Guild members and friends enjoyed a happy week of ringing in South Staffordshire with superb hospitality and accommodation provided by the Shoulder of Mutton Inn in the village of Hamstall Ridware. We rang for Evensong at Lichfield Cathedral, were greatly pleased by the newly rehung and cast peal of 10 at Barton Under Needwood and achieved some creditable striking on the 10 at Tamworth. The Staffordshire rural countryside and villages were a pleasure to see and overall our time spent together was replete with good humour, worship, friendships renewed and, to add, largely respectable ringing! It was good to have new member Mark Hart from Nantwich join us for a day during the week…and by all accounts he enjoyed his time with us. The AGM was held during the week and included the President’s Annual Report 2024/25 (distributed in an earlier Guild newsletter). Officers were re-elected en bloc and unchanged for the 2025/2026. Seven new members were proposed and elected new com:
Simon Dommett of Bedford, Mark Hart of Nantwich, Nicky Harvey of Marden in Kent, Rhona McEune of the Anglesey Group Cambridge, Kevin Lovell of Reading, Jamie MacLeod of the Whaley Abbey Community, and Ian Jorysz, Precentor of Manchester Cathedral.
Since the AGM we have welcomed another new Guild member – the Reverend Ben Rundell-Evans of Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset. Ben’s membership, as usual, will be ratified at the 2026 AGM.
Most grateful thanks must be expressed to Tony Eliis and David Everett as our LWT organisers this year. They did a grand job for us between them.