Music: Bell Ringers

Ever since the Middle Ages British belfries have pealed messy-sounding medleys of bongs. Less messy than it sounds, this “change-ringing” is done according to strict mathematical schemes, with good old English names like Plain Bob Triples, Grandsire Cinques and Spliced Surprises. A proper piece of change-ringing takes anywhere from six to twelve hours, keeps from five to twelve men busy pulling the bell ropes. Guardians of this little English art are London’s Ancient Society of College Youths.

Every year the Society, which has nothing to do with any college and has few members who are not at least middleaged, meets in London to have a good go at the bells of Westminster Abbey and other London belfries. These meetings have been held every year since 1637. Even London’s great plague of 1665, and the fire of 1666, failed to keep the College Youths from their appointed bongfest. Last week, at the Society’s 302nd annual shindig, the “Bore War” did what fire and plague could not. This time the members did their Stedman Caters and Oxford Singles with hand bells in the upstairs room of a blacked-out London pub. Reason: open-air change-ringing might drown out air-raid sirens.