It finally arrived - the day the bells would go to Loughborough.
We started the day with a lovely visit from some children from a local primary school who had a fantastic time measuring, drawing and investigating; but as soon as they left the exciting work of getting the bells on their way began.
First came the not inconsiderable task of getting the bells out of the church. It turns out that moving half of a ton of metal work around the church on a pallet truck was peanuts compared with pushing the same metal work up the ramp designed to get it out of the church. Patrick McClaughry and Kit Bardsley worked nobly with the first five bells, but the tenor needed a bit more effort and we were glad to have Owen Borlase and Andrew Worth around to provide a little extra help.
No sooner had we got all six bells out of the church and lined up on the path to the lychgate than Chris and John Facey arrived with their tele-lifter to get the bells over the coffin stone and out onto the road. With consummate skill everyone worked together to get all the bells through the lychgate.
Then Chris Facey placed each bell into Cyril Worth's lorry and gently nudged them into the positions where Andrew Worth wanted them. It was real team work, even the photographer from the East Cornwall Times arrived in time to capture the key moments. Before long all the bells were in the lorry and it was time to load the wheels, clappers, stays, sliders and all the other odds and ends associated with bells.
Once everything was on the lorry it was time for a team photo and a cup of coffee and the bells were on their way.
Thanks to everyone who helped - but maybe that deserves a blog entry of it's own.