Handbell Morning Report (Nov 2020)

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Published: Friday, 04 December 2020 21:26

A record turnout of both new and seasoned handbell ringers gathered on-line for the second ‘virtual’ SCACR handbell morning on 28th November. The event was so well subscribed some had to be turned away. As everyone responded to the prompt early ‘log-in’ there was debate as to whether this might be one of the highest attended SCACR meetings for the year.

The joy of Zoom meant that ex-Young Ringers of Sussex could join from their respective university locations across the country, breaking down the barriers of national lockdown and no Covid tests required!

The experience of and since the first virtual handbell morning back in September meant that the technology ran very smoothly with easy transfers into breakout rooms on Zoom. We occupied seven different RingingRoom towers across the county and rang methods from Plain Hunt to Surprise Major.

There were two ‘ringing’ sessions the first lasting an hour and the second 50 minutes, generally thought to be sufficient lengths of time for concentration on the screen. Progress was good with several goals for the morning being met.

Despite the numbers we were still able to have a good old natter in the coffee break, where as well as the weather and general well-being of attendees we debated the history of the terms ‘minor and major’.

The event was so popular that the next one is already in the diary for 30th January 2021. You might want to book a space early while you can by contacting Hamish at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alison Lucas

Coronavirus restrictions from 2nd December 2020

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Published: Tuesday, 01 December 2020 21:55

The government have recently announced the restrictions that will apply in England beyond Wednesday 2nd December.

East and West Sussex are being placed under Tier 2 'High Alert' restrictions.

Under Tier 2 restrictions it is not possible to socialise with anyone you don't live with (support bubbles are permitted) in an indoor environment. This includes while in a place of worship.

Unfortunately this means that ringing in towers can't resume for the time being. (It may be possible to ring within a family unit, the Central Council will hopefully advise later on in the week).

However, the rule of six is reintroduced for meeting outside. Therefore it is possible for socially distanced handbell ringing or other social activities to take place (weather permitting!).

There is a review of these restrictions on Wednesday 16th December, we can only hope that there is an easing into Tier 1 to allow ringing to resume once more.

For more information please read the Government local restriction tiers page, together with the updated CCCBR COVID guidance.

Rob Lane
Association Master

Highlights from the November General Committee meeting

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Published: Monday, 16 November 2020 20:28

The first word that springs to mind when you hear the phrase “committee meeting” may well be “boooorrrring!”, but hopefully you’ll find several things of interest in this quick summary!

• Key updates:
  The pilot online mini-course (“Intro to Ringing Room” on 28th October) was a success, so we’re planning to run a series of online courses using Ringing Room and Zoom, starting with Plain Hunt (14th November).
• We will hold an online Young Ringers’ Forum for all SCACR members aged under-25. This is an opportunity for the Young Ringers to tell us what they would like in terms of events and training (in addition to that for the RWNYC). We’ll be in touch with Young Ringers with more details soon – in the meantime, if you’re a Sussex Young Ringer and have ideas and suggestions, please get in touch via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!
• Hamish is organising another Handbell Morning on Saturday 28th November (see the website calendar for more details).
• Save the date! SCACR Christmas Quiz (online) on Saturday 19th December.
• Steph and Hamish have written an “Events Organisers’ Guidance” document. This is to help people with events planning, including advertising, risk assessment, and safeguarding. Although originally intended for in-person events, a lot of it also applies to online events. The guidance document can be found in our Resources area: Other Documents

Read more: Highlights from the November General Committee meeting

Successful first Association online course

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Published: Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:26

Successful first Association online course: Intro to Plain Hunt on Ringing Room

Great fun was had by all, and excellent progress made by the learners, on the SCACR’s first ever online ringing course. Seven learners and ten helpers assembled on Zoom on the morning of Saturday 14th November, ready to tackle Plain Hunt Doubles. The learners had varying degrees of tower bell experience, ranging from just starting out on Plain Hunt to being able to call simple touches of Doubles methods. The session started with everyone introducing themselves. Anne Franklin then explained the basic theory, after which we split into two groups to practise on Ringing Room (many of the helpers were strangely delighted at the opportunity to “bag” a new virtual tower!).

Read more: Successful first Association online course