Bells

On my way here to this late nite internet cafe I heard and saw bell ringing for the first time. I passed a nearby church and looked up to see 6 youths pulling the giant cords that ring the bells. Each ringer was fit and impassive; they looked a bit like the kind of people who might otherwise play Taiko drums or throw javelins or something. Their activity was noisy, out of tune and pretty cryptic - why ring bells in a closed church in the middle of the city at 7.49pm? I stuck around for a while to see what bell ringers do when they stop ringing - hang about for a chat? a smoke? share a joke? - but they took too long and the smell of nearby petrol depressed me too much so I left.