Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Time Stands Still

 I collect clocks, the old fashioned keywound or weight driven clocks. To me, there is nothing more homely than the ticking of a clock, the gentle chime, or the serious 'bong' or even the 'cuckoo' as the clock reminds us that time is passing. I love sitting in a quiet house surrounded by ticking, letting my mind wander all around.  

Except that, suddenly, for reasons that I can't even tell you, every darn time I turn around, one of them has stopped. I wonder if it's humidity. One seemed to be a bit off kilter, and has been ticking away properly since I straightened it, but really, I have no explanation for the others. 

It really is irritating though.

I have a saying: 'The more keywound clocks a woman has, the less likely she is to know exactly what time it is."

18 comments:

  1. I can't marry up the time of the clock to the chimes, so always substracting or adding in my mind to the chimes..

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  2. My late father's old school clock is back at the menders because it has stopped again...it is too quiet without it!

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  3. Thelma, are your chimes ahead or behind?

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  4. Behind Debby by one, though I have just wound it again, so goodness knows if it right.

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  5. That saying is as obtuse as something that Confucius might have said. Mind you, I wonder if they had ticking clocks in China in 2500 years ago - probably not. He might instead have said "'The more sun dials a woman has, the less likely she is to know exactly when the sun is shining."

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  6. No ticks or tocks for me. I prefer the birds or this year, the sound of raindrops on the roof.

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  7. We have an old windup which I call a Westminster down in the basement. It is sort of the style in the link but is genuinely antique, or at least old. I think it was my grandparents' clock.

    https://www.wayfair.ca/decor-pillows/pdp/howard-miller-chiming-quartz-nicholas-mantel-clock-hw1188.html

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  8. Thelma, wait until the clock chimes the hour incorrectly, and then gently move the hour hand backward to the previous hour. Then gently move the minute hand one for revolution that will move the hour hand ahead to the next hour. It should chime properly at that point.

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  9. Ticking clocks annoy me. I prefer silent battery clocks.

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  10. I have a Seth Thomas mantle clock of the same design. It appears to be something from the late '20s. It is electric, but the chime is sweet, and it has a wonderful art deco pattern on the dial.

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  11. Are they as annoying as the Hoover, Northsider?

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  12. I have my mum's clock which keeps time but hasn't chimed at the correct time in years but I still like to hear it.

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  13. I guess there's bound to be a certain amount of operational risk involved when dealing with old clocks!

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  14. I guess you have to go around and reset them all with the spring and fall time change? I've heard rumors that might be done away with at some point which would suit me just fine.

    I grew up with a grandfather clock in my home, so I was accustomed to hearing the Westminster chimes every quarter hour.

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  15. Not so obtuse, YP. Keywounds and weighted clocks tend to be a little slow, or a little fast. You never get them exactly perfect, although you can get some pretty close. Once a week or so, I'm walking around with a cell phone synchronizing time on my clocks. In between, I'm glancing at clocks and thinking, "Well...it's approximately a quarter after 10." As opposed to whipping out a clock or looking at a battery one and saying, "It's 10:17

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  16. My great-grandfather's grandfather clock has a worn cog, so it slips two cogs on each rotation, thus gaining one second each minute (it is a 60-cog cogwheel). I'd repair it but MrsD won't let me have it ticking and bonging out the quarters all night with its Big Ben chimes.

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  17. Our wind up mantle clock was a wedding present to my grandparents. When it is fully wound, it picks up time and then loses it as it winds down. It is often correct when it is next wound. It is only just a rough guide to the time and a few metres away is a digital wall clock but if I forget to wind the old clock and it stops, we really miss its near enough time.

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  18. Hi Debby, tried your method am now two hours behind but my counting skills are still there! ;);)

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