Bells

Bells are probably one of the earliest things we hear as human beings. They are one of a number of things in the parents' armoury to sooth unhappy babies. And so that merry jingle jingle is seared indelibly into the infant mind, to be encountered throughout a lifetime until the final one that tolls mournfully for us all. Yes bells....they feature in many ways throughout life. Not all will remember the school bell, rung by a proud chosen one at the beginning and end of play time. Oh what a privilege that was - one that I sadly never experienced; doomed to look on enviously at the chosen ones throughout my time at St Gabriel's primary school.

Dennis fire engine with bells

There are those old enough to remember when Fire Engines, Ambulances and Police Cars had bells. These bells seemed to serve their purpose, and indeed had a reassuring sound, signalling heroes on their way to deal with an emergency. But progress saw the introduction of sirens which serve the same purpose but can also make you jump out of your skin if you are in the immediate vicinity when they are turned on. The old emergency vehicle bells can still be experienced from the comfort of an armchair when watching some old black and white Ealing-type film....a very pleasant experience in itself if you are in your sixties.

Christmas is of course a popular time for bells. Jingle bells have already been mentioned but what do jingle bells symbolize? Not having access to Encyclopaedia Britannica, i had to resort, inevitably to that font of all knowledge Google which came up with this:

'The affluent ornamentally wore bells as a symbol of wealth and status. In old Pagan beliefs, jingle bells are used to ward off bad luck, diseases, and evil spirits. Today some motorcyclists strap small bells to their handlebars to ward off road demons."

Which was new to me. I had been looking up Solstice Bells, but all that seemed to come up was 'Ring Out, Solstice Bells' by Jethro Tull, well worth a listen, linked here:Jethro Tull on TOTP 1976 

Most football fans that exist outside the Premier League will be aware of the Pompey Chimes and the famous bell ringer of Portsmouth FC, which is a beautiful sound to accompany the beautiful game.

Pompey's bell-ringing fan

Expect a game of all bells and whistles if you visit Fratton Park. The topic of football may ring alarm bells for some readers, so I'll move swiftly on before I'm tempted to make some terrible joke about Colin Bell they'd never get.

A year or two someone at work mentioned Urbexing, something I hadn't heard of at the time. When it was explained to me, I quite fancied doing it. I'd often seen empty boarded up buildings I would like to explore but never really considered it. I knew of an empty boarded up Church in Bacup that I'd always wanted to visit and as there was someone who knew the Urbexing ropes, we decided to go there. In the event there was only one way in that didn't lead into the main part of the building but into an area where a stone staircase led up into the spire to where the bell ringers carried out their noble art. Oh how mysterious it was in that room. Cobwebs and dust everywhere gave the impression of decay, the past and sadness. A second flight of stone stairway led further up unto the spire where the bells were. There they hung, solemn and silent. These were bells that rang out every Sunday morning until for whatever reason they fell silent. Oh how tempted I was to pull one of the ropes and ring one of the bells. Regretfully I hadn't the nerve to do it. With hindsight it was a chance missed. We left the spire to the spiders the silence and the ghosts of countless bell ringers down through the years. And being up there put me in mind of one of the most famous bellringers of all. He who rescued Esmerelda and carried her to sanctuary in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral in medieval Paris. Poor Quasimodo. Deafened by the bells....the bells.

Quasimodo, hunchback of Notre Dame

Robert Giddins.