Dear Ringers,
I am writing this while on the train to Stirling, to attend the National
Rally hosted by the Scottish Region, having just passed through
Newcastle/Gateshead, the venue of the International Symposium in 2026
(more details further on this newsletter!). Being able to attend events
like these really does add another dimension to our organisation, with the
chance to meet with and learn from so many more ringers (and friends).
You don’t have to be an advanced ringer or have been ringing for a certain
amount of time – these events really are for everyone, and everyone will
go away from them having learnt new things and met new people. While
there are only a few of us from the South East Region making the journey
to Scotland, many will extend the visit for at least a day or two in order
to have a bit of a holiday as well – an excellent way to explore new places!
Even within our region, travelling from one end to the other takes quite
some time. I was reminded of this in February when I attended a 12 bell
and small ensemble day run by the East Anglian Region in south Essex,
which took less than an hour to get to! This was a day specifically for
soloists, duets and small teams, and it was lovely to meet some young
ringers from our region who were ringing Belleplates.
Through chatting over coffee, we learnt that they were wanting to try
and get some bells which they could use and so we were able to link them
up with Alan Hartley and they hope to be able to borrow some bells from
the WHMF in the near future.
You don’t have to travel a long way to be able to ring together with others.
Following the success of ‘Christmas Together’, you might like to organise
a ‘Summer Tea Together’ with a local team or two. Here are the last of
the photos from our Christmas Together events – the postponed event
hosted by The Wandle Ringers that became a Wassail Together!
However far you travel, I hope to see you at an event very soon.
Yours,
Helen
HELENLSECKER@GMAIL.COM