Here is a list of all posts.
2022
- Bakelite – and a perfect Wyn-win encounterIt started with a call out of the blue, delivered in a lovely Welsh lilt from a village near Carmarthen, west of Swansea. Two weeks later, over half a century of family history had been restored. And some Bakelite was gleaming on the Welsh dresser. * “I’ve got an old clock that doesn’t work. HowContinue reading "Archive"
- Taking a hammer to a clock feels hit and missBehind a painted dial what horrors await? And should I fix them? A nation turns its lonely eyes to me on the Robinson longcase clock.
- Forging ahead proves a treat – Robinson Part 2There is more to this clock restoration than meets the eye. Coaxing precision crafted clock parts to work in harmony when they have been battered by neglect and the passage of time is one thing. Entering the mysterious and timeless world of the blacksmith is another. And it turns out to be an unexpected treat.Continue reading "Archive"
- My Word – here’s to you Mr RobinsonWhat started as a walk with friends on the fringes of the Yorkshire Moors, developed into a thrilling encounter with an early 19th century clock and the inevitable meeting with a mid-20th century mantel clock. Serendipity, or more?
- Just checking in – marking time in the workplaceUsing the technology of the day to monitor workforce behaviour is nothing new. Meet the wonderful Gledhill-Brook Time Recorder clock.
- There’s no present like the time – just ask the homelessThis is not a post about buying someone a clock for Christmas – although that’s not such a bad idea. It is about giving the gift of time in a different way. Charity begins at home – which is all very well if you have one. For the homeless or rough sleepers, winter must bringContinue reading "Archive"
- A mystery, an enigma and a Yorkshire clock makerThe good people of West Yorkshire had come seeking truth. But history continues to defy reason. And the search for the elusive Neddey Wells of Shepley leaves us with more questions than answers.*Where to start with this story? I fell in love with the simple but beautiful longcase clock the moment I saw it, aContinue reading "Archive"
- A suitable case for treatment? Dishing the dirt on patina.Patina – a word much loved by antique dealers and hopeful sellers on Ebay. But is it simply just another dirty word for… well, dirt? As regular readers know, I love a good old clock. The dirtier the clock when it arrives on my workbench, the better. It is the pleasure of the challenge, ofContinue reading "Archive"
- Going, going – are auctions under the hammer or the cosh?I really love going to auctions. Not the fancy ones with ‘priceless’ artworks. It is the downbeat drama of the provincial saleroom, its cast of dubious characters and ramshackle artefacts that excites me. But has the pandemic finally put the traditional auction house not just under the hammer but under the cosh?* “Unwanted items, likeContinue reading "Archive"
- Antiques Roadshow or Repair Shop – which are you?The big ‘reveal’ tells us so much about values. Where do you sit? On the Antiques Roadshow it is all about price – ‘I suppose you want to know what it’s worth?’ the expert teases. And the item’s owner salivates at the prospect. The Repair Shop has a different reveal and it’s all about sentimentContinue reading "Archive"
- When time and sound stand stillSomehow, the owl is translucent, supernatural, a mirage, an apparition, yet at the same time more real than anything else I can remember.
- Really, who actually needs a clock or watch these days?Do we really need clocks and watches these days? Digital displays tell you what time it is. But they don't tell you what time it has been or what time it is going to be.
- Something to celebrate – year after yearA story about one brilliant marketing idea that changed everything for the 400-day clock.
- Fantastic foxes – fascinating fox factsA fox can hear a ticking watch from a distance of 60 feet. But there are more extraordinary facts about foxes that deserve a mention.
- Pick of the Clocks? More ‘Clock of the Picks’!Every clock has its own story to tell. This one keeps its mystery, for now. I need the help of some ancestry detectives to reveal it.
- Matters of life and death – a winter walkEarly in our adventure we encountered a red legged partridge, sitting like a small boulder on the clay mud track. Baggy tried to look nonchalant as we approached it while he stood guard.
- History – maybe it’s all just smoke and mirrorsAs we think back over our own histories, I wonder how much of what we remember is imagined. Or how much of what we attribute as motive or hidden thought in others is actually just driven by our desire to support the narrative we choose to create.
- That worrying moment of no return…Dismantle things and will you ever manage to put them back together again? Face that worrying moment of no return.
- Putting a name to a face – and why it mattersPutting a name to a face matters. But who minds if you spell a name incorrectly? Seemingly not precision clockmaker Neddey Wells. Hard to believe.
- Butterflies – the Yorkshire Moors and the question of destinyAlways a birdwatcher, now I have a new diversion – the spectacular, inspirational flight of butterflies making their way purposefully across the glorious Yorkshire landscape.
- Unless you already know the answer, finding it isn’t easyThe internet can be irritating. Sometimes instead of telling you what you want to know, it tells you what it thinks you ought to want to know.
- Everybody’s Nan had one – with the utmost satisfaction guaranteedHow a sad unwanted clock at auction revealed the rich language of a bygone age.
- Grandfather clock or Longcase clock? Here’s one ‘going for a song’Longcase or Grandfather clock? A song, a Yorkshire pub and a legend in the making,..
- Remember that first time holding hands – how time stopped?Hands intertwine. And it is one reason why a clock, and time, stops. Here are some simple steps to fix the problem.
- Telling TimesWould this venture ever have seen the light of day had it not been for Coronavirus and the whole notion of lockdown?