OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 98
Ringing a bell
A decade after he left school, Mike Wright discovers that the bells
of the Memorial Chapel still peal with meaning and metaphor
A
bout 40 minutes into
my walk the other day,
the morning chapel
bells started ringing
at the school nearby.
I used to go to that school.
For whatever reason, tears
sprang to my eyes. The school
was at least two kilometres away,
yet the sound carried perfectly
through the crisp morning air.
To anyone unaffiliated with
the school, the bells might seem
intrusive. However, for me, the
sound always calms me down.
I feel connected to my past.
I hadn’t heard the bells in a
while, so I wanted to get closer.
I wanted to really hear them.
I continued walking through
the park towards the chapel.
As I got closer to the chapel
(and further away from the
park), I got closer to the road.
As I got closer to the road, I got
closer to the school traffic. As
I got closer to the school traffic,
the sound of the vehicles started
drowning out the bells. Still,
I continued walking towards
the chapel, but the bells kept
getting softer as the cars got
louder. Finally, upon standing
right next to the road, I couldn’t
hear the bells at all.
Just traffic, engines and cars.
Luckily, after spending 13 years
at the school, I learnt when the
bells started to ring each morning.
More importantly, I learnt what
time they stopped.
I looked at my watch and noticed
I only had a minute or two before
96 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
the final bell donged. The final
bell is the best bell because it isn’t
followed by another bell. The final
dong creates a stillness in the air
for a few seconds. Everything
seems to pause as the residual
reverberations reverberate.
If I wanted to hear the final
bell on that particular morning,
I needed to make a swift decision.
Either I needed to keep pushing
through the suburbs towards
the chapel or head back the
way I had come from the park.
I looked at my watch.
Although I couldn’t hear
the bells, I knew they were
still playing. I knew they
were still there.
Any second now.
I needed to make a decision.
After a few seconds of pondering,
the decision was made.
I walked away from the road and
returned to the park. Step after step,
the traffic got quieter, and the bells
got louder until, after about 200m,
I couldn’t hear any cars… and the
bells sounded as crisp as before.
Then, majestically, the final bell:
*dong ———*
Stillness.
This article first appeared in
Le Weekly, Mike Wright’s (2014B)
regular Monday newsletter. Find it
at lescarf.co.za
“Ever since I was at school, I thought this view across the Avenue towards School
House, the Memorial Chapel behind, captured the spirit of Bishops.” – Richie Ryall
(1977F). The artwork was sold as part of the OD art auction in 2024 (see p58).
