I promised last time that this time I'd describe the clock above my desk, to the right of the framed 1869 map of Europe. Unfortunately, right now it looks like this:
Don't pretend your own wallclocks don't leave a mark when you take them down...
While I was in Stuttgart, my clock stopped, fortunately not in a way intricately linked to my life. I put in a new battery, but it wouldn't start up again. I therefore threw it out and determined to buy a new one. After all, wallclocks aren't exactly expensive — you can get one for less than £5.
Unfortunately, although I was correct in my assessment of how easy it is to get a wallclock and how inexpensive they are (Dunelm Mill do a perfectly serviceable one for £2.99), I had not factored into my equation the point that I want one that shows the date as well as the time. My old clock did that and it was handy, so I want my new clock to do that.
So far, I must have looked at dozens of wallclocks of all shapes and sizes, and none of them have the date on as well as the time. I just want a regular, non-digital clock that has the date and time on it just like my watch. I think I'm going to have to resort to the Internet (Amazon has 5,386 wall clocks on offer, of which 20 have the date on them, of which 14 don't have a digital display, of which 9 aren't duplicates, of which none cost under a tenner (and 5 cost over £30). The cheapest is £10.95. I think I'll wait until I come back from holiday.
If my clock was still there, though, I could have pointed out something unusual about it: it tells the wrong time. That's why I want a clock rather than simply using my watch. I keep the wall clock running fast by some random time between maybe 5 and 15 minutes, so whenever I look at it I'm not entirely sure what the actual time is. This means that if I have to do something at a particular time (or, worse, that I was supposed to have done something at a particular time), I'll notice with a few minutes to spare. It came in really handy when I used to pick up my elder daughter from the school in another village, except that one occasion when my father-in-law helpfully set it to the correct time and didn't tell me.
So that's my clock, or at least what will be my clock when I buy a new one. Next time, I'll do the top of my desk...