We began the year with our Annual Meeting at Tideswell, which was well attended despite very cold weather. Thank-you Tideswell ringers for the delicious hot meal which kept everyone going.

The main spring event was the striking contest heats, which took place at Hayfield. Judge Graham Hayward placed Darley Dale first in the method ringing with Ashford second, and Stanton in Peak first and Bakewell second for call changes. Darley Dale and Stanton went on to win the Horsley Cup and the Arthur Ashby Cup respectively. Thank you to Graham for judging our heats and giving very constructive comments, and congratulations to all who took part. Later in the year the Peak District team retained the Eight Bell Trophy, so congratulations to them too.

Throughout the year we have tried to cover as much of our area as possible, going north to Fairfield for a meeting, to Hayfield for the striking contest heats, east to Edensor and west to Sheen and Hartington, where we enjoyed a lovely Carol Service, followed by a Pie and Pea supper. We have also experienced a variety of bells, from the ten at Leek for our ‘out of county’ meeting to the challenges of the ladder and the lack of stays at Wormhill. The members who attend these meetings enjoy them, but it would still be good to see more of you!

Always well attended is the Peak District Outing. This year the coach full of ringers and friends descended on Liverpool and the surrounding area for a very well-planned day, including Pier Head and the steel bells at Hale in Cheshire. Gold Medals to the Taylor family for organising these very enjoyable days!

In the autumn, Josh Eldridge organised eight quarter peals for Quarter Peal Day, seven of which were successful. A number of ‘firsts’ were celebrated – congratulations to Alison Rooke for her first quarter, Janet Wright for her first Grandsire, and Sue Bliss for her first ‘inside’ of Plain Bob minor. Many thanks to Josh for taking on this task at quite short notice.

It has been a good year in the Peak District, with bells ringing for St George, for the Queen’s Jubilee, for the Olympics, for weddings and funerals, and just for fun. So could I thank the incumbents and tower captains for making the bells available, the committee for their hard work through the year, and to all of you who have rung the bells.

Jo Walker