Church bells

[Isxmasoveryet]

Am i being unreasonable to think churches should not be aloud to ring those damn bells for hours on end a few times a week it not very christain disturbing neighbours etc for several hours

is it better today op? @Isxmasoveryet

I'm sure that long spell of ringing was related to Remembrance Sunday OP.

I live in a cottage right next to the church - in fact my bedroom window looks out right onto the bell tower. The bells ring on Sunday mornings and Thursday practice, also for weddings,funerals and special occasions. On top of that the chuch clock strikes and does the Westminster chimes every quarter of an hour 24 hours a day.

When I first moved in I thought it would drive me insane and kept waking me up. I can't tell you how quickly I got used to it, then started to love it - just a matter of weeks. Now the clock is the heartbeat of my home. Just recently they turned the chimes off for a few days for maintenance and I really missed it 😂

Now when the bells ring I think - ahhh, I'm home.

I'm sure you will get used to it and it won't always be as bad as last Sunday.
Thinking of you and hope you find a permanent, peaceful and love filled home very soon.

Hilarious!!!

I live near a church. The only thing that bothers me is that they don't do say 10 rings at 10 o'clock. It never seems to go with the hour! I don't mind church bells at all (another Atheist).

Oh give over @Isxmasoveryet - you seem a complete miser!!

OP hasn’t bought a house, she’s living in a hostel and suffering from anxiety.

Ear plugs or go out

Get some ear defenders and stop complaining

Buy ear defenders, or go out for a walk before they start. As others have said last Sunday was Remembrance Sunday so they might have been ringing for longer. As you have anxiety, I think speaking to whoever assists you with that would also be a good move ( doctor /cpn).
I live within earshot of 3 churches and the town hall clock, so it can be a bit noisy! I often don't notice the bells! They are in the background now.

there are some mean posters on here

This.

YABU I live next to a church and love hearing the bells! I wouldn’t have moved near one if I didn’t like it.

Then move

Church was there first.

Or go out on a Sunday

What is it you don't understand?

Some posters need to read all the OP’s posts, because you are not looking good with your responses.

OP has been moved into a hostel near to the church through no choice of their own. She is not a townie twat who has bought a house next to the church and is complaining about the noise. Have some empathy

I assume you mean on the hour and possibly half hour and quarter hour, not nonstop ringing for 3 hours straight. (8-11am)

I’m sorry you have anxiety and are in a hostel. Life must be tough at the moment.

I found the biggest help for me when distressed by something outside my control and I was spiralling, was to find a different way to experience it.

Reframing the bells as calling people to a place of sanctuary and safety might help. For centuries church bells have told people the time and called them to prayer and reflection. They are part of the fabric of our culture despite Christianity no longer being part of most people’s lives.

Whatever reason you are in a hostel, those bells are saying you’re safe from what you had to leave.

If you can find a way to think of them as a reassurance, you might find it better. After all, the times aren’t a surprise, so you know when they will chime.

Sorry if that sounds patronising, but it was a thing that really helped me a lot when I was in a bad state of mind.

You have my utmost sympathy. Yes we bought a house near a church but we didn’t expect the bells to ring for 5 hours solid every Monday evening (finishing around 10pm), 2-3 hours on a Sunday morning (starting at 830am) and for hours at a time at random other times.

After we moved in the church was given a grant for a new peal and it attracts bell ringing groups from all over the region who descend to practice, For those who live close to the church it’s insufferable, for everyone else it’s apparently lovely.

Given this post and your username I’m guessing you aren’t a supporter of the Christian religion. Actually I’m thinking your post is deliberately goading. So yes YABU.

Five and a half hours is a long time to listen to bells. Think headphones are your only choice.
Apparently the sound of church bells is one of the things British ex pats miss most ( I wasn’t one of them)

I have sympathy for the OP but she can't expect a tradition which has been going on for centuries to stop because of her anxiety. She needs ways of dealing with it until it becomes mere background noise as others have said.

The amount of posters that are not reading the full thread and understanding you are in a hostel and did not get to choose the location!!

Sorry you are getting some thoughtless answers OP, but yes YABU
It's a centuries old practice which is very much a part of our cultural tradition. It happens in places all over the UK every week and does not sound like too many hours usually. Last week might have been different due to Remembrance Sunday; they would never usually ring the bells during the service. Always before, sometimes after

I hope you find somewhere permanent soon which suits you better

I love church bells and I actually totally agree with you OP. I grew up living near a church and for 20 minutes 2 or 3 times on a Sunday, we’d hear the bellringers ringing the bells, and once midweek for their practice. Lovely.

Then recently I went for a weekend to a village in the Peak District where the Church had mechanical bells. They went ON and ON for hours and hours and it was torturous. They weren’t calling anyone to a service. It was pure noise pollution and it got on my nerves SO BADLY I can’t imagine how anyone who lives there can stand it.

So limited and occasional purposeful bellringing = yes please.

Constant mechanical pointless bellringing = absolutely not.

Have you read all the posts by the OP?

There are some tone deaf posters here. If the OP is in a hostel with no choice over location, it's not a huge leap to assume that her circumstances are not particularly uncomfortable or affluent. "Go sit in a cafe", "get some ear defenders" or "go out for a walk" might be good advice to those in better circumstances with money to spare, but not great if actually everything is a struggle and you don't necessarily have suitable warm clothing for the present cold snap and won't come back to a comfortable warm house with access to hot food and drinks.

You'll get used to them and if you don't then there are plenty of places to move away from the noise if the church bells

That sounds like an excessive amount of time too. It's hours and hours a week. It would irritate me too. No one needs to practice that much, it's being done for recreation not practice.