Balmoral Clock tower

On my way home today thought I'd blip the Balmoral clock tower, a regular feature in the Prince's St/Calton Hill skyline....

I found this article on the scotsman website and was surprised by how reliant people really are on those big old clock faces that are dotted around the cities they live in...especially in bold...!

Published on Friday 26 February 2010 09:07

IT HAS kept Edinburgh's commuters on time for more than a 100 years.

But the iconic Balmoral clock decided for the first moment in its history to call its own time on Wednesday evening - stopping abruptly just after 5:35pm.

Managers at the historic Princes Street hotel insist the timepiece has never stopped in its 108 years and are at a loss to explain what caused the fault.

Harry Fernandes, resident manager, said: "This is the first time ever that the clock has decided not to move.

"All we can do is advise the residents of Edinburgh to wear watches until we get it fixed."

Staff were alerted to the problem by guests and decided to turn off the lights that traditionally illuminate the four faces of the clock tower on a 24-hour basis.

some people eh?!

The clock is usually a couple of minutes faster so that people walking towards the Waverly station to catch the train have a little bit more time than they think...!