Out for an early morning run, enjoying the cold air and the sunshine, I suddenly remembered the bells.
I love the sound of church bells and around this time last year, and in search of a new project, I decided to look into bell ringing. My maternal grandfather, Bertie Godwin (1901-1968), worked as a bell hanger, travelling the length and breadth of the country to hang some of the finest bells in England - a career cut short by the Second World War. I had a romantic idea that by becoming a bell ringer I'd discover an innate connection, a latent talent. I started the project in earnest. I listened more keenly to Bells On Sunday, I made a chart, I did lots of online research, I looked at pictures of bells, I questioned my mother, I went along to local churches and collected bell ringing contacts. And that's where it ended. I think it was the empty churches, the abandoned graveyards, the desolation, the echoes of the past. They left me cold and downhearted. I wanted to be uplifted, but I felt flattened. I wanted a passion, but it was a trial. It wasn't for me. It wasn't a good fit. Maybe it wasn't the right time, or maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Either way, I did the right thing, abandoned the project and felt instantly happier. I still love the sound of church bells, I still tune in to Bells On Sunday, and I still think of my grandfather.
I don't know why I remembered the bells - that's what happens on a morning run, thoughts come and go, memories, ideas, flashes of inspiration. Or maybe I was thinking "new year, new project". This year it's all about the piano! But that's another story....
The picture shows The Bargate curfew & alarm bell, Southampton, Hampshire. Not a church bell, but a very ancient bell dating back to 1605, photographed on a beautifully sunny afternoon last November, and very possibly made by John Taylor & Co, the largest bell foundry in the world, established in the 14th century, one of only two in the UK and still operational today.
Click on the link below to take a look at John Taylor & Co, The Bellfoundry, Freehold Street, Loughborough, Leicestershire. My grandfather, Bertie Godwin, lived in a house on Freehold Street in Loughborough and worked as a bell hanger at John Taylor & Co!
Click on the link below to read about The Bargate, Southampton, Hampshire:-
Click on the link below to visit BBC Radio 4 and listen to Bells On Sunday:-
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