Keep your eye on the clock!
Airbus problems can't compare with the teething troubles of our Village Clock. Time Lord Alastair Everitt reports...
IT MUST BE ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO since the village clock on St Cyriac's
began to strike again. Having worked closely with Colin Walton, the clockmaker,
during the overhaul, the refitting, and the teething problems (Airbus has
nothing on this), I then kept the clock roughly working and striking to time
Šuntil the end of December 2005.
At this point John Norris, an engineer and clock enthusiast, asked whether he could have a go at maintaining a more accurate time keeping. "Of course", I said, "and you have until the end of February to see how you get on." John was brilliant. Not 100% of course but he did pretty well. The end of February came and all was well, March passed, then April - and at this time he had quite an impressive record. In May something must have happened. I hadn't seen John around and for two weeks the clock was 3 minutes slow. Towards the end of the third week of this serious lapse I had to do something and I had to make a choice.
I could either drop a note through John's door mentioning that I had received a number of remarks / complaints and asking whether he should consider resigning if he couldn't cope. Or, for the first time in 5 months, I could adjust the clock and see what happened. I chose to adjust it, and by making it 3 minutes fast I thought this might arouse a response. I also thought it better for the village clock to be 3 minutes fast rather than 3 minutes slow, especially if catching a bus.
It certainly did raise a response. John called on me, said that I had "overcooked" it. Later he told me with a smile that the Churches Conservation Trust, at his own request, had appointed him as the sole person in charge of the clock. John assures me that under his management this 17th century clock will only deviate by one minute in one month.
So, do keep your eye on the clock and if it is more than one minute slow or fast do phone John as he really wants to know.