Bells……….

In remembering things from the past, our strongest sense is our olfactory sense - the sense of smell, it does truly bring back memories. The smell of home baking, ham boiling in the pot on Christmas Eve, roast on Sunday, hops from the local brewery, rubber from a hot water bottle, all bring back happy memories.

However, it is not this sense that I am writing about now, instead I am remembering sound – in particular the sound of bells ringing. Whenever I hear church bells ringing, be it from my own local church on Sunday morning at 10.45am or on Bells on Sunday at nighttime on BBC Radio 4 at 12.45am, I am instantly transported back to my childhood when I was about 3 to 5 yrs old and my Dad took me to visit my aunts Maura and Onnah every Sunday morning on the crossbar of his bicycle – this was before we had a car.
We would set off on what I thought then was a long journey - all of two miles!
My Mam would put the blue satin covered mattress from my doll Noelene’s cot on the crossbar of the bike, so that the gearchanges would not pinch my legs and then we would head off.

And the bells of St Paul’s would be ringing, loudly, joyously, harmoniously once we reached my aunts home. How welcome our visit was, my Aunt Onnah would freshly squeeze oranges with a hand squeezer for me, and my Dad would be given a glass of stout.
I would drink my orange while rocking back and forth on the rocking chair and then I would go upstairs to visit my Grandaunt Nan and Uncle Ned. She would be steeping marrowfat peas in muslin for Sunday dinner and he would be getting ready to go to the last Mass of the morning, It was like stepping into a different world, the what-not with all the treasured ornaments that nobody would touch, just there to be admired, Lovely gentle, relaxed people and all the time - the bells would ring.
Then my Aunt Maura or Onnah would take me to the nearby park, Lake Merritt. We would bring stale bread to feed the ducks, play on the swings, look at the seasonal flower displays and all through this - the bells would peal. - A calling to church and yet also a celebration of the good times we were having.

It is only now in recent years that I appreciate how much the visit of a young child brings joy to an all adult household. How happy they were to see us, how welcome they made us feel. The area has since changed, families have moved away. All of these people except myself have since passed away, my wonderful Dad taken suddenly from us, too early in life, my godmother, Auntie Maura - a lady.
May they all rest in peace.

But I will always have my memories, all of them good, never to be taken away, just the peal of a bell away. May the bells continue to ring!