The bells, the bells . . . As well as a distant pealing, there’s buzzing, a high-pitched hum — and now the sound of sirens.
I put my fingers in my ears, rather unattractively since I’ve just got off the bus, not to shut-out the noise but to listen.
This time the sirens aren’t in my head: there’s a real fire engine somewhere, I decide with a sigh of relief, despite the fact there is still a cacophony playing out in my head.
I try not to think about it. If I do even for a minute, there’s the hum and the ringing, like swimming underwater, my ears full of gravel.