3.41 (ish)

My Grandmother used to have a Napoleon clock like this. In fact, she had a house full of clocks and winding them was part of her daily routine along with the endless cleaning, polishing, thick slices of buttered toast, cups of tea and The Archers on the radio (EVERYTHING stopped for The Archers - it was the only time when anything did).

She used to say that when she was happy she didn't bother to wind the clocks. It took me a while to work that one out. That little line is just one of the million reasons I miss her.

I tracked this clock down a few years ago. I believe it dates from around the 1930's so it's told the time through some serious things. It's not the most accurate clock in the world as it runs about 5-10 minutes fast each day. It doesn't matter though because this is a magic clock. Oh yes. When you lie in bed and hear it chiming at night you can smell hot buttered toast and hear a far off radio show rising up the stairs and, suddenly, you are seven years old and an endless summer awaits you.