It's a wind-up

For a recent couple of months there was a big gap on the kitchen wall where our antique, 1860-ish station clock is usually located. It was away at a wonderful old clock mender in the Kent village of Wrotham for a clean and overhaul. Now it is back and the weekly routine of hand-winding its eight-day mechanism is restored to the domestic agenda.

There is something therapeutic about cranking its brass and steel internal workings to keep its solid old tick thumping the seconds away. It is like the heartbeat of the house, and a joy to have back in our daily lives.