Ring, bells, ring
There’s just over a week to go before B-day, where the B stands for bells. On July 3rd, the invitation has gone out to over 400 municipalities in Canada to help celebrate the quadricentennial here in Quebec City by ringing their bells. In particular, those that hide away inside church spires. This city has too many for me to count, but when you’re in party mode, the more the merrier.
Seriously, the only estimate I found for churches in this city was around eighty, but some have been decommissioned and turned to other uses. The spires are still numerous, and almost every one with bells at some point, so a city (country) wide chiming session should be noticed. Bells are one of those things that we rarely consider from the mechanical point of view, despite the varied types and sizes. I’ve not a chimer, you see. Bells in spires; out of sight, out of mind. And for the rest of the year, we can use the spires as landmarks in a snowy wonderland.
This evening, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs showed how a set of church bells is maintained. Grease, both the elbow and the sticky varieties, makes up a major part of the job. He spent a few minutes inside a large bell while the ringing thing was underway; better him than me. My own experience with bell towers is that they are high and dirty. Climbing the ladder in Souris; once was enough, thank you very much.
If I don’t forget, I’ll try and grab some audio from the B-day celebrations, just because I can.
