The bells from the church on the hill

I’ve mentioned before the interesting writing competition – one of several run by The Scottish Book Trust, to submit a fifty word story on a given topic. This month the idea is to write something about bells – a seasonal choice but also very open to a variety of other ideas. I guess my first thought was church bells because there is a roofless church on the hill above the village which we can see from our front doorstep. Although it has no roof over the nave, it is still consecrated, and though generally locked, it’s open at weekends and every so often the bells are rung. This is what The Churches Conservation Trust says about it:

Dramatic marshland views and grimacing gargoyles: a solitary, partially ruined Norman church stands alone on a hill above the Roman port of Axium. The steep climb to the church is rewarded with views over the marshes and the Bristol Channel. Look out for grimacing gargoyles and scratched sundials.

The bells are rung on particular occasions, for example the King’s coronation, New Year and other notable dates. Because the church is on the hill the sound of the bells seems to float across the village, unmuffled by any other buildings or trees.

For my little fifty word story I imagined walking home from the pub on Christmas Eve after seasonal festivities, full of good cheer, maybe with a friend who returns annually to the village to visit family. We turn off the main street to go down a little passage back to our house, and he carries on back home. I imagined us pausing as we wished each other a very merry Christmas and season’s good cheer, as the bells from the church on the hill began to ring out.

I don’t suppose I will win, it’s a very modest prize even if I do, a ‘go away I’m writing‘ mug, but it really is the taking part I enjoy!