From time to time we have tried to encourage other ringers to use our blog to write about their progress, or how they overcame certain obstacles, and in general share their experience of learning to ring handbells. 

When we started this blog in 2011, neither Simon or I were at the very beginnings of our own personal handbell journeys, and we were writing out of the experience of teaching other people, and of our own experiences of pushing our own repertoire.   The first experiences of handbell ringing by the person learning it is something different.

We borrowed an idea from the excellent Women in Ringing website and have now created a special form where ringers can easily share their own personal experiences of learning to ring handbells, without needing to interact with our software.  Check it out by clicking on the link at the top right on the home page!

These stories will be added to our new Learning Journeys section.  To kick us off, we have a series of contributions from Heather Peachey (the first of which you can read right now).  Heather is also not a complete beginner, but used the lockdown to try to push her handbell ringing forward.  Her pieces are authentic and thoughtful essays on what she found hard, why she found it hard, and what she did to improve.  Plus plenty of helpful tips.  I totally recommend it.  There is more to come over the following weeks from Heather, and, we hope, from other ringers as well.