two minutes till midnight

[themadhippy]

strange question
what time is being displayed on your local town hall/church clock?

the reason for the question is  something thats set me pondering.During lock down mark 1 i notice the local church clock had stopped just before 12,then i saw that the other church in town was also showing a similar time as was the town hall clock,as it was just before the clocks were due to move fallword   i assumed it had been done to avoid confusion as the clock advancement engineer had been fulonged.After lock down the clocks  showed the correct time again.Yesterday i was out and noticed one of the church clocks has stopped  again ,today i made a point of checking the other church,and yea its stopped at just before 12,haven't checked the town hall but  just wondered why and if its widespread.

[emjaybee]

Most local/village clocks are wound by volunteer church people, most of these are senior citizens. A large number of senior citizens have underlying health issues and probably would rather stay indoors and follow the government's advice.

Whether the clocks are stopped on purpose I can't answer. Most church clocks have a seven day, plus a bit, movement.

[themadhippy]

Most local/village clocks are wound by volunteer church people,

hadnt thought about the winding,just assumed it would be automatic

[NGS-PO]

...the hands that threaten doom...

[emjaybee]

One of my clients is a 'apprentice' clock winder in a neighbouring village. He's learnt how to wind the clock, and he's learnt how to wind the chimes. He's recently been allowed to adjust the time. But he has yet to learn how to regulate the movement. He did get a ticking off, no pun intended, as the other week he put off winding the clock as it was raining stair rods, then he forgot. The clock stopped.

I did ask him if that was a hanging offence, but he hoped not.

[stevewalker]

It also used to be the norm to set the hands to 12 o'clock (or thereabouts) if the clock stopped for any reason, so as to make it clear that there was a fault and it was known about.

[lil chris]

Strange as it is a clock that has stopped at 12 oclock is more accurate than one that is a min slow, it shows the correct time twice a day......lol

[Trainfish]

It's all down to Bruce Dickinson, he started it in 1984.

I can explain if necessary but I'd rather not 

[LASteve]

I thought it was George Orwell who messed with the clocks in 1984?

[chrism]

It's all down to Bruce Dickinson, he started it in 1984.

I can explain if necessary but I'd rather not 

I preferred the 1984 adaptation of a Coleridge poem 

[emjaybee]

It's occurred to me that the still time could be an adaptation of the earlier example. Clocks were stopped and left at noon so people knew there was a problem, but it could be that process would interfere and possibly damage the chime mechanism. So they're being left just short of mid-day.

Or they could be an Iron Maiden fan as previously alluded to. Great band, first gig I ever went to. Hammersmith Odeon, couldn't hear straight for 24hrs after!

Or it could be a Commie plot by those pesky 'Reds'.

[chrism]

It's occurred to me that the still time could be an adaptation of the earlier example. Clocks were stopped and left at noon so people knew there was a problem, but it could be that process would interfere and possibly damage the chime mechanism. So they're being left just short of mid-day.

That's very possible. My grandfather clock makes a distinct click a minute or so before the hour, almost as if it's initiating the chime mechanism. If it were stopped between then and the hour, the chime mechanism would be left in an initiated state.

It could even be simply to give the person restarting the clock time to get out of the clock room again before the chimes start 

[emjaybee]

That's also plausible. I know that despite the engineering in their movements they can be rather delicate and temperamental due to their age, a bit like some people, which is why I'm leaning towards the damage prevention theory.

[stevewalker]

Completely alternatively and just by chance, I happened to watch an episode of Doctor Who last night - if the monks start appearing, you'll know that it was them making the clocks, watches and mobile phones track the Doomsday clock as they prepared to take over the planet!