Well can you believe it? No sooner had I said all was well and I was ticking along nicely than I came to a complete stop again. I knew it wasn’t me or my new auto winder at fault so what was going on? Apparently in the process of making some electrical alterations to the Viewing Screen and the audio system in our chancel they blew a fuse, cutting off the supply to my auto winder.

This was not a problem for everything else and they soon got them going again. However, I needed my special carer to wind (no pun intended) his way up all the stairs to re-set my time and press GO. Unfortunately for me he was away having more urgent matters to deal with. Because he doesn’t have a back-up a few days passed until the Clock Company could come and set me going again. So, apologies for lost time!

This question of ‘back-up’ has been a growing worry for my chief carer and her council. They are a great bunch of people who have faithfully looked after me and the rest of the church for more years than could have been expected of them. There have been very few new incomers to help them carry the load. I know that a great many other churches are in the same boat -especially the one with the Scratch Dial and crinkle crankle wall. My carers concern has led them to hold a series of meetings to plan the ‘future of the church’ and what needs to be done to bring this about. They are interested in the views of all residents so watch out for a future edition of this magazine for ways in which you can be involved.

I have been asked to make an apology on behalf of the church for the lack of heating at the present time. Hopefully it will back on by the time you are reading this. Our aged gas boiler needs some new parts that will hopefully put things right once they are fitted. Our carers would like to replace the gas boiler with a new one, but the church has committed to work towards net zero carbon, so we need to look for a system that complies. This is under consideration we understand.

Clocking off for now.

October 2024