The bells, the bells!
The crackers we pulled at Christmas with our youngest daughter and her family contained small musical bells. There were eight crackers. wrapped in manuscript paper and ribbons, and we were able to play a selection of simple tunes with them. There were six of us so two people had two bells each. They were great fun. Jack was entertained for a very long time after lunch, following the ‘manuscript’ and playing the bells. Each bell carried a number from 1 to 8.
The crackers we pulled with our middle daughter on Christmas Day were beautifully packaged. I took the miniature cones and ribbons from them and put them on the small growing Christmas tree in the conservatory. Those crackers contained what were described as ‘superior’ gifts, and they were rather nice. One, a small silver whistle, was effective at summoning the dogs from the garden.
Quasimodo never actually utters ‘The bells, the bells,’ in ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame,’ but his life is enmeshed with the bells of the cathedral of Notre Dame.
A different sort of bells, which make no clanging noise, are ‘The Bells The Bells’ in Gogarth, North Wales. ‘The Bells The Bells’ is a steep, exposed cliff rising from the sea, on the small Holy Island off the west coast of Anglesey. The rock is quartzite.
It constitutes an extreme climbing route, considered one of the most difficult and dangerous climbs in Britain. It was first climbed in 1980 by John Redhead, and is rarely climbed because of its severity. A fall could be fatal so planning the climb is supremely important.
I have never climbed, but have read several books by mountaineers. They are more than exciting enough and I am constantly amazed at the skill and audacity of climbers and perturbed by their drive. They climb because the mountains exist, defying and challenging puny humans to overcome them.
I regularly encounter rock climbers on the millstone edges of The Peak District. They are, I think, a different breed. It is not something I have ever wished to do.
ReplyDeleteThey are a different breed, driven and often selfish.
DeleteI used to know a couple of rock climbers. Definitely different from most of us. Their notion of excitement was more like terror to me.
ReplyDeleteThey have their fears, too - one I know of is terrified of water.
DeleteSounds like you had a really fun time with the crackers!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun. 😀
DeleteThose crackers sound like wonderful fun. What a clever idea!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know if or how they would work, but they were a great success.
DeleteOh yes, one year we had those bell crackers - they were GREAT! This year we had fabulous prizes in crackers - not terribly expensive, lucky to have purchased them before tariffs! The climbers of sheer faces of rock baffle me- extreme sport? I think so. So many ways to die.
ReplyDeleteExtreme sport, indeed - driven and often egotistical.
DeleteThat's a cool collection of bells for a family concert. I thought crackers were like little fireworks. Boring in Kansas Linda
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that anyone would even think of climbing that challenging cliff face! The bells are beautiful as is the ribboned pinecone ornament.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching the speed climbing in the Olympics and occasional videos of 'free' climbers - so tough.
DeleteThose crackers look beautiful Janice - & did indeed contain some very special "superior" gifts. Not the usual tack that is inside them.
ReplyDeleteI would buy them again, or something similar.
DeleteThis extreme climbing route is EXTREMELY dangerous. Clearly a fall could be fatal, so planning the climb should be avoided at all costs. Not only is the climber taking on a suicidal risk, but he/she is also risking the life of the life savers who are called in.
ReplyDeleteMountain Rescue organisations are extraordinary.
DeleteTo me mountaineering and climbing come under the heading, 'Dumb ways to die'.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Quasimodo told "The bells, Quasimodo, the bells"? I can't remember if he was late ringing them or the bells were ringing in a crazy manner. No matter. Every time I was with my partner and we heard bells, I would quote exactly as I've said above.
Mountaineering doesn't appeal, pot-holing even less!
DeleteI must look out for those crackers next year. They sound like great fun.
ReplyDeleteThey were very successful.
DeleteCrackers with gifts that aren't plastic rubbish? What a lovely surprise. Ours only ever have a paper hat, a terrible joke and a tiny plastic throw-away. Yours were wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI shudder at the thought of any sort of climbing. But I too enjoy reading about their achievements. Shows how very different we all are
Getting thrills vicariously is much safer!
DeleteDefinitely a superior cracker!
ReplyDeleteThat photo of the cliff climber made me feel quite queasy. I wobble just walking upstairs.
I am losing my head for heights with each passing year.
DeleteThe musical crackers are such great fun for everyone. I got a posh nail file in mine this year. Will who is 8 got a bottle opener!
ReplyDeleteI hope Will holds on to it - it could be useful in about ten years' time!
DeleteI would love to have those crackers with the bells, I do love the bell choirs we have seen in the past in different churches we attended. I wish I could have heard you play them. I have never and will never more understand those who put their lives in danger for FUN... or just because they can. Just looking at that climber is scary enough. the cliff is really amazing without climbing, just viewing it.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to watch and listen to handbell players - it always looks such fun.
DeleteLovely to have Christmas crackers with beautiful and (some) useful gifts inside, and so nicely packaged!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at a crossroads in my life, some friends suggested climbing could be something for me. I never attempted it, though, mainly for purely practical reasons: Any outdoor climbing routes in my area are not easily accessible without a car, and I have never possessed a driving license, so would have depended on others to take me to those spots.
In hindsight, I don't think I could have mustered the stamina and tenacity needed to become a proper climber.
Indoor climbing walls are popular in leisure centres now. Our Italian vet was very enthusiastic about them.
DeleteFun to read more about the Christmas holiday. It goes by so quick it seems. I'm absolutely terrified of heights, I don't even like seeing TV movies where people on the top of the mountain.
ReplyDeleteI get dizzy watching films taken from heights.
DeleteSounds like fun with the crackers. I'm not a climber but I don't think I would attempt that one if I was.
ReplyDeleteNor would I!
DeleteI was feeling all bells and fun and good times and then you had to show me the cliff climber??
ReplyDeleteOy, that had my knees trembling!
My butterfly mind takes me to lots of different places. 😳
DeleteFun with the crackers! Scary climb! -Christibe cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteTangentially, it occurs to me that no one bothered to read the fortunes that come with the fortunate cookies when we ordered Chinese for daughter’s birthday. Now I am trying to remember if our crackers had wise sayings. If so, we didn’t read them either. but we wore our crowns. lol
ReplyDeleteThe crowns are the important part. Eating with your paper hat falling over your eyes is an intrinsic part of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI happened to be awake early, and listening to radio4, so I heard the church bells of st Luke in Milland, West Sussex... 🔔
ReplyDeleteIt's a delight to hear church bells.
ReplyDeleteYou brought back a memory! In the United States, we don't have the crackers as one of our traditions but one year, one of my husband's cousins bought some, which I think I had mentioned to you in commenting in another post about Christmas crackers. They had those musical bells in them, and we did some of the music. We were all delighted.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have the bells in the crackers. I know the ringing of them brought great joy. I am extremely afraid of heights...It scares me just seeing people climbing. I need to overcome this fear...
ReplyDeleteWell those crackers of yours knock the spots off the ones that I bought. My 'superior' contents were the usual collection of small and useless, but at least the hats fitted this year!
ReplyDeleteI used to be in a climbing club and loved it.but the photo of The Bells makes me feel very uneasy.
There's no way in heck I'd climb that rock wall! Mountaineering is not something I've ever understood or been drawn to. I'm happy to look at the mountains from a distance.
ReplyDeleteThose bells are a great idea for Christmas crackers!
Those bell crackers are a lot of fun and the other crackers with the pretty packaging look lovely on the tree branches. That wall made be glad to keep my feet firmly on the ground; that vertical climb looks so scary and dangerous. Our son and daughter in law do indoor climbing but I won't be showing them that photo!
ReplyDeleteYour crackers look and sound brilliant ... a very musical Christmas :)
ReplyDeleteHow can they climb mountains or rock walls?
I know they do and obviously enjoy it but definitely not for me.
All the best Jan