First posted: 10 September 2025

The Ringing Roadshow, Sheffield 2025

It was my first time at a Ringing Roadshow, a trade show for bellringers. Many bell hangers and makers of bell fittings had displays in addition to a few associations and groups with publications for sale. The advertisers in the program (available here) give a good indication of the main ones present. I was particularly interested in the muffles being made by Ringing Matters, which have stretchy Velcro fasteners. I would be interested to know if anyone has tried them.

A mobile ring of bells

There were four mobile rings on display, each very different to the others. The one of greatest interest, shown in the picture, is a new trailer based ring of six, designed and created by Matthew Higby. It would be better described as a light mobile ring rather than a mini-ring. The bells sounded pretty; they had stays and rang well using a traditional handling style; and the design looked as if it would be easy to set-up and take down. Matthew told me he plans to add a canopy to allow wet-weather ringing. Mini-rings without stays may have a future as providing a quicker have-a-go opportunity. However, this mobile ring will be much more attractive to bell ringers wishing to demonstrate their art.

Deryn Griffiths

latest first

2026

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