Fun with Bells Cathy Booth

Who better to quiz about the future of ringing than the President of the CCCBR, the chair of the Association of Ringing Teachers, and an ordained ringer and co-author of a book about ringing and the church? Show host Cathy Booth puts this esteemed panel through its paces, posing some vital questions on what needs to happen to keep change ringing alive, and to recruit and retain young ringers.It turns out that most of the answers lie with young people themselves, and that the ringing community...

‘Unique’ is often overused as a word, but host Cathy Booth’s guests on this wonderful episode, John, and Debbie, can certainly claim it for their ringing experience. That’s because they ring at St Thomas’s Church, Kilifi in Kenya which is one of the remotest rings of bells in the world, with the nearest bells hung for change ringing being at Harare in Zimbabwe over 1,000 miles away.Cathy learns about the fascinating history of the church and the bells, as well as hearing how John and Debbie b...

Why do you ring in a gallery? Who were the ringers whose names are on the peal boards behind you? Where can you find an example of an art deco ringing association certificate?Host Cathy Booth quizzes knowledgeable guests Chris Ridley and Gareth Davies about the amazing range of historical sources at your fingertips to help answer these questions and more.Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of Chris and the volunteers from the historical and archive working group of the CCCBR there are coll...

In this special fifth anniversary episode, the Fun with Bells Podcast celebrates by turning the tables on host and producer Cathy Booth, as she takes her turn on the other end of the microphone and is grilled by team member Emily Roderick.Emily digs into the background to the podcast, its aims, and the entire podcast process from idea to launch. The origin of the name is also revealed. Who knew?Cathy and Emily also choose some of their favourite episodes from the last five years and play some...

In this episode, David Smith makes a much-welcome return to the podcast for another conversation with host Cathy Booth that’s brimming with insight.Find out about about the differences between ringing associations in the UK and those in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. With David’s global ringing teaching experience there are plenty of anecdotes and observations, on all things teaching, learning and mentoring.It’s also an episode that poses some philosophical questions about the na...

This episode sees host Cathy Booth catching up with three Ring for King recruits to find out what their first year of ringing has been like. And what a year it’s been!Jessica, Lindsey and Andy have notched up an amazing collection of ‘firsts’ since starting their ringing adventure. First tower tour, first wedding ringing, first quarter peal and first striking competition have all been ticked off the list. Also worthy of note are their first ringing blisters!Find out what they have found hard,...