[Bell Historians] CCC

[David Bryant]

I was going to keep quiet about this, but in view of these comments I won't.

FIrstly, I think the RW's presentation of the situation is highly biased and way over-the-top. Points which I think are relevant to this discussion:

1) The criteria are actually not that different to what happens in practiceanyway.

2) The criteria being proposed are NOT the same as those presented by Mary Bliss at the seminar. They have actually been toned down a bit, but nobody seems to have mentioned this (has anyone even noticed?)

3) The leading experts in bells (of which George is one) are all self-taught, as there is no such thing as a "professional" expert on bell conservation. I believe that those making the policies are the right people to be doing so. Who else would Andrew suggest? I think if you went to certain heritage bodies you would end up with a draconian set of guidelines. Those being proposed at the moment are, as I see it, perfectly workable and sensible.

Andrew states that it is not scientific to list bells on quality grounds using people's opinions. Well, I would suggest that this is in fact the only way, as quality is subjective. If many people think they are excellent thenthat is the best measure of quality which there is.

And as regards who's opinions are considered, if I remember rightly George has in the past invited members of the list to suggest to him any bells which they think should be listed, and I know for a fact that he takes these suggestions into consideration and acts on them if appropriate.

And finally, Andrew suggests that the CCC needs people with other skills indeciding on criteria. Who does he suggest? The majority of ringers (members of this list excepted) don't know much at all about bells. Not that this will stop them from having vociferous opinions, of course - and the RW is deliberately trying to stir up such feelings. It is not the fault of the CCCthat the matter has hit the front page of the RW - it is clearly a very deliberate act on the part of the RW.

David
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