Dear members,
I hope you all had a good Christmas and that the New Year will bring good things.
I have to say that 2021 was a bit of a roller coaster year for us all, as far as ringing was concerned. There were worrying times and frustrations with restrictions, and positive times with ringing returning, maybe not completely back to normal, but pretty close in many areas. As the year drew to a close we were again forced to cut back, cancel, or review many of our ringing commitments. The School was one casualty – finishing abruptly a week early amid concerns of rising COVID cases. The Guild AGM, in January, too – the decision has been made to hold it virtually for the second year running (8th January 10.00 am) – but at least this makes it safely accessible to all. The School will resume in January, when we have enough manpower to make it viable – so it may start a week or two later than planned, but it will be back.
Looking forward to 2022, there is plenty to look forward to. February 26th will see the Henry Johnson Dinner at the Burlington Hotel, with Janet and Steve Horton in the chair. The Association of Ringing Teachers comes to Birmingham for their conference in May – it is open to anyone to attend and there is always a varied and interesting programme. In June, the Queen celebrates her platinum jubilee. The first weekend in June will be a 4-day Bank Holiday weekend and there will no doubt be plenty of opportunities for ringing. In July Birmingham hosts the Commonwealth Games – we are currently holding discussions with the organisation team to ensure ringing gets a prominent place in the celebrations.
Andy Clark is currently collecting items for the latest newsletter. Please forward anything you have of interest to him. This will be Andy’s last newsletter – after 5 years of doing a fantastic job, he is standing down. We are actively looking for a new newsletter editor – if you think that this might be something you could help with then please get in touch.
We are also looking for a new Henry Johnson Dinner Secretary. This year’s dinner will be Jenny Sunter’s last as organiser. She has done an amazing job over what turned out to be some difficult years. Please have a think about the post, and if you, or someone else feel it is something you might consider, we would be very happy to hear from you.
Wishing you all the best for 2022
Clare