If you were conducting a survey on ringing, what would you ask?
Obviously, you need tower information - how many ringers turn up to practice? To Sunday service? How many learners have you currently got? What is your retention rate? What is the current "ringing level" of the band? How many are capable of teaching handling to newbies? What is the age range of your band? How many come to the pub after practice?
Also, association level information is important. How many ringable towers are in your group? How many have active bands? How many are rung regularly by neighbouring bands? How many need work to bring them back into use? How many targeted practices are there for your members? At what level?
But what about the questions for individual ringers? These micro-level queries are where you will find the answers to what attracts people to ringing in the first place, what makes them stay ringing and what puts them off. What are the barriers? What are the lures? What stalls progress or drives people away? What makes us keep coming back for more? If you know the answer to those questions, then you will know how to best ensure the future of ringing, but what are the crucial questions and how to reach the target audience?
Most ringers are not so committed that they scour the relevant Facebook pages or ringing social media sites. They may look at their local tower pages to know whether to turn up or not on the 5th Sunday of the month, but that is their limit. Therefore, if you do a monkey survey, your audience will be a self-selected band of the extra keen. You may get information about what they would like in an ideal ringing world, but basically they are already hooked and reeled in. They will remain committed, unless family or employment gets in the way. It is the less secure ringers that are of real interest, because why are they less committed? What makes them different from the really passionate ringers? From my limited sample, it is not to do with talent. I know some potentially very good ringers, far better than I am, who have modest ambitions. They are content to ring at their local tower when asked, but that is the extent of their engagement. The odd tower outing is fun, but a familiar ring with some friends is sufficient payback for the hours spent learning to ring. That is what they offer and they are loyal, reliable and to be valued. At the other end of the spectrum are the individuals who ring every day, sometimes twice a day. They support learners, ring numerous quarters and peals, organise outings and install training bells in their bedrooms/garages. What makes them different?
A wise and experienced ringer said to me recently that the difference between a good ringer and a mediocre ringer is not really down to natural ability, but to sheer hard work. Those of us who put in 10 or more hours a week are going to make more progress than those that volunteer 2 hours of their time. It stands to reason that the more effort you put in, the more progress you will make. But why are some people so committed that they put in silly hours? Why do we fall asleep every night playing some method or other through our head? Why do we take every opportunity to ring with new people, in new places, on different bells? What drives this fascination? And that is the question that needs to be asked. What is it that compels us to try to improve quite so vigorously? Our original motive to get involved may have been identical to our peers - to meet boys/girls, as a form of worship, it is "what we do" in our family, an historical interest, the mental stimulation, a social activity – but then something else takes over and we go all out to be the best that we can. People talk about an addiction which irritates me no end, because an addiction is a mental health problem and not an over-indulgence in a hobby. I am not addicted to bell ringing, but at times I have got it way out of proportion. If you could find an answer to why, it would probably be illuminating - not least to understand what makes me tick.
This therefore is what needs to be asked – why do some people become rather obsessed? What makes them different? Is it personal relationships? Is it a competitive nature? Is it a fear of missing out? Is it that they have finally found something for themselves that they enjoy? Speaking for myself, it is not that I am naturally any good at ringing, but ringing grabbed me in a way that choirs, an orchestra and other group activities failed to. I think it is the the way that so many strands come together - teamwork, mental stimulation, mathematics, tradition, gentle physical exercise, the chance to poke around behind the scenes in churches, belonging to a fascinating community and the sheer glory of the sound that bells can make when the ringing is going well.
Another interesting question is why can certain people be satisfied with one square of chocolate and others gobble up the whole bar?
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