The New Year has started, and I wonder how many of us have made New Year Resolutions. This seems to be a tradition that has slowly died, and this year I don't know of anyone who has made a resolution, probably because it used to one of those things we did, b

Perhaps a good New Year's Resolution that I hope would last, would be to try and improve your ringing skills and ability. Unfortunately this cannot always be done within your own tower. I remember that not long after I started ringing, my "home tower" was almost a "call change" tower, with Plain Bob and Grandsire Doubles thrown in occasionally. I started going out to other towers, and persuaded one or two others to come with me, and we were then able to take our new found abilities back to our home tower. This also showed other towers that we were trying to get on, and so other ringers started coming to us as well. Remember, it is a two way thing, if you want to get on, you cannot always expect help to come to you; you have to be prepared to get out and help yourself.

However, saying that, I know that time is very precious these days, and a lot of ringers cannot afford additional time for more ringing. This is especially so when your spouse is not a ringer. I am lucky in that respect, as obviously both Moya and I are ringers, but even that sometimes has its drawbacks, as we end up finding ourselves out ringing most nights of the week, and usually Saturdays as well.

May I take this opportunity to thank the many people who rang quarter peals and peals of "Julie McDonnell" in any format, and helped to raise many thousands of pounds for "Strike Back Against Blood Cancer". Of course, I also congratulate Julie McDonnell herself for her own fantastic personal achievements.

By the time you read this, those of you listed for e-mail correspondence should have received a poster from OUR Association listing the vacant posts around the County. Do please give thought to how you would be able to help and put your name forward at your respective Annual District Meeting. Please contact your District Secretary; Sandra Alford, the Association’s General Secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.); or myself for more information.
Happy New Year to you all, and KEEP ringing.

Graham Hills, January 2017