The
handbells which we discovered in the tower and raised money to restore were
black and heavily tarnished mainly by smoke as they had been stored adjacent
the chimney which ran up the side of the tower.

Once
they had been restored they looked like entirely different being bright and
shiny.

We
make every effort to keep them like this and you will notice that we usually
play wearing gloves so the bells do not get unnecessarily tarnished by contact
with our hands. However, even so, they do need a regular clean.

This
week, in anticipation of them being on display at the regional rally, we have
arranged an evening session of cleaning the bells. A small amount of polish,
clean clothes and lots of elbow grease will be needed, but it will be a case of
many hands make light work and hopefully they will be back to their best very
shortly.