No one will volunteer to ring the bells for King Charles’ Clowning

In recent weeks, it’s felt like the British media’s central (if not sole) coronation concern is whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be invited and whether they’ll show up. To be fair, Buckingham Palace has been openly briefing the media on that issue for weeks. But the palace has also been trying to hype the Clowning in general, giving updates on their plans for this or that. The plans are quite excessive, and each week brings increasingly bonkers headlines. By late April, I’m sure we’ll get to the point of “King Charles demands human sacrifice volunteers, it’s tradition!” It definitely feels like people are tuning out instead of feeling the shivers of anticipation. Speaking of, the king wants Chubbly bell ringers only no one wants to ring his bells. *sad clown bell* For Whom The Bell Chubblies!!

An ambitious campaign to ring every church bell in the country on the day of King Charles III’s Coronation in May looks unlikely to succeed without a last-ditch flood of volunteers. Achieving the aim would require 8,000 new recruits – but so far the Ring for the King campaign has received only 300 enquiries through its official site.

Organisers remain upbeat and are confident that many other would-be ringers will have got involved through local churches or bell-ringing groups, but the campaign is urgently seeking new ringers to meet its aim of ringing every one of the nation’s 38,000 church bells on May 6. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) warned on Wednesday that time was of the essence, with new recruits needing around 15 hours of training to be able to manage a bell alone.

Vicki Chapman, of the CCCBR, told The Telegraph: “Time is running short now for new recruits to be fully trained up by the Coronation. However, they should be able to participate in some way over that Bank Holiday weekend. We hope that once they’ve experienced it, they’ll want to continue to grow their skills and friendships made through this journey of discovery.”

There are 6,000 sets of bells across Britain, containing almost 38,000 bells, which require one ringer per bell. However, there are only an estimated 30,000 bell-ringers across the country, with some teams working across several churches. On big national occasions, the CCCBR aims to ring as many bells as possible, but that has rarely been possible in recent times.

Ms Chapman said anyone from the age of eight and above could get involved in bell-ringing. She said it was “gentle exercise” and did not require a certain level of fitness, although ringers often have to climb a church’s spiral staircase to get to its belfry.

[From The Telegraph]

I wish Britain was real. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers??? Y’all have a COUNCIL?? And there are already 30,000 certified bell ringers but that’s not enough for Charles and he’s demanding thousands of people to volunteer for this unpaid gig of… ringing a bell on his special day. People are literally trying not to starve, Chuck! They’re struggling to pay their heating bills and there’s no food in their grocery stores. And Charles is like: MOAR BELL RINGERS.

Charles made another visit to a food bank yesterday. He provided a new freezer for the Felix Project, because Charles is donating 800 refrigerators and freezers to food banks across the country. He’ll give the peasants freezers, now send him some bell-ringers, for the love of GOD.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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157 Responses to “No one will volunteer to ring the bells for King Charles’ Clowning”

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  1. Noki says:

    Sometimes I feel like i can’t possibly be on the same planet as some folks.

    • Couch potato says:

      When I saw an episode with bell ringers on Midsomer Murders, I though this was a weird made up thing by the writers.

      • JJPP says:

        That was where my brain went too!

        No one wants to volunteer to be a bell-ringer at the coronation, because that would be a situation RIPE FOR MURRRRDER!

      • Tursitops says:

        For Whom The Bell Lol(Ls).

      • Deering24 says:

        Heh–Ring Out Your Dead is one of my fav MM episodes because it’s so demented. 🙂 And, yep, volunteering for this event is just asking to become one of many corpsesicles that Barnaby and Winter will be bemused by.

      • Aig says:

        Talking about great PBS shows…
        What do you make of this?
        https://www.instagram.com/p/CpA587JMMgT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
        Is Lucy Worsley being cheeky and snobbing them?
        Is CR for Camilla Regina or C Rex? Do they call her “Her Majesty” now?? 🤢

      • North of Boston says:

        MM immediately came to mind for me too!

        Yeah, one wouldn’t want to volunteer because of the person with murderous intent and an ancestral vendetta against bell ringers. Lol

        It’s an entertaining little show that just keeps chugging along. They also have some clever marketers – I still remember the commercial on PBS that was like a little “come holiday in our quaint little villages” ad, with a placard that said
        Midsomer: Population 3894
        And then as murder scene after murder scene flashed by, the number kept dropping
        Population 3893, 3892, 3891 etc etc

        Cabot Cove Maine has nothing on Midsomer when it comes to murder!

      • Deering24 says:

        North of Boston–I would bet good cash flow that the Midsomer total 20+ year body count is higher than St. Louis and Mobile, AL in one year–and those are the two most dangerous US cities. 🙂 🙂

      • Frippery says:

        I love this string of comments. Bless you all. DS Nelson forever.

      • BQM says:

        @Arg CR represents both Charles (Charles Rex) and Camilla (Camilla Regina). The consort gets the “R” as well. And, yes, Camilla is addressed as Her Majesty. It goes for queen consorts as well as reigning queens.

      • DrinkerOfTea says:

        LOL, I was coming to the comments to say “Look, I’ve seen Midsomer Murders. You couldn’t get me to volunteer for that – it’s a death sentence!”

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Aw, y’all beat me to it on the Midsomer Snark. Ring Out Your Dead was CLASSIC.

        So in the spirit of my MM headcanon (that Joyce Barnaby is actually the murderer throughout the series, because she likes to keep her hubby busy because he’s a nightmare to live with without a crime to solve)… who do you think has a higher body count: Joyce Barnaby, or Chucklehead’s geriatric Cam-girl?

    • Ash says:

      LMFAOOOOOO I thought it was just me!!!!!! Sometimes my eyes bug out and my jaw drops because how the hell could they be so out of touch?!!!!!! I mean seriously!

  2. Anna says:

    Won’t someone think of the King???

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      lol!

    • Debbie says:

      Exactly, @Anna. And far be it for me to trample on a made up “tradition” but did Charles ever consider, oh I don’t know, paying people to ring his clangers? He might get more people to sign up. Instead, the royals once again want freebies, even with all the lifetime of free stuff they’ve already been given. I never thought I’d see an actual “welfare queen” but yonder they go.

  3. K8erade says:

    Lol. Even if I were a certified church bell ringer I would call out in May.

    Also, with the donation of freezers to food banks, I can’t help but wonder if the recent Wales Poverty Tour was set up by courtiers to have them empty handed so Charles could announce this. If the Wales were better people I’d feel bad for them but given the current circumstances, I’m kind of here for that level of pettiness.

    • C-Shell says:

      There could be something to your hypothesis because Harry said in Spare that they did what they were told, went where they were told, when Charles was PoW, their boss who held the purse strings. BUT he doesn’t hold the purse strings anymore and, if Bulliam and KKKHate had any substance, they could defy the pettiness and bring donations to these hard pressed organizations. But they don’t have any — all hat, no cattle.

      • kirk says:

        I don’t think there’s any £££ income associated with PofW. But Willy now has Duchy of Cornwall income, while Chuck has graduated to having Duchy of Lancaster income. According to Wikipedia, they’re each worth ~ £24M annual income.

      • K8erade says:

        @C-Shell I don’t think The Wales have the life skills and are too lazy to critically think for themselves. I also think if it were up to them, they’d never leave the house to do any of this. I think they just want to spend their money for themselves. As @Kirk mentioned, they have Cornwall money now and I don’t think they’re really obligated to split it with anyone.

      • MerlinsMom1018 says:

        @C-Shell
        Ooof haven’t heard that in years! My Daddy also said “that dog don’t hunt”

    • May Bench says:

      Al the “royals” should open their massive free to them houses and castles to the hungry and feed them with their ill-gotten gains. They don’t care how badly their subjects (slaves) are suffering with no heat or food.

      • K8erade says:

        They won’t @May Bench. They can’t even handle having a biracial woman as an in-law. How do you think they’d react to having peasants coming from diverse backgrounds in their home?

  4. The Hench says:

    They love to set themselves an unnecessary and impossible target, don’t they?

  5. Mslove says:

    You know things are very bad if the council of bell ringers wants nothing to do with Chuck. I stand with the CCCBR!

    • Gel says:

      I think you misread.. as much as I want them to rebel they aren’t.
      They just don’t have enough bell ringers yet. They have 30k already but need 38k.
      So sounds like they are trying to recruit more people. So far only 300 have shown interest.

      • MsDoe says:

        There are 30,000 bell ringers in total, and 38,000 bells that need ringing. Whether all 30,000 current bellringers are ready, willing, and able to ring bells for the King on that day in May is a question that remains to be answered. Would be amusing if only a portion of them did.

      • Mslove says:

        You’re quite right, and if it weren’t for Harry & Meghan, they would have many more bell ringers. Lol.

    • Deering24 says:

      Man, the stuff one learns on Celebitchy. I had no idea there was such a council–though it makes perfect sense. And what Tories don’t see is that if you force people to work 24/7 trying just to keep alive, said folks don’t have time to volunteer for things like this.

  6. Emily_C says:

    So many jokes, so little time…

    • phlyfiremama says:

      Right?! This is such a ridiculous article..😂😂😂 The COUNCIL of bell ringers. 😂😂

    • Christine says:

      Can we start with only the white people can stand next to the charity’s signage, while the good King Chuck caresses it fondly, while the POC are in service positions? It’s like they want South Park to mock them, some day, years from now.

  7. Abby says:

    Always puts out pics w/ people of color. Never subtle, goodness!

    • Couch potato says:

      That was my first thought as well

    • BothSidesNow says:

      They ALL do it now, including the laziest royal of all.

      They are all useless grifters planning an unnecessary “party” that will cost the taxpayers millions of pounds for a side show of KCIII’s pompous a$$.

    • SIde Eye says:

      Lol @Abby – it’s why I click on some of these articles. To look for the POC. That’s the money shot right there!

    • Debbie says:

      I noticed it too. At this point it’s obligatory for them.

    • Christine says:

      My head burst into flames. He only wanted white women surrounding him while he was mauling the charity’s sign. The POC serving the actual purpose of feeding hungry people were a cute addition, to this gigantically racist pile of crap.

  8. Well that’s something freezer donations. Let’s hope these food banks have food to put in them. Why not donate food from his organic food line to the food banks? He is so close but not quite there yet. Is this some kind of I give you freezers please ring my bells thing?

    • Emme says:

      Much as I loathe the man, these freezers and blast freezers he’s donating (800) are so that the big supermarkets can donate out of date products for food banks. C3 has been urging these supermarkets to join him in Project Felix. It’s worth researching what the Project are doing.

    • Alice says:

      It’s no longer his organic food line. It was part of the Duchy so it’s William’s now.

    • sunny says:

      The freezer donations are a good, practical step. The rest of this piece is a mess! Bell ringers??? They sound so painfully removed from reality.

    • Mary Pester says:

      Susan I don’t know if your a Brit or not but there was a peice on the news that said a lot of food banks are getting to the point that they will have to close their doors as even they are running out of food to give to people! And sorry but what is the point of freezers if there is nothing to go in them. Maybe Charles’s has BAT’S in HIS BELFRY as the are no bell ringers 😂

      • Nope not a Brit but did wonder if they would have enough food to even fill the freezers. Apparently they don’t. He needs to read the room but that doesn’t seem like it will happen.

  9. Mcmmom says:

    King Charles aside, the idea of having every church across the UK ring at the same time is actually kind of neat – I can see why they would want to do this.

    What I cannot understand is why it would take *fifteen hours* of training to be a bell ringer. That makes zero sense. I have rung the bell at my church. It’s not hard. It seems like they could streamline this considerably and give everyone an app that tells them when to ring the bell. Perhaps no one wants to ring the bell because they don’t want to dedicate multiple days to training?

    • Jais says:

      It would be neat but it needs to be 15h of paid training if they want it to happen. It’s kind of insulting for the king to expect his peasants to just do 15h of free service so the bells can ring as he rides in his brand new golden carriage.

      • CallyForbes says:

        People do change ringing as as a hobby because they enjoy it …not everything involves money.

      • Jais says:

        Well then hopefully, 7,700 more people will sign up for the sheer joy of ringing the bells and serving the king for free.

    • kirk says:

      It does sound kind of neat, especially when you consider y’all are ringing in the glorious reign of the one God has anointed to rule over y’all. Guess we’ll see how keen British people are to manifest this.

    • SarahCS says:

      I would assume it’s because the bells are incredibly big and heavy and I have visions of people flying up church towers if they don’t let go of the rope in time.

      PS – does anyone remember the Midsomer Murder episode about the bell ringing competition? That was pretty special.

      • equality says:

        I remember. The training may be for that rhythm to ring together and not just sound like noise.

      • MissMarirose says:

        I do. I think there was also a Father Brown episode about bell ringers too. That’s what got me thinking that it’s a big deal in small villages.

      • BeanieBean says:

        Yep. And I mentioned below Dorothy Sayers’ The Nine Tailors featuring murder amongst bell ringing.

      • MerlinsMom1018 says:

        @Sarahcs
        I definitely remember that episode! I love Midsomer Murders. The husband knows better than to bother me during that show 😎

      • The Recluse says:

        In Monty Python’s Flying Circus, they had an episode with a mock series called The Bishop. One of the people he failed to save was a bell ringer.

    • Anna says:

      I imagine the hours of training are safety related, but I could be wrong. Though even then, 15hours is a *little* steep.

      • Lady D says:

        France lost 103 bell ringers in 33 years to electrocution, 1753-1786. The bell ringers were holding wet ropes during thunderstorms. France outlawed ringing in the rain in 1786.

      • Jais says:

        Well, then Charles should cross his fingers for no rain on that day or it will all be for naught. Unless, that’s no longer a danger for some reason idk; a new way to change the bells.

    • Iz says:

      I think this is bc traditional bell ringing is a very complicated team effort, with series of peals rotating in a continuous algorithm that can be kept up for hours. It’s fascinating actually. There are traditional series & types etc, you need to be able to count in your head & not break the series. I only know this bc of the Lord Peter novel The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers which I heartily recommend!

      • BeanieBean says:

        I second your recommendation! (Sigh, I really need to learn to read all comments before commenting.). It really is quite fascinating, the whole bell ringing thing.

      • PrincessK says:

        I would love to have a go at bell ringing.
        The sound of the bells at my local church is magnificent!

    • CallyForbes says:

      It’ll be English church bell change ringing, so it will take a bit of time a) to learn to control your bell and b) to learn to ring your bell in co-ordination with all the other bells in the ring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_ringing . The only knowledge I have about change ringing was gained from the detective story The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers, but I love the sound of church bells and I think it’s a nice idea for them all to ring out at the same time even in churches where the bells are usually silent.

    • Ace says:

      From what I understand there are church bells set up to be easily rung, some of them just pushing a button, but if they want every single church bell to ring for the Chubbly not all of them will be set up like that. There’s also different type of rings for different meanings and the ringing for normal a mass call is not the same they’ll use for the Chubbly, so it’s even more likely that the bell ringers will need special training.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I also noticed the part about being able to go up old creaky windy stairs into the bell tower. That might take a few folks out.

    • CC says:

      Fifteen hours of training required but also so easy they’re trying to recruit children to do it.

    • Hyacinth Bucket says:

      CC, we’re not talking about merely pulling at a rope to have a bell chime. Change ringing is different. Dorothy L. Sayers has built a whole Lord Peter Wimsey mystery „The Nine Taylors“ around it. It’s fascinating. I expect the idea is every belltower in the UK ringing out peals in jubilation uplifting the spirits of everybody during the coronation. Rather ridiculous. I will be in Ireland on that day. Can’t wait. I bet the Irish have a comment or two.

    • Deens says:

      I live in a small English town and in recent months there have been messages on the local Facebook group trying to get more young people interested in bell ringing. It takes a bit of practice to get the hang of it and it sounds quite fun, to be honest. Our church dates back to the 1200s and it’s amazing to hear the bells on Sundays and for events. I haven’t seen new Coronation-related appeals but like many things it’s a hobby that’s fading out. Now don’t get me started on Morris dancing—that’s just weird and creepy!

    • Becks1 says:

      I’m sorry but I am laughing so hard at all the Dorothy Sayer’s references. It’s like there’s this one book that deals with bell ringing and everyone here has read it. (or else Dorothy is here under several different names pushing her book 🤣🤣)

      • CallyForbes says:

        I’m Dorothy L Sayers!

      • Lissen says:

        Me! Me! I’d love to be confused for Dorothy Sayers! LoL

        The reason her book is cited by so many is that it’s still probably the only book that explains campanology, the bells, the ringers, and the art of bell ringing clearly. I have to confess I still don’t understand it. But I did enjoy the book. Lord Peter Wimsey fan here.

      • The Old Chick says:

        Yes! We’ve all read it (or I’m Dorothy in disguise). Actually how I wish I were! She was a truly fascinating woman, one of the first to get a degree at Oxford, and a brilliant author. I’m going to grab my copy of the 9 tailors off the shelf today! Her father was a chaplain? I think and a headmaster of a school and was into Bell ringing.

      • Miss Jupitero says:

        No, I’m Dorothy L. Sayers!

      • CallyForbes says:

        Ah yes. Lord Peter Wimsey. The hair, hands, music, and sheer intellect. And the most lovely, grown-up, romantic relationship ever with Harriet Vane. At the risk of looking like a book pusher, might I recommend to any other Wimsey fans the Lymond series of historical novels by another Dorothy, Dorothy Dunnett. Her hero Francis Crawford of Lymond is a very similar character to Lord Peter but set in the 16th century. The books cover a huge area – Scotland, England, Ireland, France, the Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire, Russia – and in spite of undergoing all sorts of tribulations our hero escapes with not only his health and vigour undamaged but his complexion and propensity to quote medieval poetry at the drop of a hat intact. Fantastic series of books.

      • Lissen says:

        Yes, for me, they are The Two Dorothys – incredibly learned women. My local librarians always say they know who’s reading Dorothy Dunnett by the research they’re doing.

  10. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Why can’t these people bring FOOD to a FOOD bank?

    • Emily_C says:

      Money is what they should be bringing and everyone should be giving if they can. If food banks in Britain are anything like food banks in America, give MONEY. Food banks have great deals with farmers and companies to get really good food at really low prices. The price of a couple cans of soup can buy them a whole basketfull of fresh produce.

      It is a bit different with the royals, especially since Chuck has farms, doesn’t he? So he could donate truckloads of food directly from those farms. But to set an example for what other people should do, it is MONEY.

      • Taxky says:

        The farms in the Duchy of Cornwall belong to William now.

      • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

        You’re absolutely spot on E.

      • Miranda says:

        Yes, thank you for saying this! I run the food bank and meal delivery service for my church, and we’ve never had a problem with getting food to distribute. As you say, we have deals in place for that, and food donations from individuals are actually pretty inconvenient for us because what most people want to donate is quite obviously the result of a recent pantry/fridge clean-out, with goods that are very close to or past the expiration date, or stuff that’s been opened. People are so resistant to giving money, like they think we’ll keep it for ourselves or spend it frivolously, or that asking for cash is “greedy”. But it’s what we genuinely need. The best things for people to donate are MONEY or TIME (so many food banks have a perpetual shortage of volunteers!).

  11. girl_ninja says:

    This fool has no shame but Harry and Meghan are the real villains right?

  12. Becks1 says:

    Maybe just every other church rings its bells, will that be enough for KC3???

    As for the freezers/refrigerators – good. That’s an example of something concrete that royals can do that will help the organizations they are visiting.

    I am LMAO at how this contrasts with the Waleses food pantry visit a few weeks ago. Did Charles announce this freezer donation before or after that visit, does anyone know?

    • equality says:

      A much better rendering of the “flybe” stunt by KC.

      • Felicity Fox says:

        That makes me imagine Harry doing a very low fly by during the coronation…and then he and Meghan doing some sky writing

    • windyriver says:

      This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about the freezers. Someone mentioned it on CB maybe a week ago? And I saw a random headline somewhere before that. But don’t know exactly when that was in relation to that W&K food bank visit.

    • SarahCS says:

      Weirdly I’m sure I saw something about this months ago, maybe before Christmas? But it didn’t get picked up much. I have a feeling he went for a semi-WanK and announced his intentions in advance then got another round of glory for actually doing it. Or talking about it some more. He still gave something tangible though so props to that. Then went home to his golden piano and new thrones.

      • Becks1 says:

        @SarahCS that’s it, right? He’s donating 800 freezers, which is nice! It’s a good thing! But then he goes home to his palaces and complains about how no one wants to ring the bell for him and how he totally deserves a new carriage and Camilla deserves to wear the Koh i Noor and……it just falls flat.

        It’s better than nothing, but its a pretty low bar.

  13. Polo says:

    I’m glad to see that Charles has fully adopted the Harry and Meghan model of giving. And yes I know the Princes Trust has done a lot but I don’t remember them ever going this far when visiting charities.
    He’s being very intentional to be seen as charitable this last year.
    I’m sure William and Kate will follow soon enough righhht…

    Now will all the trolls complain about donations always being announced or will that just be for the biracial princess. Smh

    • Snuffles says:

      Fully? It’s just a drop in the bucket. They have a LONG way to go.

      • Polo says:

        Yes they do but he’s been announcing these kind of things more often. I hate that I even know this but he announced donations to turkey, donations around Christmas to some organization, then giving bonuses to employees. They are going sussex royal…
        The Cambridge’s are adopting Meghan and Harry’s mannerisms, clothing, donation model.
        We all know this but it’s annoying

  14. chill says:

    I thought KC wanted to be religiously inclusive by honoring all religions. What about the others? How are they included? This bell ringing is exclusive to the Church of England.

  15. Harper says:

    C-Rex finding out his fan base draws the line at climbing to the top of the steeple for him.

  16. B says:

    Happy to hear he’s donating fridges.

    It’s literally the only useful thing I’ve heard them do since 2020. During that time there’s been a global pandemic, Ukraine invasion & now a cost of living crisis in Britain.

    It took them awhile but they are finally learning how to merge impact with their photo ops. And they say you can’t teach a old publicly funded leech new tricks.

    • Couch potato says:

      True! Speaking of Ukraine; other royal families have opened up royal properties for Ukranian refugees to stay. Wonder how many families the British RF could’ve housed if they didn’t hoard the properties for themselves.

  17. equality says:

    How glorious it would be if they were all standing in place and, at the appointed time, not a single bell rang.

  18. SarahCS says:

    I am enjoying the small signs that the tide has turned and the speculation about how much people respected the queen vs. the institution/Chuck is starting to be visible.

    As an aside, I went to watch the England women’s football team play last night (I’m not a football fan but it was a lovely experience, so many little girls and the Lionesses beat Belgium 6-1). Obviously we had the national anthems at the start but as an atheist and republican I couldn’t sing it. It made me wonder if we will reach a point in my lifetime where we have a more inclusive anthem for everyone in our country.

    • Lady D says:

      The lady who sang the national anthem (Canadian) at the hockey game Saturday night switched the words of our anthem from “our home and native land” to “our home on native land” I cheered when I heard her. The line is repeated in the anthem, and she sang the original version the second time, but good for her. Baby steps, but another path to reconciliation for the First Nation people.

      • PunkPrincessPhD says:

        @Lady D: Jully Black!!!!

        Such a powerful statement of solidarity.

      • Jais says:

        Badass 👏👏👏

      • SIde Eye says:

        It was awesome!

      • Alice says:

        The word ‘native’ is clearly used as ‘home’land in the anthem so although she’s trying to connect it to native peoples, it’s a native land to every born/living on it i.e. the same way we say someone speaks English or French etc as a native. In short, by changing it to”on native land” she’s not making any statement. It is a native land to every Canadian.

  19. ThatsNotOkay says:

    No one should be volunteering their time for a king. It’s the other way around. The king should pay his subjects for every itty bitty thing they do. Give them land or diamonds for their services, then you’ll get some “loyal” subjects. Otherwise, toot your own horn and ring your own bells.

  20. Now all I can hear in my head is the Ring My Bell song by Anita Ward 🛎. Make it stop.

  21. Lissen says:

    Ah! Campanology isn’t just tugging at a rope to ring a bell, it’s actually music and an old form of communication. There are specific sequences in each composition. Each ringer has to pay full attention and pull the bell in correct sequence. That’s why it takes at least 15 hours to train a bell-ringer. And those bells are heavy. It’s very physical. Plus the noise in the enclosed space is deafening.

    Bells would be rung for births, weddings, deaths and other important occasions. Before the advent of phones, etc. the bells would tell of deaths with one toll for each year of the person’s age. Thus, for whom the bell tolls…

    Of course KCIII would want the bells rung for his most important occasion in his life.

    Dorothy Sayers murder mystery, “The Nine Taylors” has an excellent explanation of campanology.

    • Eurydice says:

      I love “The Nine Tailors” – some might think there’s a little too much campanology, but I thought it was fascinating.

  22. Eurydice says:

    I don’t think “streamlined” means what Charles thinks it means.

    • Jais says:

      I think you’re right. Nothing says streamlined like a new golden carriage. Sorry I just cannot get over the golden carriage.

  23. OriginalLeigh says:

    “ anyone from the age of eight and above could get involved in bell-ringing”

    They’re desperate enough to use free child labor for this nonsense? They should pay adults if they need people so badly.

    • AnneL says:

      To be fair, I grew up going to church, and that is the kind of thing members would do voluntarily. Like singing in the choir, in most churches. I think a lot of kids would get a kick out of the idea of ringing the bell. But I guess not enough. Charles has already lost the young people!

      • OriginalLeigh says:

        @Annel – That is fair. I’m just biased because I find the concept of someone having a coronation in 2023 to be so ridiculous…

      • Lady D says:

        I’m torn at the thought of this coronation. I want to see the pageantry, the costumes, the jewels, the crowns, the church service, the princesses, the dresses, etc. I want to see it all, and it will be the only chance I ever have of seeing this.
        At the same time, it’s Chuck and Cammie’s coronation and I cannot describe how disgusted I am at seeing her in Diana’s crown or having to accept him as my king. So yes, I am torn over this coronation.

  24. Amy Bee says:

    This is absolutely bonkers. Whose idea was this? Charles should be just grateful that the UK doesn’t care enough to actually question the use of a monarch and his family in this modern day and age.

  25. AnneL says:

    I admit I like the idea of all the bells ringing across the country at once? I just like the sound of church bells. But I sure wouldn’t be volunteering hours of my life to Chuck’s big moment, so I can understand why others don’t care to either.

    It makes me think of “The Sound Of Music.” When Maria and the Captain marry, they have the bells ringing and they show one little boy tugging on the rope of a huge bell, basically hanging on for dear life as he bobs up and down on it, legs flailing.

    But that was a wedding I wanted to see. The Clowning is going to be meh by comparison.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      The current monarchy’s base is older adults, many of whom would not be physically capable of climbing up to a belfry, let alone ring a big, heavy bell.

  26. MY3CENTS says:

    Maybe Cowmilla’s friend can stand there and ring his little bell and chant shame at Chucky?

  27. blue says:

    This request to ring every bell is hilarious!
    A new gold coach, new thrones, bells ringing everywhere, a former mistress now elevated to QC, selling access & privilege to Saudis & Russian oligarchs? This guy’s a hot mess.
    I guess Chuck believes in the Divine Right of Kings, which worked out so well for French royalty.

  28. Brassy Rebel says:

    Instead of “shivers of anticipation” for the coronation, most Brits are merely shivering because they can’t adequately heat their homes. This whole con-a-nation is shaping up to be the biggest bust since W&K’s Caribbean Flop Tour.

  29. UnstrungPearl says:

    A church near my house plays a ‘bells ringing’ soundtrack through speakers every Sunday.
    Problem solved, Chuck.
    You’re welcome.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      But Charles wants his actual “subjects” showing their devotion to him by exerting themselves physically on his behalf. A recording would be the equivalent of phoning it in.

      • UnstrungPearl says:

        Tbh phoning it in would be an accurate description of many people’s feelings about the coronation…

  30. Harleyb says:

    I’m just here for the comments….which are ALMOST as hilarious as the article itself.

  31. RoyalBlue says:

    An yes, Charles has waited his whole life to hear those bells toll for him folks, and he will not be denied.

  32. BeanieBean says:

    If anyone is interested in bell ringing, I can recommend Dorothy Sayers ‘The Nine Tailors’. Plus, there’s a murder!

    • CallyForbes says:

      Hello to the other Dorothy L Sayers fans who’ve posted here – I wasn’t expecting that! Just flicking through the chapters of The Nine Tailors. It would be worth taking up bell ringing just to be able to use the language. A short touch of Kent Treble Bob Major anyone? Or Grandsire Triples? Though I doubt I’d have the stamina to make it up the steps and ladders let alone pull on a heavy rope for half an hour.

      • BeanieBean says:

        🙂 The language is glorious! And I love that the bells all have names! I’d never make it up the stairs, spiral staircases freak me out.

      • CallyForbes says:

        I did the Winchester Cathedral tower tour a while ago and in the final bit there was a very, very tight spiral stair going up to the roof that kept getting narrower and narrower and it was a bit scary. Fortunately it’s not a very tall tower so it didn’t last long. Going back down was worse!

  33. Lee says:

    Lol big deal, it’s their tradition they are entitled to it!

  34. Jaded says:

    For some reason I have this vision of thousands of Chubbly spectators holding teeny-tiny triangles all tinging them at once. A fitting performance I think.

  35. Pam says:

    Thank you—I really needed a good laugh today! As for Charles at the food banks, hey, at least he showed up with a refrigerator, which is more than we can say for the Wales… 🤣🤣🤣

  36. Ruby says:

    Therefore, send not to know
    For whom the bell chubblies,
    It chubblies for thee.

  37. tamsin says:

    Did they do this for the Jubilee? Why can’t they just recall all those people?

    • CallyForbes says:

      Yes, church bells were rung for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This is not a new thing! Church bells have been rung to mark special occasions for hundreds of years. They’re also rung for normal Sunday church services, and for the weddings and funerals of ‘ordinary’ people. They’re simply using the Coronation as a recruitment drive to try to get more people involved in this everyday type of bell ringing. If I thought I had the stamina I’d have a go myself. https://ringfortheking.org/

  38. QuiteContrary says:

    I like the Felix green swag. That’s all I’ve got.

    Britain is so silly sometimes. Why not just add Morris dancers and flaming barrels of tar, too?

    • Emily_C says:

      That would make it much more fun! All their so-called “pomp” is so stodgy and dull. So much money wasted on snoozefests.

    • Eurydice says:

      I don’t think bell-ringing is silly – after all, we just celebrated Groundhog Day. What is silly is trying to plan an elaborate coronation with country-wide participation in just a few months. They haven’t managed to send out a couple thousand invitations yet, they haven’t been able to book the headliners for the concert, the new thrones aren’t built, the golden carriage isn’t built and who knows what else they’ve planned – and now they want to manage 38,000 bell-ringers?

  39. Mary Pester says:

    Susan, you were right to wonder, it breaks my heart to see the state this country’s in, and how completely out of touch these Royal idiots are, compare them to Megan, who not only spent says cooking in the Grenfell kitchen, but also took bags stuffed full of food to cook there. Then she went into compile the cook book for them and helped get it punished, even after 3 years away, she still contacts them on every anniversary of that terrible fire. Can you see any of the idiots left over here doing that? No, they threw away the best 2 assets they had, all through petty jealousy and media briefings

  40. Chantal says:

    Thanks celebitches for the murder mystery book recommendation (my favorite genre). I still can’t believe there’s an actual Council!

    The classic songs One Less Bell To Answer (Burt Bacharach/5th Dimension) and Ring My Bell (Anita Ward) are all I hear.

    At least he making useful donations.
    I’ll bet C-Rex thinks these bell ringers would be part of the volunteer community services he was pushing for during his ClownFest. It does sound neat but thinking outside the box for a better more efficient way to accomplish this is obviously beyond the capabilities of anyone at Clown Central. Every time i think he can’t slink any lower…

    • CallyForbes says:

      According to the Council’s website there’s an affiliated bell ringing society in the US as well… https://www.nagcr.org/

    • Mary Pester says:

      Chantal, brilliant, but if I had my way and were physically capable of doing it, I would travel the length and breath of the UK and cut every bloomin Bell rope just to show Charlie chinless what I think of him, but I know that wouldn’t be kind to the people who actually enjoy Bell ringing or the people (like me) who loves to hear them.

    • Gabby says:

      Awwww, @Chantal, your forgot ACDC’s Hell’s Bells.

      You’d think this idiot king would offer payment for the services he requires. Payment over and above what all the other bell-ringing gigs are paying on that day. DUH. He needs to pull the tampons out of his ears and let his brain get some air.

  41. HeyKay says:

    Soooo, Ed Sheeran and Adele are “busy” No one is volunteering to ring bells.
    lol 👍
    I love this. Maybe a ton of people are finding a way to get out of the way of KingTampons big, phony day.

    Gotta take the dog to the vet.
    Gotta wash my hair.
    Gotta paint the kitchen.
    Gotta stay home and ignore the hell out of you and your BS. 👍👍

  42. Surly Gale says:

    I’LL DO IT!!! All they have to do is pay my air fare from BC, Canada and let me ring the tune I want to ring and I’ll do it all!!
    I can hear the bells toll: Pray for the dead and the dead shall pray for you ~
    Because w/o the death of QEII there would be no con-a-nation, no chubbly, no corona-nation, no nothing.
    Now, off to my library’s page to reserve this book y’all are talking about by Dorothy whilst humming “One less bell to answer, one less egg to fry…” because the bells won’t likely ring and the eggs will likely fly, not fry. I’m IN!!

    • Mary Pester says:

      Surly , could you play send in the clowns 🤔

      • Surly Gale says:

        @Mary Pester
        Happy to! I’ll ring those bells when they are on their way out…or maybe vice versa.
        I’ll ring all the bells with all the songs that make fun of the monarchy.

        On another note (tee hee) my library does not have this book by Dorothy. Neither did my local bookstore. So I’ve ordered from amazon because when my fellow CBers recommend a book I do my level best to read it. There are many intelligent and kind people on this site that encourage me to be better every day.

        I WILL BE THE BEST BELL RINGER EVER

  43. blue says:

    My wish is for pouring rain on Coronation Day, keeping the adoring masses home & dry so Chuckie does his big ride along empty streets with nobody out there to tug forelocks or wave.

  44. The Recluse says:

    Mannnn, I’m wondering if those happy trolls at South Park are paying attention to all this fuss over Chuck’s big party. They are merciless. They went after a royal wedding and an exiled royal couple and the Queen. What’s to stop them from going after Chuck and his sidepiece?

    • HeyKay says:

      I’d pay cash money to see South Park tear KingTampon apart over the coronation.
      Get to work on it, SP.

      • Rainmaker says:

        Funniest 🤣 🤣🤣 article and run of comments EVER! Kaiser and fellow CBers you have surpassed yourselves.🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾. ‘Ask not for whom the bell tolls…..’

  45. Kitkat says:

    I’m in Northern England and my concern about this is that most of the food banks in my area do not give out chilled or frozen food. Main reason being a lot of people using the food banks can’t afford to run a fridge or freezer. This has been even more common in last couple of months as prices have gone up.

    So we focus on tinned and ambient foods. At our food bank we even have special pack available for people who only have access to a kettle with things like instant mash and noodles. These tend to be for people in short term accomodation or hotel rooms.

    Food donations would have been far more useful than a fridge, with donations being down as everyone finding their money isn’t going as far. Yet again the Royal family and their advisors completely out of touch with the reality!

  46. Therese says:

    There’s a lot of effort and time going into this, yet Charles can’t take the time to be decent with his own flesh and blood. But he has the time to worry about honor being paid to him. People are probably too cold and hungry or without petrol to volunteer. I don’t have anything against tradition if it doesn’t take away from anyone. Isn’t there an expression called ass backwards? An admittedly great thing is happening in Charle’s life, and he wants to be honored, but he to me didn’t put the work in. Lying, causing emotional and possible physical harm, not protecting and taking care of his family and his “people”. I can’t get over how vicious and nasty it was to belittle and hurt Harry by not letting him wear his uniform, and thus letting him be able to salute his beloved grandmother and commander in chief. No, he lost me with Diana. If one disrespects other people, I don’t care how many gowns and crowns they put on, they don’t deserve my respect. I wonder how it would sound if 38,000 bullhorns sounded all over England. Doesn’t take training for that.

  47. NeoCleo says:

    “nobody wants to ring his bells.” That made me laugh.