Steam Clock

I MUST thank everyone for stopping by on my Bday yesterday, I've never had so many views or comments. It was great!

Has everyone recovered from copious libations and shenanigans last night yet? If you're still a bit groggy, that's OK. Your better half will remonstrate with you soon no doubt

Don't ask me why, but I was downtown Vancouver by 8.45 this morning, (Yes, I know. I'm daft)

Normally, the traffic downtown is a zoo, and you'd have to get me there kicking and screaming but I guessed that would not be the case today.

I was right. It was like something out of a post apocalyptic movie, hardly a soul on the streets

This is one of Vancouver's "famous" tourist areas, Gastown. The clock, reputedly one of only a handful of steam clocks in existence, is listed in every guide book I've ever seen.

Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core and is named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area's first saloon. The town soon prospered as the site of Hastings Mill sawmill, seaport, and quickly became a general centre of trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet as well as a rough-and-rowdy resort for off-work loggers and fishermen as well as the crews and captains of the many sailing ships which came to Gastown or Moodyville, on the north side of the inlet (which was a dry town) to load logs and timber.

Nowadays, it's "hip" according to Wiki. But only two blocks or so away is Vancouver's infamous Hastings Street drug area

Thing is though, the clock's only been there since 1977. Just goes to show, you can fool all the people some of the time eh?

If you're interested, here'sa link to Wiki

Ah well. Until tomorrow....