Things going wrong...

I've noticed recently that quite a few things have gone wrong and stayed that way for much longer than anticipated. Two of the lifts at work have needed special parts, my UPS has gone into a sulk and I've had to rebuild my PC & Microshaft don't recognise my license code.

Besides all this, Morley has been without the Town Hall clock until recently, stuck on 4:15pm so as someone rightly pointed out in the paper, it is right twice a day!

It would seem that it is probably cheaper to replace the mechanics of the clock (which is the original 1895 mechanism although it does now have an electric winder) with a modern electronic mechanism which would keep much better time, ring the bells and be flexible enough to silence it at night or when concerts are on in the Hall. It would be a shame to lose that bit of history but at the moment it is a curate's egg- even the staff are barred from visiting it, let alone horologists.

The Town Hall is a Grade 1 listed building so fixtures and fittings should be preserved where possible. Some forward thinking local authorities have preserved their mechanisms in museum displays or even street level ornamental clocks but it costs money. Better an enthusiast to tend or rescue it methinks- if he can fit up the "manhole" to access it- I'm told I'll probably struggle!