THE EXCITEMENT STARTED TO BUILD, AS THE RINGING OUTING BECKONED
TWO FEET OF SNOW WOULD NOT STOP THE BELL RINGERS FOR A SECOND
SO WE ALL WRAPPED UP WARM, IN LAYERS OF FOUR OR FIVE
AND PILED INTO OUR CARS FOR THE LONG AND SNOWY DRIVE
WE TRAVELLED FROM OUR TOWERS IN BODICOTE AND HOLMER TOO
THE FIRST TOWER OF ST ANDREW IN HAMPTON SOON CAME INTO VIEW
ONCE WE’D NAVIGATED THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, THE RINGING COULD BEGIN
JUST A FEW ROUNDS TO START WITH AS THE TENOR WAS HARD TO RING
THEN OFF WE WENT ONCE AGAIN, THROUGH SNOW AND THROUGH ICE
TO THE 12 BELL TOWER OF EVESHAM, WHO’S SETTING WAS SO NICE
BUT MARTIN FILLED US ALL WITH DREAD ABOUT THE HASTING STAY
IF WE DARE TO BREAK ONE OF THESE WE WOULD BE TAKEN AND LOCKED AWAY!
IT WAS NOT QUITE AS BAD AS THAT AND THE BELLS MADE A LOVELY SOUND
AND THE VIEWS WERE BREATHTAKING WITH ALL THE SNOW UPON THE GROUND
A FEW MORE ROUNDS THEN BOB MAJOR RANG OUT FROM UP ON HIGH
AND NO STAYS WERE BROKEN SO WE ALL LET OUT A SIGH
FOR THE NEXT STOP WE BRAVED THE WEATHER AND BATTLED ARCTIC CONDITIONS
WE WERE LIKE THE EXPLORER SIR RANULPH FIENNES ON ONE OF HIS EXPEDITIONS
THIS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE DAY SO FAR
AS WE STOPPED AT THE SWAN PUB FOR GREAT FOOD AND OF COURSE THE BAR
SO WE SAT AT THE TABLE IN THE PUB HAVING A LAUGH AND A JOKE
A FEW STARES FROM THE LOCALS AT US STRANGE RINGING FOLK
BUT WE THAWED OUT NICELY AND ATE UNTIL WE COULD NOT EAT ANYMORE
THEN THE OUTING STARTED ONCE AGAIN, WHAT WAS NEXT IN STORE?
GETTING TO THE PUB WAS FUN, GETTING OUT WAS JUST AS BAD
SLIDING ALONG THE ROADS, I THINK PEOPLE THOUGHT WE WERE MAD
BUT ONWARDS WE WENT TO ST MICHAEL THE GREAT COMBERTON TOWER
GOING DOWN STEEP SNOWY ROADS, WISHING OUR CARS HAD A BIT MORE POWER
THE STAIRCASE WAS A CHALLENGE VERY WINDY AND VERY NARROW
WOULD HAVE BEEN OK BEFORE LUNCH OR IF YOU WERE THE SIZE OF A SPARROW
BUT WE SQUEEZED OUR WAY THROUGH DETERMINED TO RING ONCE AGAIN
AND THE DYNAMIC DUO OF MARTIN & DAVE WERE IN CONTROL, WHAT PATIENT MEN!
AFTER US NOVICES HAD RANG PLAIN HUNT THE PROFESSIONALS TOOK HOLD
AND A SPLICE OF ST MARTINS, ST SIMONS, PLAIN BOB & GRANSIRE DID UNFOLD
US NOVICES WERE IN AWE HOW DO THEY DO THAT SO WELL
ONE DAY WE ASPIRE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT CLEVER STUFF WITH OUR BELL
BY NOW WE WERE A BIT COLDER THE NUMBNESS HAD SET IN
AS SOME OF US HAD TO WAIT OUTSIDE AS WE COULDN’T ALL FIT IN
WE ALL POSED FOR PHOTOS, OUR SMILES NOW FROZEN BY FROST BITE
MARTIN & DAVE, EVEN AT THEIR AGE, STARTED A SNOWBALL FIGHT
BEFORE WE KNEW IT IT WAS OVER, OUR DAY NEARED ITS END
SO WITH HAPPINESS AND SADNESS WE SAID GOODBYE TO OUR RINGING FRIENDS
OFF INTO THE WHITENESS FOR THE JOURNEY HOME THEN BED
TO DREAM OF THE GREAT DAY WE HAD, WONDERFUL MEMORIES FILLING OUR HEAD