Strike the Bell’ is a parody of ‘Ring the Bell, Watchman’ by Henry Clay Work. The original song dates back to the and of the American civil war c.1865. In this later version the crew are hoping that the second mate will end the shift by striking the bell. The barometer (glass) shows the the pressure dropping which coupled with the darkening sky indicates an impending storm.
The rhythm of ‘Strike the bell’ lends itself to being used as a ‘pumping shanty’, a task depicted in the Henry Scott Tuke painting ‘All Hands to the Pumps’.
Graham generally sees the funny side of life, which is just as well as he spent 35 years working for the telephone company. He started scuba diving with the British Subaqua Club at the age of 16, rode horses through his 20's, became an obsessive windsurfer in his 30's and had a go at free-diving in his 40's. While all of this was going on he rode a bike to keep fit and get to the pub. In later life, in an effort to stave off dementia he has taken up singing and dancing. You may see short stories about these pursuits, but don't expect to read about any degree of prowess as the experiences he can still remember generally relate to (in order) getting bent, crashing a horse (yes, crashing, not just falling off), Windsurfing stupidly in a storm 10, wreck diving without an aqualung, time-trialling with a hangover, singing out of tune and falling on his arse (dancing).
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