OUR FIRST GO AT BELLRINGING

Well the time arrived for us to have a go at bellringing, both lyn and I never managed to get an ology whilst we were at school so we might get to be camponologists (not sure if its the correct spelling) if we get through our training.We walked down to the church to meet our trainers Steve and Pat together with our fellow learners Brian and Beryl who are also relatively new to Northwold.
The first task was to make our way up to the ringing tower,44 narrow twisting stairs. Having arrived Steve(local engineer and farmer)talked us through a lot of safety issues,necessary as some of the 8 bells weigh 8/9 cwt each, he also explained how our training would progress,(I honestly thought it was just a case of grabbing hold and pulling).We learnt about sallys,sliders,stays,handstrokes,backstrokes,and many other terms that I have already forgotten.We went up to the bell tower and had a look at the bells which are huge and very very old 300years plus,to me they looked as though they were going to fall apart but Steve assured us that they were perfectly safe and are regularly checked. I'll take his word for it, but all the same when you are ringing theres nothing between you and several tons of bell than a few old floor planks,presumably also 300years old.
Anyway we all had a go at ringing,but only on the handstoke with Steve looking after the backstroke.I think we were all initially nervous as we didnt know how hard it would be to get the bell moving, but surprise surprise it was very easy and after a few tentative pulls all of us seemed to get the hang of it with Lyn being very good and attentive(think she likes Steve!!!).The lesson ,nearly 2 hours went very quickly,but probably not quick enough for the village residents who had to put up with the drone of one bell for well over an hour.
So our first lesson is over and both Lyn and I are looking forward to next Thursday for our next go.