So in August, big news, we found out that the big man himself, Ben, would be falling silent until 2021.
You’d think Londoners would appreciate a few years of silence, what with all the minutes they’ve given him, but alas apparently it was quite a landmark moment. In all fairness he’s been chiming away for the last 157 years, so I’m seeing it as a well deserved holiday. Take it easy Ben. It sounds obvious, but a little unimpressive, that there isn’t a guy up in the bell tower dedicated to pulling the strings. There is however a winding mechanism that requires a little elbow grease a few times a week… Yeah, definitely doesn’t have a good ring to it. Neither does it sound as epic or grand as you might have hoped. Back in Ocelotshire you can argue that we’re a bit behind, or we just do things damn straight like actually manually ringing the bells. Being a local Swindion resident of Lydiard Park I’ve often heard St Mary’s bells echoing in the distance, which is very pleasant of an evening with a glass of wine but not so pleasant the following morning… Being the curious creature that I am, and apparently with not a lot else to do on a Tuesday, I went to have a gander and a go. Besides, how hard can it be? It turns out that to be an accomplished bell ringer you will need rhythm and muscle - two major qualities I just so happen not to have. One thing I didn’t realise is that there is also a huge bell ringing society - yeah, that’s a thing - all across the UK and beyond. They’re everywhere! And extremely talented, which leads me to my next fun fact.
Another chiming quality you will need to pocess is the ability to read music, from strings… It’s a kind of cross combination of a minature loom and hieroglyphics, which was probably made by a fraternity of church elders hundreds of years ago. Some people did however manage to crack the code, which is what bell ringers call a ‘method’, and out of this twisted madness comes the music. Fortunately Lydiard’s Tregoze ringers broke it down for me, and as with all musical instruments practice makes perfect. There was one minor incident where I took to the strings (it is harder than it looks) which strangely enough did not wind up with a noise complaint and granted me with an invatation back. I’d buy some ear plugs!
