On Sunday 29th September we will welcome a group of ringers from Birmingham City Centre – alongside a few of their friends from Halifax and York – who will be undertaking a 12-bell peal attempt. We had a quick chat with George Salter from the team to find out more!

Why are you doing the peal at the end of the month?
This was organised for fun for some of us who have not been to Bradford Cathedral before. We’d heard nice things about the bells from friends who had rung a peal back in July 2023.

Could you tell us a little about your history as a bell-ringer?
I grew up in Suffolk learning to ring at the age of 9. I spent a lot of my early ringing days as part of the bands at St Mary le Tower, Ipswich, Gislingham and Mistley as well as regularly attending many ringing events hosted by the Suffolk Guild. I moved to Bristol in early 2017 and was a keen ringer there for 7 years before relocating to Birmingham to be closer to family.

What do you most enjoy about bell-ringing?
I get a real satisfaction from going to new places with friends and ringing on nice bells. Going to a nice ring of bells and doing some good ringing, followed by a fun social with beer and usually ending in a curry, is something of a tradition somewhat in the Bristol ringing scene. I’m pleased that it exists here too in the midlands.

Can you find out more about the ringers online or on social media?
There are numerous groups across the country. The main one for us in Birmingham is the St Martin’s Guild. A couple of the major national competitions all of us are really into are the National 12-bell Striking Contest, and the Ringing World National Youth Contest.

Listen out for our bells being rung by this group around 11:30am on Sunday 29th September!

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