Friday 5 July 2019

The Bells. The Bells.



About 45 years ago (at this time of year) we experienced one of the worst night time storms that I've ever known.

Thunder was set to Mark 11, there were about 50 flashes of lightning per second, and the rain fell in fist-sized lumps. Add 300 kph winds; and you'll get a rough idea.

Lady Magnon and I were clinging onto the bed-head, desperately hoping it would soon pass; the children were fast asleep.

At about 2 am, when the storm was at its worst, I suddenly heard the church bells start to ring. In those days they were still rung by hand, so this wasn't an electrical fault. It sounded to me like someone was calling for help.

I pulled on some clothes, ran to my old blue 2CV, and drove hot-tyre the 2 kms up to the church. I parked as close as I could to the open entry door.

Inside, tugging at a long rope, I found an elderly villager, cigarette in mouth, happily playing his one note tune.

I asked him what was the problem. 'Nothing' he replied; and explained that the sound of bells disperses any hail that might be around. He was thinking of his vines (probably having read Chevallier's 'Clochemerle').

So, with no maiden in distress, child down a well, or injuries caused by lightning, I returned home cold and sodden. Superstition had won the day, and I had learned a little more about what curiosities  to expect from my new dinky little village.


33 comments:

  1. no hunched back?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a long time ago. I remember he was elderly with a cig' in his mouth. No hump I'm afraid.

      Delete
  2. There should have been a Crowd of angry villagers outside trying to lynch the old peasant! Church bells at an hour like that would have sent us all running too. Disperse the hail indeed. But I suppose they all saw him as a good Samaritan and would have done the same.
    Another old wives tale to put in my book,band ask around here

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It didn't hail that night, so maybe he was right. If it had have been some disaster, I was the only one to answer the call. I'm still bemused all this time later.

      Delete
  3. If you had been single and it HAD been a damsel in distress... Wow! What a cute-meet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would have been fun. I could have whisked her away in my blue 2CV.

      Delete
  4. They don't make storms like that any more...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be honest, they didn't then either, but I can assure you that it was very nasty.

      Delete
  5. I was expecting a scene from 'Went the Day Well?'

    ReplyDelete
  6. This post also says something about your good heart and why it is good to be your neighbor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was probably a bit foolhardy, but I genuinely thought someone was in trouble. I couldn't think why they would ring the bell otherwise!

      Delete
  7. That was very courageous of you to go out in a terrible storm and it must have been both a relief and a lot of frustration when you arrived on the scene.

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    Replies
    1. It really was a bad storm. Why the man himself had braved it just to dispel the hail, I really don't know.

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. We did end-up laughing about it, but at the time....

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  9. Too funny. I was of course expecting you to arrive and find some sort of dire situation...and it made me smile that what you actually found was an elderly superstitious bloke with a cig in his mouth. I'll bet you were mad with him!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I was just baffled. It's all a long time ago, but I do know that I wasn't happy going out in that awful storm; and it was at about 2 am.

      Delete
  10. I Googled storm superstitions and the first listed is if you ring the church bell during a storm, the storm is supposed to stop. They have probably been doing it for centuries. Country people are very superstitious. The bell ringer probably thought you were mad not knowing. The locals likely lived off the story for years, the Brit who came out in the storm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're probably right. He didn't like to say anything; just thought I was a stupid foreigner.

      Delete
  11. _Love_ it!!!!!!

    You must have more 'Memories of Times Past'! Wish you had a label,on them. I'd love to read more of them. 45 years of them. :-)

    Hello from over here, where Real Summer has finally arrived!!!!!! No-thank-you, for sending it over. ,-)

    💦 😊 💦

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No need to send any, our summer is here too. Hot today with temps of around 35 C.

      Delete
    2. I've just checked, it's 38 C.

      Delete
  12. Plenty of superstitions here in North Yorkshire too Cro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure there are. The more the merrier.

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  13. I always wanted a blue 2CV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We eventually sold it to a women who lived near Calais; she had it for years. We should have kept it.

      Delete
  14. Ha! No doubt all the other vintners had been willing someone to get out to attend to the bells and rolled over back to sleep, contented when they heard them. I guess you've never again attempted a nighttime mercy dash for an unknown villager?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, the situation never arose again. Maybe the tradition died along with the old guy.

      Delete

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