Stay safe and warm

Helen

Helen Allton

Secretary: Peterborough Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PDGCBR

Website: www.pdg.org.uk

e-mail: secretary@pdg.org.uk

Telephone: 01832 735 266