The podcast is live

Nic_Boyd.png

Nic Boyd at the ART Masterclass

Ryan_Trout.png

Ryan Trout and friends

Emily_Hall.png

Emily Hall


Lesley Belcher


The Fun with Bells podcast goes live today with, as the strap-line says, three "true and entertaining stories from the people who ring bells."

For those of you who have never listened to a podcast before, they are audio recordings that are in a digital format. They are intended to be downloaded and listened to on your computer or mobile device. They are free and, after downloading, you don’t have to stay connected to the Internet to listen to them.

» Listen to the podcast

Nic Boyd

Church bells are an integral part of our everyday life. We all hear the bells ringing on Sunday and other special occasions but do you know what goes on in a church tower and what it feels like to be a bell ringer? Have you ever really thought about who is ringing them and how they learnt?

In this podcast, Cathy Booth chats to Nic Boyd about Nic’s exciting journey of discovery since taking up bell ringing four years ago. Hear why Nic started ringing and why she loves it so much; the highs and lows, the joys and the challenges and how it feels to ring, both as an individual and as part of a team.

Ryan Trout

They do things differently in Devon, so Cathy Booth discovers in this interview with Devon call change ringer Ryan Trout. Not only do they have a distinctive cream tea, Devon also has its very own unique style of bell ringing.

With a great sense of regional pride, Ryan fills Cathy in about this fast and furious ringing style which has it’s own terms and traditions. Listen in to discover more about cartwheeling, Sixties on Thirds, which is also known as the Queen’s Peal, and when to employ a strapper.

Emily Hall

This episode smashes any pre-conceptions that bell ringing is something that only older people do, with an inspirational interview with a ringer in her twenties, Emily Hall. Emily started learning to ring at the age of seven and then, when aged just nine, set up the Derbyshire Young Ringers so that she could spend time in the tower with people of her own age.

In conversation with Cathy Booth, Emily reveals what it’s like to be a young ringer and the huge benefits ringing can give to young people growing up, going to university and beginning their adult lives.