John Taylor & Co is a bell foundry based in Loughborough (near Birmingham) in England, and under the watchful eye of director Andrew Reynolds here in WA, the company is in the process of restoring the bells of the Abbey Church of New Norcia. Andrew started his fascinating talk by giving us a background to the origin of bells generally, as well as an overview of his company – which dates back to about 1320! They moved to Loughborough in 1839 and have occupied their present site since 1859. Whilst some bells are made of brass, the best material for church bells is bronze – an alloy of copper and about 20% tin, which gives a very pleasing sound when struck. There are two styles, swinging and stationary, with the former mounted on a headstock and the latter fixed with an external hammer striker. The four bells from the New Norcia tower are of Spanish origin and date back to the second half of the 19th Century. Bells number 1 & 3 were cast by Quintana in Spain and have Latin inscriptions, whereas bells 2 & 4 originate from the 1843 Barracks of the National Militia of Spain and have Spanish inscriptions. They were all spirited out of Spain at the end of the Civil War to avoid being destroyed, and thus landed up at New Norcia which was in the market for such things. The bells 1 to 4 weigh 75 kgs, 200 kgs, 125 kgs and 240 kgs respectively, and are in need of restoration after decades of service to the New Norcia community. Quite recently they were spotted on the back of Andrew’s Ute in Subiaco en route to Welshpool, and this resulted in an article being published in The Post newspaper! Andrew expects the refurbishment, which will include a striking computer for accurate timekeeping, to be completed by Christmas 2021.