With the strengthening rods in place most of the next two days was spent painting. The established routine was to put Fertan on the rusty sections, wait overnight, wash off the Fertan, paint with red oxide metal primer, wait and finally paint with two coats of black corrosion resistant paint. The team was augmented by the arrival of Robin who donned his best overalls with the aim of getting plenty of paint on them.
We also took the joint decision to rejuvenate the Ellacombe chiming device. It had practically fallen off the wall when we had been clearing the ringing chamber ahead of bringing the bells down and we had been uncertain about what to do with it when the bells went back in. We found a suitable new spot to locate it so that it would not be so much in the way of the ringers and duly followed the painting routine. We also polished and varnished the wood work.
By the end of the day we had achieved a beautiful black rope guide (matt not gloss) and a red Ellacombe device. The Ellacombe is very much a work in progress but the rope guide is practically finished.
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