Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 20^th October, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week the “Feature Game” will be Bellz!, which is a game picked up from the Game Fair last week in Essen.  A manual dexterity game, it is not the usual sort of game we play, however, its very quick and is really just a place-holder for all the games brought back from Essen.

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor SpeedD

And speaking of bells…

As Church Warden, Jeff was interviewing for a new bellringer for the cathedral carillon.  After observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he decided to call it a day when a lone, armless man approached him and announced that he was there to apply for the bellringer’s job.

Jeff was incredulous, “But you have no arms!” he exclaimed.

“No matter,” said the man, “Just observe…”

He then began striking the bells with his face, producing a beautiful melody on the carillon. The bishop listened in astonishment, and a crowd had gathered outside the cathedral drawn by the beautiful music.  Then, suddenly, rushing forward to strike a bell, the armless man tripped and plunged headlong out of the belfry window to his death in the street below.

Jeff was horrified and ran down the stairs to the cathedral square, and rushed to the man’s side.  As the crowd parted, one of them voiced the thoughts of them all and asked Jeff, “Who was this man?”

“I don’t know his name,” Jeff replied sadly, “But his face rings a bell.”

The following day, despite the sadness weighing heavily in his heart following the unfortunate death of the armless campanologist Jeff continued his interviews for a new bellringer.

The first man to approach said, “I am the brother of the poor, armless wretch who fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday.  I pray that you honor his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty.”

Jeff immediately agreed to give him an audition, and the armless man’s brother stooped to pick up a mallet, and then began to create the most wonderful melodies.  When he had finished, he turned to Jeff, suddenly groaned, clutched at his chest and dropped dead on the spot.

The vicar who was in the nave, hearing the Jeff’s cries of grief at this second tragedy, rushed up the stairs to his side. “What has happened?” he asked breathlessly, “Who is this man?”

“I don’t know his name,” sighed Jeff, distraught, “But he’s a dead ringer for his brother!”