Observation bell
New Year’s Day brought a minor celebration, with ‘before’ and ‘after’ drivers enabling me to travel to my local church so I could sit at the base of the tower to hear the six bells ‘ringing it in’.
Sadly it is now a whole year since I last climbed the 34-step staircase – my 95-years (together with my family and my vicar) declaring ‘that’s all’ to such ascents. I’m therefore a non-ringer on the local scene – something unthought of 30 years ago when my wife and I purposely chose to retire to Kirkbymoorside ‘because of the bells’.
Such a calling (to call people to worship through ringing) was a great pull on my mind as we moved to a new part of the country. Having previously lived in Bedfordshire and Kent all my life, how great that our activity at the end of a rope is the same wherever we live in the UK, and how wonderful that local bands warmly welcome visitors and newcomers.
So, this past New Year’s Eve, after the ritual of setting the treble, followed by 2, 3, 4 and 5, the tenor dutifully struck twelve on cue. Finally the ‘ring down’ was followed by plenty of not-so-minor refreshments, with perhaps a few doubles thrown in?! And a much later than usual bed-time. Truly, a great start to another year for this local band to advance in methods and accuracy – and hopefully leading to successful lengths and striking competition standards.
I hope all bands up and down the country will, likewise, be following up a similar start to this year, and I look forward to seeing plenty of evidence of the same printed in this superlative magazine!
Michael Stephens,