I was walking past the church on the corner today, and the bells started ringing. Here is a ding by dong update of my thoughts:

bong…

Ah, the bells are ringing.

bong… bong…

Three rings. Must be telling the time. My watch only says 6:55 though.

bong… bong… bong… bong…

There we go, seven rings for seven o’clock.

bong…

Hang on.

bong… bong… bong…

Eleven rings? Maybe they’re going to do 12.

bong… bong… bong…

Hmm, maybe not. I bet they’re going to do 19; the 24-hour clock representation of seven o’clock.

bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong…

Huh. Twenty. Maybe they’ll do 24 - a full day.

bong… bong… bong… bong… bong…

OK, I really don’t know what they’re doing. Perhaps the first 24 were to put you in the mood for time telling, then the rest to tell the time.

bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong…

Guess not.

bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong… bong…

This must be very annoying for the people in the halls next door.

bong… bong…

I wonder if someone in the church is a Douglas Adams fan?

bong… bong…bong…

No of course not, he was an atheist.

bong… bong…bong… bong…

Ah, forty-nine rings, that’s seven squared! Well, that’s just silly… but… they’ve stopped!

More likely, the actual number of rings was 50, and I lost count along the way.