Bells and Custard

Photo © Rob Jones

Getting to the end of my house sitting in Devon. Two days in Penzance from tomorrow then back to the mountain.

I’ll miss my temporary home. It’s been fun. Tucking into the last of the Panettone baked in custard, dotted with big blobs of fruits fo the forest jam, I was mindfully thinking about what was making me happy.

One of the nicest things has been living within earshot of Totnes church and the free campanological show every week.

I love church bells. They are a highlight of my Sunday morning on the radio, (that and Tweet of the Day,) and I have always been so happy to live in close proximity to church bells.

Which is a bit odd because, as far as I can recall, the bell at the church in the village I grew up in, near Newport, had a single tolling bell. But then congregations amounted to only four people. And they were mainly taking it in turns to ring the bell.

Later, I fell in love with the bells of Brussels and Amsterdam, the Carillion, invented in 1644.

They are quite hypnotic.

What will I miss of Totnes … the liveliness of the town, the steam train, the walks (and runs) along the Dart, the pasties, the organic food shops - I have never seen so many in one place - and its resolute attempts to make me feel Christmassy.

I shall miss it indeed.

R