stories

No, we’re not talking about tyrannical tower captains, caustic conductors or belligerent tenor ringers here, but the wide and wonderful variety of wildlife that ringers and steeple keepers share their bell towers with.  David Bagley fascinates host Cathy Booth with descriptions and anecdotes of both welcome an...

This episode sees host Cathy Booth explore the question of what ringers wear. You may or may not be surprised to hear that the answer is not bell-bottom jeans. Guests Deb, Alex, Elizabeth and Michaela touch on history, safety and decorum as they share experiences, research and anecdotes on what to wear, or more important...

Avoid all ladders, black cats and don’t whatever you do break a mirror in your rush to listen to this month’s Fun with Bells podcast on bells and superstition. From birth, through to death and beyond, bells have had played a fascinating role in the customs around our key rites of passage. Amongst the many spe...

Love is very definitely in the air at the Fun with Bells Podcast this Valentine’s Day, as host Cathy Booth explores ringing’s tender side. First, we hear the heart-warming story of Jo and Graham, whose romance continues to deepen from Ringing Remembers, through Ringing Room, and to a very memorable lockdown p...

Ringing can be spooky at the best of times – you may get shivers down your spine with a nicely struck touch of Stedman, or perhaps an eerie sensation of being watched when you’re on the treble. However, for Halloween, Fun with Bells turns up the terror with this chilling collection of ghostly goings-on. Yes, ...

Following on from last month’s edition, podcast host Cathy Booth reveals another dodgy dozen or so weird and wonderful towers. WARNING - this podcast contains details of hair-raising ringing environments, definitely not for the nervous ringers amongst you!  Enjoy another litany of trapdoors, spiral staircases,...

These tales of weird and wonderful towers are definitely not for the faint-hearted ringers among you. Podshow host, Cathy Booth, invites us behind the scenes of 15 of the most outlandish ringing environments from across the world, featuring trap doors, vaults, ventilator shafts, crawlways and external ladders. Clock cases ...

This is the abridged version of ‘ thirty voices, seventy-five years, one story ’ aimed at non-ringers. Originally timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE day, this unique episode sees host Cathy Booth, joined by a whole cast of ringers, bust the myths about the complete ban on ringing during World W...

Originally timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE day, this unique episode sees host Cathy Booth, joined by a whole cast of ringers, bust the myths about ringing during World War II. This is the full version of ‘thirty voices, seventy-five years, one story’ . And what a story! Bell towers across th...