Re: [Bell Historians] Re: Olympic Bell

[Dickon Love]

JEC
>  Indeed.  As I said on ringing-chat two weeks ago "Whatever the truth, it
>  seems like another gigantic waste of money."

The thing is, that argument can be levelled at all forms of bell project.  Someone at work asked me "what's the point of bells".  In a world where everything has to have a financial return, he had a point - bells just make a noise, but then so do hi-fis.  What was the point of putting bells in many places - not just in England, but carillons overseas?  What was the point in putting a giant bell into St Paul's, or Big Ben in Westminster?  Moving awa from bells, the same is true of other works of art.  What was the point in spending 3m on this or that painting?

I think until we know more about the bell's future, or how it was financed, it would be uncharitable to castigate it at this stage.  But it is clearly there as a piece of art, and that is how it should be assessed (IMHO).

DrL