Branwen speaks *
I’ve just spent my first* evening ringing handbells, and their silvery rhythmical sound was entrancing; a teacher told me at the age of 6 that I had a dreadful singing voice, so although I might not make harmonious sounds vocally, the ability to make pretty sounds in other ways is extremely satisfying. Of course teachers are pretty much unquestioned at that age, and in that era**, but having been a rebel from an early age*** I continue to sing while walking, cycling and in the bath. Have you tried singing while going through a tunnel? Echoes! Loud is best!
I met Robin at home and was greeted by two large and exuberant hellhounds who speedily settled in front of the Aga while we talked. I found myself stroking velvet soft fur while chatting, and while Darkness relaxed bonelessly, Chaos gave me long looks from under his eyelashes. I’m not a pushover but I am now besotted. + ** After putting the world to rights, we went for the afternoon hurtle, only slowing for poo breaks (which, you will be glad to know, were of desirable consistency – I’ve been told that this is a topic of interest to dog lovers…) ***
Darkness then suddenly stopped dead. It was apparently a protest. Chaos skipped after Robin, and Darkness waited; Robin tells me that where he was waiting is a longer route, and we had taken the short cut home. Robin won the battle, but Darkness was very much of the opinion that the walk would have been improved by choosing the OTHER path. He obviously has a sunny disposition though and shortly afterwards he was picking up sticks (and with Robin’s encouragement) flaunting them at Chaos. †
A short break for tea, and fortunately time to change my hellhound hurtling boots for clean indoor shoes. Very fortunate, as Niall’s house is immaculate, with deep, cream carpets stretching out before you. ††
Niall – well, what does one say? The man loves his handbells†††, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Both he and Colin (and of course Robin) were very kind to a total handbell novice, but in Niall’s case there was a hint of steel beneath the velvet glove‡ - short breaks for nervous collapses were allowed, but then it was onwards, with much encouragement and the odd++ slice of cake as a carrot. Alicia has already described the seating arrangements, and so I was prepared when I was ousted from a comfortable sofa and handed a hardbacked chair to perch on. Initially I was facing Robin+++, but after a few rounds we swapped round so that I was opposite Niall.
Brief diversion here – when you’re learning bell ringing methods and are still likely to go wrong other ringers will lean round their ropes and leer at you; even very quiet and innocuous people who never obtrude themselves perform this “ringer’s leer”. OK back to the handbells, where I discover that Niall can do a seated handbell version of the “ringer’s leer”. This involves prodding a bell at you as if pushing a button to ring the bell. In effect Niall was ringing 4 bells, his 2, and my 2, as well as trying to keep the other 4 bells on track as necessary. Phew! Not always being clear on my left and right I started by ringing my left hand when Niall pushed his left hand at me – I hadn’t realized that he wasn’t showing me the action to imitate; he is so comfortable# with handbells that they are almost a part of him, and he was pointing as one would with a finger.
After a couple of hours where I got glimpses of the beauty of handbells## it was time to leave, but Niall would have continued. We had to wrestle ourselves out of the house and I think I might have agreed to return for more handbells at some future point. This morning I have been printing out the pattern for some of what we rang – I need to have some idea of what I’m doing next time! ###
* * *
* And a good thing too. Her Ringing World mug is safe. And the air in her tyres.^
^ The air in her tyres was always safe. It’s a long way to Nuuk& just to let the air out of someone’s tyres. However richly they may deserve it.
& Not to mention that really long bridge from Iceland. Really long bridges make me nervous.
* did I say first?
** When did I grow up? In the Victorian era according to my friend’s young son, which is somewhat better than “dinosaurs”, the opinion of his sister.
*** Apparently, aged 4, in my reception class, I was asked to stand up and read aloud. I promptly rose, and said politely to the teacher “No thank you, I don’t feel like reading today”, and sat down again.
+ foolish grin
** Good answer. Very good answer.
*** The things I put my blog readers through . . .
† Which drives Chaos mad with the impertinence of it, of course.
†† Yes. Frightening, isn’t it?
††† TACTFUL SILENCE BEING MAINTAINED WITH DIFFICULTY HERE. MMMMMMMMMPPPH.
‡ A hint? A HINT? He is the original Iron Man! The reason our handbell group never meets in my kitchen^ is because all my refrigerator magnets would fly off the refrigerator and stick to Niall!^^
^ The sitting room, of course, in the evenings, is too liable to be full of jungle
^^ Yes, I’m reasonably sure he does not read this blog.
++ very very nice homemade cake^ which helped fuel a further assault on the bells.
^ I’m not sure either Niall or Penelope realizes that one of the reasons Niall can get anybody to ring handbells, it being not merely one of the top three most difficult skills on the planet& but totally trainspottery, and if you enjoy it you should be worried, is Penelope’s cakes.
& The other two vary. Handbells is always in the top three.
+++ Robin may want to mention where one’s eyes naturally rest while focusing on the bells.^ I hadn’t consciously thought about this but it gave me another thing to concentrate on^, looking at faces and bells.
^ Drat you, Branwen! Robin does not want to mention where one’s eyes naturally rest while focusing on the bells! Okay, think about it: we ring sitting down in a circle. You hold the bells out in front of you with your elbows bent. You look down at an angle to see the other people’s bells as you sit holding yours. . . . Hint: when I (stupidly) mentioned that I’d had to break myself of the habit of looking where my natural line of sight fell, Colin crossed his legs.
^my poor brain
# How many hours had Niall been ringing before we arrived? I think it was all day, but Robin will know.^
^ Five and a half that I know of. He may be preventing us from learning that he hops across the Channel early in the morning and has a quick go in Lille before the day begins.& He’s been taking Thursdays off work because they’re good ringing days.&&
& Hey, don’t we have a forum member in Lille? Do you ring handbells with an English bloke named Niall?
&& There are a lot of free lance, self employed and retired bell ringers. This makes it hard on trainspot–people like Niall who have office jobs.
## much of the beauty is in the rhythm of the music, flowing yet with a metronomical?? regularity. Erratic would be nearer the mark for a novice, but when I went to the loo the other 3 took the chance to ring on 6 bells and it sounded truly beautiful. I don’t think Robin admits to being a good ringer, but I can tell you that she rings handbells expertly.^
^ I ring one thing reasonably well! One thing. One!
### Tower bell ringing is related, but maybe like a 2nd cousin – it felt as if I was using new brain cells previously undisturbed by my tower ringing.^
^ [hollow laughter] You are, you poor, poor thing, you are.
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