Ely DA 2025 AGM

The 2025 Association AGM and inter-district striking competition will be on Saturday 17 May in the Huntingdon District. Further information about the meeting and the striking competition will be available in due course.

The Association General Committee will be proposing some changes to the Association Rules at that meeting. See 2025 proposed rule changes for details.

Items for discussion at the AGM under "Any Other Business” must be notified to the General Secretary (secretary_at_elyda.org.uk) by midday on Friday 11 April , as must nominations for technical officers (Treasurer, Bell Advisor, Webmaster and Safeguarding Officer) .

Our current Ringing Master, Recruitment & Training Officer, and Quarter Peal Secretary have all reached the end of their terms of office and we need to identify volunteers to take on these important posts for the coming years. Other representative officers are willing to stand again.  Nominations for representative officers should be notified to the General Secretary as soon as possible and in any case before the start of the AGM.

Young Ringers

The Ely DA has a flourishing Young Ringers group! They are known as the Fen Tigers and made up of youngsters from right across our area.

Please encourage any new young ringers you are aware of to come along to any of the events advertised in the Ely DA Calendar or on the Young Ringers' website and tell them that they will be welcome whatever their standard of ringing. Please do encourage them - non-ringing parents often don't realise how welcoming the ringing community is to everyone so explain how it all works. We're anxious to recruit the next wave of young ringers, build up their experience and help them organise themselves. The Young Ringers caters for every ability - some ringers are getting really good at learning to call touches and ring heavier bells, whilst other ringers are at the other end of their ringing path having just mastered backstrokes.

Coming up: Outing to Suffolk, monthly practices in Cambridge, quarterly weekend practices around the Ely DA, quarter peals, competitions, heavy bell ringing. 

(All events have adults with DBS in attendance and all safeguarding precautions are taken.)

General Committee Meeting, 1 February

Bob Cox (Ely DA Chair) has produced some notes of the discussions at the 1 February meeting of the Association General Committee. These notes were originally posted to the Association Facebook Page.

Landbech Open Belfry

All Saints’ Church, Landbeach, Cambs CB25 9FD, Saturday 26th April 2025, 14:00-16:00.

Accompanied tours of the belfry at All Saints’ Landbeach, home of a successful augmentation from 4 to 6 last year. You will enjoy this if you are:

• interested in what goes on in the belfry

• a steeplekeeper,

• planning a bells project.

Many interesting features – CCTV and mic in the belfry linked to external TV screen, simulator, swift nest boxes, Higby training dumbbell, two-tier frame, tenor with canon- retaining headstock and composite clapper, two new bells from Eijsbouts with twiddle pins. The augmentation team will guide you around the belfry and share their experiences of how to get the best out of your relationship with your bellhanger. Feel free to pinch our ideas! 

Booking essential. Information and booking – Barbara Le Gallez, beachbellringers@gmail.com.  Requested donation £2 per attendee, to tower funds. Belfry access is by ladder only. Please wear suitable footwear. Run by the Landbeach Bellringers for the ElyDA.

Interactive Map of Towers Updated

The Association's map of towers has become increasingly out of date over the last few years, but it (and the corresponding maps on the Ely and Huntingdon District sites) has just been updated against a central record of tower information held by the Association. This is part of a longer-term plan to derive all tower listings on the Association and District sites and in the Annual Report from a single source to make updates easier and consistent, but that is for the future.

The current central record is unlikely to be error free, and in any case tower information, in particular  practice and service ringing times, changes frequently. Please let the Association webmaster (webmaster_at_elyda.org.uk) know about any errors you find on the Association web  site itself - errors in information provided by the Districts needs to be reported to the relaevent District webmaster.

Central Council AGM

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.

https://cccbr.org.uk/2025/01/24/save-the-date-5-7-september-2025/

Foolish Youths & Substantial Rewards

Based on his recent book, Foolish Youths & Substantial Rewards, Gareth Davies will give a short talk about the activities of the Cambridge ringers over 300 years and why the study of this one town is relevant to the history of bellringing across the country. Following the presentation there will be an opportunity for questions.

Sunday, December 8 · 7 - 8pm, online. More detail at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-author-gareth-davies-tickets-1085178200209

Ringing for VE Day 2025

8 May 2025 marks the 80 anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day when bells rang out across Britain as the nation took to the streets in celebration of victory. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers are encouraging ringers to recreate that moment at 6:30pm local time to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might live in a free world.

Required: ASSOCIATION RINGING MASTER

The Association needs to appoint a new Ringing Masster at the AGM in May 2025.

So, what does the Association Ringing Master actually do?

The Ely DA Ringing Master is responsible for running any association ringing such as Ely DA association practices and organising the Ridgman 10 bell contest band. They also have a lot of freedom to organise any other events - our current Ringing Master organised a tower captain forum, a Stedman Triples conducting workshop and a focused practice on Bristol and Phobos Surprise Maximus, for example.

The Ringing Master is the Chair of the Ely DA Ringing Subcommittee. In this committee, the district ringing masters and peal secretary discuss ideas via email and meet occasionally.

Could you be the ringer to take over this role and contribute your ideas? You should be confident ringing on 10 and be able to conduct.

Please contact, Alban Forster: rm_at_elyda.org.uk for further information.

Looking for a new Recruitment and Training Officer

The Association needs to appoint a new Recruitment and Training Officer (RATO) at the AGM in May 2025 when Dee Smith's 5 year term in office expires. Her's will be a difficult act to follow but there must be someone in the association up to the challenge.

So, what does the Ely DA RATO Officer actually do?

The Recruitment and Training Officer of the Ely DA has the role of taking an interest and where required supporting any events that involve recruitment and training across the Ely DA. That seems like a HUGE task! Luckily, the RATO is the Chair of the Ely DA Recruitment and Training Subcommittee (RATs). In this committee members from Ely DA Districts and the three Ely DA Ringing Centres meet three times a year to report back on training and recruitment events and discuss future activities.

Under Dee's stewardship, recruitment and training in the Ely DA has gone from strength to strength, but there are more challenges ahead! Could you be the ringer to take over this role and contribute your ideas? With the Central Council 2030 Project and ART ongoing initiatives, it is an exciting time to hold the position of Ely DA RATO.

Please contact Dee Smith rato_at_elyda.org..uk for further information.

Online Membership Management

The Association has implemented an online membership management system using membermojo.co.uk. 

Members, providing we have an email address for them, will receive emails from membermojo on our behalf, and will be directed to the https://membermojo.co.uk/ web site for some membership matters. Please don’t be surprised or concerned by these emails - this note is intended to help confirm their authenticity. Existing members can manage their membership online, and new members can use the system to apply to join us.

We have done this mainly to help District Membership Secretaries with the time consuming task of managing our membership lists and collecting subscriptions. The system also provides services for members, including automated subscription reminders, on-line payments, access to view and update the information we hold, a directory of members, and improved ways of keeping members up-to-date with news and event . Members don’t have to interact with the new system if they don’t want to and can still manage their membership and pay subscriptions to their district as they always have.

There is a slideshow containing more information about the new system and how it works. If you have any questions about this please contact your District Membership Secretary or email membership_at_elyda.org.uk.

Ely DA Jigsaw Puzzel

Well in time for Christmas, the eagerly awaited Ely DA Jigsaw puzzle has arrived! This timeless puzzle will make a wonderful gift for any family member whether they are a ringer or not, and is exclusively available by emailing stepjigsaw@gmail.com and filling in the order form. Payment by bank transfer. Puzzles are available to collect in person from Stretham REC (Sat mornings 10-1.15, or Tues evenings 7.30-9pm) or can be mailed to you (£4 per puzzle). When they're gone, they're gone!.

Price £25 (plus P&P if required).

All profits go towards Stretham Ringing Education Centre, which has been providing ringing training to anyone who wants it since 2015, and provides almost 500 handling lessons, plus over 50 Learning the Ropes level 2 and 3 practice opportunities per year. Learners from all over the Association have used its facilities. The STEP appeal aims to provide two training bells and make the ringing room warmer.

Michael B Davies

We are sorry to report that Mike Davies from Histon died on 20 September after a long illness.  He was the Ely District's  CCCBR representative for many years and wrote a biography of Albert J Pitman, the well-known composer. His funeral will be on 16th October at 2.30pm at Histon.

Central Council of Church Bell Ringers meeting report

Lynne Hughes, one of the Association's representatives to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) has written a useful report about the CCCBR meeting in Exeter over the weekend of 7th and 8th September 2024. 

RWNYC, 6 July 2024

Ely DA Young Ringers had two teams competing in the 6 bell Call Changes section of the Ringing World National Youth Competition held in London. We were delighted to come joint 3rd (Bengal Fen Tigers) and joint 8th (Siberian Fen Tigers), a demonstration of increase in skill, and in numbers of young ringers wanting to take part. Thanks to all the young ringers for their dedication and concentration, and their parents for supporting them, not only in getting them to London on the day, but also to the preceding practices held during the four months running up to the big day. As well as competing first thing at St James Garlickhythe, the squad were able to grab the wonderful and imposing bells at Bow, and some of our squad ventured to ring round the back end bells, including the tenor! Other towers were St Lawrence Jewry, Cripplegate, Foster Lane, and St Magnus London Bridge. A busy but rewarding day!

Draft AGM Minutes 2024

The Draft Minuites from the 2024 AGM held at Swavesey are now available. These may yet require further correction and will be formally approved at the 2025 AGM.

Association Facebook Page

As well as the Facebook Groups run by each District, the Association has a  Facebook page at 

https://www.facebook.com/elyda.bellringers/

This is intended as a more formal communication channel than the groups for our members and the general public. It will carry announcements of, and reports about, most or all association, district and RATS (incl. Young Ringers) events and so act as a sort of ‘newsletter’ for the association. If you are a Facebook user then please take a look and click the ‘Follow” button so that you will be alerted to new posts.

Posting access to this Page can be made available to Association and District officers involved in organising events to simplify making announcements - see the Facebook Page policy for more information.

Ely DA AGM and inter-district striking competition 2024

The Association's 2024 AGM was held on Saturday 4 May at Swavesey by kind invitation of the Ely District. Prior to the meeting there was ringing at Rampton , Willingham and  Swavesey. 

Further details of the meeting will be available in due course,  but highlights include:

• Long Service Certificates were awarded to 10 members who have been members for between 25 and 60 years.

• Nick Elks will take over the role of Peal Secretary in the New Year from Sue Marsden who has completed her term of office. All other officers were re-elected for a further year.

• Subscriptions for Riging Members will increase to £15 from next year; all other subscriptions are unchanged.

• Association Peal Fees (currently £1 per ringer per peal) will be abolished from the end of this year.

• 7 peals, previously rejected by the Association in 1991 will be reinstated in the Association's records

• The Association will adopt an on-line system for managing members and subscriptions from next year. The system is very likely to be MemberMojo.

The association inter-district striking competition was held at at Over on the same day.  All four districts entered a team and the judge was Brian Meads from Coggeshall in Essex. Brian commented that the bells were quite difficult to ring well, with long and stretchy ropes making the front bells particularly tricky to handle. In summary he said that none of the bands were outstanding but there were no major clashes in the ringing, and the faults were evenly scattered. Team 1 (Huntigdon) test piece was well rung especially by the treble and tenor ringers. Team 2 (Wisbech) struggled and the ringing was more irregular. It improved durig the test piece. Team 3 (Ely) was similar to team 2 with a slightly better rhythm. Team 4 (Cambridge) was more uneven but there were no method mistakes.

Results. 1st Huntingdon 53 faults. 2nd Ely 83 faults, 3rd Wisbech 85 faults. 4th Cambridge 110 faults.

Landbeach now a 6!

Landbeach ringers are pleased to announce that Landbeach is now a six! The new two trebles from Eijsbouts are a perfect tonal match for our 500 year old tenor and 1929 Taylor 3, 4 & 5. Visitors welcome at practice night, now Weds, 7-8:30pm and service ringing, 9:30am. On the second Weds of the month we go to Horningsea. See you soon! Preferably let us know before coming, just in case there has been an alteration.

Stretham Tower Enhancement Project 

The Stretham Tower Enhancement Project (STEP) aims to keep the tradition of bell ringing alive in Stretham with the installation of a glass screen for the ringing room, some much needed maintenance and the installation of two ‘Training Bells.

Home to the Association's Ringing Education Centre, the bells  of St James' church at Stretham have been ringing out across the village since the 18th century and they now require significant maintenance. At the same time, the installation of two new Training Bells (these are easy to ring model bells which make their noise via a computer) will provide a tremendous aid to safe and enjoyable teaching, especially of children. The installation of a full-height glass screen across the top of the ringing room balcony in St will transform the experience of ringing there from freezing endurance to one of pleasant light comfort!

Follow the progress of the project on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StrethamBells and keep up-to-date with progress on raising the needed £45,000 on their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/stretham-step1710494742422.