Most ringers know that the Central Council’s journal, The Ringing World, is under severe financial pressure.  The Ringing World is owned by the Central Council and thus by all affiliated ringing associations, but subscriptions have fallen to a dangerously low level.

The Peal and Quarter Peal reports are of interest to many ringers, especially those who participate. They take up a major part of the journal, but are currently published free of charge. Rather than increase the subscription or reduce the frequency of publication, the RW board (made up of ringers, including some local to this Guild) has proposed that a voluntary donation of 50 p per rope should be made for all peals and quarters submitted for publication. It is a voluntary donation to avoid issues with taxation, but they need 70 % of ringers to comply in order for this to bring sanity back to their finances.  You can read the full article by the RW Chairman here, which explains how payment should be made (via PayPal if at all possible).

Speaking entirely personally, I think this is a very pragmatic solution to the serious problems that the RW faces and extremely cheap – you’d pay a lot more in fuel or bus-fare in getting to ringing – and I will gladly pay this small amount to ensure the future of a valuable resource that once lost is unlikely to be replaced.