Saturday, Jun 30, 2012

School Holidays, etc

Nick and Andrew have School Holidays at the moment, and I (David) am taking some time off as well.  We’re not going anywhere, though.

I’m taking the opportunity to do some tasks around the house.

Polishing the floor.  Renovating the garden lights.

The Clock has arrived!

This is no ordinary clock, of course.It is made from Australian woods.

The gearwheel teeth and bearings for the mechanism are made of brass, and there is glass and wire, but the gearwheels themselves and nearly everything else is made of wood.  The hands are made from 5,000 year old redwood, retrieved as stumps from the harbour bottom somewhere in Western Australia.

It is powered by a large weight, and has to be wound up every two or three days.  I don’t know how accurate it will be ….That isn’t the point though, is it?  If I wanted an accurate clock, I could buy a digital electronic one made in SE Asia somewhere, and it would probably be accurate to a few seconds per year.

No this is a work of art really.

A large, moving, ticking work of art….. and it is wonderful.

We have also acquired a new car, but that is much less important.

Our new C-class Mercedes station wagon

Andrew and Nick have been forced to wash it, as well as our Polo.