I’ve spent Monday trying to convince my body that daylight is good and night time is for sleeping. A job made difficult having worked through the previous three nights.

I actually enjoy night time working. I’m not sure exactly what it is; perhaps the pace is different. The fact is that whatever time I’m at work, things are very busy and meeting oneself coming backwards is a daily occurrence. Nights are no different and often busier, but with the rest of the country being out of the way (or at least the most of them anyway) it just seems to work better for me.

Either way, I only saw this morning once, when I was going to bed. Thoughts of an early rise to get to Tai Chi unravelled when I woke mid afternoon and whilst I was working through the post (a couple of Christmas presents have arrived – I might even wrap them before Christmas!) I had that nagging feeling I had forgotten something.

Thankfully I remembered that I had a meeting at the Church to discuss a report I had co-written. As well as being a Bell Ringer and running the ringing at my tower, I am also one of the few Guild Bell Inspectors and following receipt of the Quinquennial report on the church I had been requested to do a full inspection of the installation.

As with any area of expertise, the world of bell ringing has a language alien to anyone outside it. So when I’m getting emails asking to explain what a ‘Hastings Stay’ is, the best way is to take the interested parties up into the tower and  explain what it is we do.

Now this can be a simple task. Some towers are blessed with large amounts of space to walk around and look, see and point. Not so my local tower, where the clearance bells moving bits and solid other bits are in some cases no more than a couple of inches.

The church, in a past nod to Health & Safety didn’t like the vertical ladder they could see, and insisted on sticking a laminated card with a picture of a shoe next to the ladder. Quite what this was supposed to achieve I’m really not sure – I think by the time you’ve turned up to church without your shoes, getting up a vertical ladder is probably the least of your worries……..

Anyway, after much clambering, pointing, pulling, pushing and demonstrating, all parties felt they understood what went on in the nether regions of the tower.

I just need to find the time to undertake the repairs required following my own report.

I’m really excited with the Myeloma UK fundraising from the 13 Challenge – there have been a few more donations since last Sunday’s final race and we’ve passed £1,700! With that result in mind I’m already thinking about how I can make a difference next year. The thoughts so far suggest I may be heading towards an asylum before long. I wonder if that could be a sponsored trip……..