Spooky or what.........

[Lincolnshirebodger]

I was just watching the president of the Horological Society talking about the second original Speaking Clock as used by the GPO.

It was a basically two motors and a simple drum recorder, which of course had recorded on it the voice of Pat Simmonds with all the various time announcements.

He said they had this running for years in the Horological Society's Museum, when he went in one morning and it was making a loud knocking from the main motor, and as he watched, it shuddered and stopped. It was very expensive and long winded to get the motor repaired.

He learned later that in fact it stopped at exactly the same day, hour and minute that Pat Simmonds died.

Spooky or what!!!!

 

[Steve Maskery]

My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf so it stood ninety years on the floor. It was taller by half than the old man himself but it weighed not a penny-weight more. It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born, it was always his treasure and pride. But it stopped, short, never to go again when the old man died.

It's a great anecdote LB, but I don't believe a word of it !

S

 

[StevieB]

The minute she died or the minute she was declared dead? The two can be quite some time apart depending on the proximity of a medical practitioner to the soul in question!

Steve.

 

[Argee]

He learned later that in fact it stopped at exactly the same day, hour and minute that Pat Simmonds died.

I watched it too and that's not what he said - just the same day. We get enough exaggeration in the media generally, without needing it on here. :x

Ray.

 

[TrimTheKing]

It's a great anecdote LB, but I don't believe a word of it !

S

My thoughts exactly. It's a lovely gesture, but I don't believe it for a second.

It simply makes for a good story, it wouldn't work quite as well if they said 'yep, and the clock carried on for another 10 years, 2 days, 3 hours, 14 minutes and 27 seconds, to the day she died' :lol:

Mark

 

[RogerS]

A friend of mine had a weak heart. One day he was asleep in his armchair, dreaming about the French Revolution and he was an aristo about to have his head chopped off by the guillotine. Just as the blade, in his dream, was about to chop off his head, his wife returned from the shops and tapped him on the back of the neck and he had a heart attack and died.

 

[TrimTheKing]

A friend of mine had a weak heart. One day he was asleep in his armchair, dreaming about the French Revolution and he was an aristo about to have his head chopped off by the guillotine. Just as the blade, in his dream, was about to chop off his head, his wife returned from the shops and tapped him on the back of the neck and he had a heart attack and died.

LOL

Exactly! :wink:

Cheers

Mark