Not Abide With Me

On Monday evening we were invited to join the ringers at Brixham at their practice on Thursday.  A bellringer cannot resist an invitation like that, especially if it is at a church they have not rung at before! It is also a church that I have wanted to ring at for many years.

Harbour and the Church we didn't ring at...

I was really confused about Brixham bells, as I thought there had been complaints to get them silenced. Apparently, that is the church down by the harbour at Lower Brixham, where Henry Francis Lyte, famous for writing 'Abide With Me', served as Curate.  Here a carillon plays out hymn tunes to a sometimes unappreciative audience.   The church we visited is tucked away out of sight at Upper Brixham, the bottleneck at the top of the hill, rather than a bottleneck down by the water.

Visiting Brixham gave us a good excuse to explore the harbour, walk along the breakwater and enjoy a proper fish supper. I had to settle for hake, as I wasn't willing to pay £22 for a Dover sole...
We also got to see a rather cute seal in the harbour, which I mistook for a dog randomly swimming in the harbour!

Cute dog, I mean seal...

Wandering around the harbour after dark presented excellent photo opportunities.The boat with lights is a replica of The Golden Hind.  Unfortunately, we were too late to go aboard this time. The KHT would really have enjoyed that! Another excuse to visit again!

The bellringers appreciated the extra ringers and rang all 10 bells for the first time in about a year. Brixham people, you need to learn to ring these splendid bells!