THE BELLS, THE BELLS

In the interests of Blippers today, I handed over £1 and headed out of my comfort zone and up the tower of Christ Church, Hartlepool, now the Tourist Information Centre and Art Gallery. It's a lovely day, but far too hazy for the photos I took from the top to be much good. On the way, though, was this chiming mechanism for the bells, which I liked the look of. Have a closer look.

Before you go up you have to read the safety notice which warns you that the bells chime every 15 minutes. Fine, except that their clock is five minutes slow, so I got caught right beside them, albeit for only one "bong". I immediately thought of Dorothy L. Sayers' "Nine Tailors" and expected to be reduced to a gibbering wreck with bleeding ears. You'll be glad to hear I survived unscathed, although I did utter a vivid expletive in my surprise.

I'm really not at all comfortable with heights, but would rather give it a go than miss out on a good view. Coming down is the worst part and requires a few deep breaths and giving myself a stiff talking-to. In this case the way out diverts from the main wooden staircase about halfway down and heads down this little spiral stairway. I know I'm a wuss, but I was glad to get down.