The Derby Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers (DDA) was formed in 1946 when the Midland Counties Guild was split into four.
We celebrated its 50th anniversary year in 1996. We intended to celebrate the 75th anniversary in 2021 – but the Covid19 pandemic meant that gatherings and celebrations were not very practical that year. That’s why we’ve decided to mark the 80th anniversary instead.
Of course we’d like some celebratory ringing in our towers. But more than that, we would really love to have a celebration with legacy – something that makes a lasting difference for individuals, towers and the DDA. So here is what we’re proposing:
- A quarter peal or other celebratory ringing on all the DDA’s ringable bells during 2026.
- Every ringer to grow, to achieve something that they can feel pleased with, during 2026.
- A book to create a tangible record of the year, to give us something to look back on.
Celebratory ringing
Let’s let our bells speak, with celebratory ringing on all our ringable bells. How better to celebrate the legacy of the bells we have, and the people who have cared for them over the years? We can ring quarter peals, or other celebratory ringing, dedicated to the 80th anniversary on all our ringable bells during 2026. We can publicise locally why we are ringing. And we can link all the performances to a DDA 80th anniversary event on Bellboard.
Growing ringers, growing towers
This is a challenge and an invitation to grow, perhaps to stretch yourself a little, to do something that will make a lasting difference to you or your tower – ideally something more than what you would just have done anyway in 2026.
The first question is what do you want to achieve? What do you hope for? What are your aspirations? We’d love to hear from you at the start of the year. It would be great to know what people are aiming for, then we can encourage each other and find ways to help each other – and of course, once you have said what you’re aiming for it will boost your own motivation to achieve it.
This is a ‘one size fits all’ challenge, because everybody’s hopes are different and everybody has some room to grow. Think about what you’d like to do that takes you a little bit further than ‘what you would have done anyway’. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking…
- Move from call changes into method ringing.
- Call some call changes.
- Ring some Surprise.
- Ring on a higher number of bells than you are currently used to.
- Ring a quarter peal or peal.
- Call a quarter peal or a peal.
- Teach someone to handle a bell (go on a Module 1 course).
- Improve your teaching skills.
- Learn maintenance skills, change a stay, splice a rope …
- Run a practice.
- Arrange an outing or other ringing
- Ring at some new towers.
- Arrange a ringers’ tea.
- Install a simulator in your tower.
- Make your ringing chamber more warm and welcoming.
- Give a talk about ringing to a group of non-ringers.
- Help someone else to achieve their goal.
If you let us know what you’re aiming for we’ll do everything we can to help you make it happen. We can muster ringers to support you, or point you towards resources than can help (such as our Education page, or the Association of Ringing Teachers). We really want to support you to do your ‘thing’ well and confidently, so that our ringing and towers in the Derby Diocese will be a little bit better in the long term because of the way we celebrated our 80th anniversary.
There is an event on the Ringing World Bellboard (DDA 80th Anniversary) where you can link special performances you have made. Don’t forget this can include any ringing – not just peals or quarters. And if you would like to tell us what your aspirations are, you can use the form below. Please do so.
The 80th Anniversary Book
We would like to create a record of our anniversary year and a snapshot of the DDA in 2026. It could include the names of everyone who took part and (with permission) photographs and information about what people hoped for at the start of the year and what they actually achieved. It will probably be the photographs that we will look at with most interest in the years to come! We intend to publish on the DDA website like the DDA Book of Millennium Bellringers, and maybe also create a permanent record for those who would like one.