The Engineer

Cliff Ton, I can confirm that your photos indeed show the new location; you'll notice the absence of high level lighting there. Currently Laing O'Rourke are preparing the base and pond liner inside those hoardings; no parts of the clock are in there yet. We will soon be moving some major parts to an empty unit nearby so that it's all handy when we are ready to build it. The frame will be 'interesting' when we need to get it through some doors as it's now taller than when it left last year. Blondie, the clock will have a ring of twelve water spouts round the middle (they've not been present

Well another month has passed and I've done a few more bits: 06 March - I did a drawing of what's needed for the fountain bit in the middle (a circular pipe and twelve spouts with some sort of flower on the end of each). Sent that off to Intu as their plumber is going to make it. 08 March - I removed some sample 'jewels' from the butterflies and measured them up as approx. 1/2", 5/8" and 1". I sent an inventory of all jewels for all butterflies to Intu, saying I'd like to renew them all. Some of the originals are still present but the water chemicals have frosted the glass and they don't

Here he is in 1948. He could pass as a mate of Ronnie and Reggie.

Here's a tidier version (I deleted the earlier one):

You guys amaze me! Thank you. The chap on the left was my uncle (1911-1952) so it's probably late 1930s.

I had thought of Pitcher and Piano (Unitarian Chapel) but the spire didn't look right; P&P has one window on each side, not two?

Picture taken before 1953. One of my relatives was a painter and appears to be taking a break on the roof. Any idea where it is? Looks like St Mary's in the distance but I can't identify the building with the spire that appears to be quite close.

It appears that 'Tabloid TV' is what their audience want. Just looked at BBC website 'Most Popular - Read' section: 1. Zayn Malik is leaving One Direction. 2. Jeremy Clarkson dropped from Top Gear. 3. This is how hard Zayn's been working. 4. The Jeremy Clarkson story. Before we get to: 5. Alps air crash 'killed three britons' We are clearly out of touch with modern life (and who is Zayn Malik?)

Like it or not, Top Gear is somewhat of a jewel in the Beeb's crown - it has worldwide appeal (hence large revenue stream). JC will resurface on ITV or Sky, fronting a very similar programme, with his agent no doubt having negotiated a slice more than Aunty was paying.

I agree that some seating in the vicinity would be advantageous but am pleased that there won't be seats backing onto the pool as before; I think that arrangement detracted from the aesthetic appeal. Future visitors will get an uncluttered view of this splendid treasure.

Then there was February - just four weeks but got quite a few bits done: Tuesday 03-Feb: Meeting with Peter (intu) and Tim (Emett Society) to discuss plans. Tim took away the petals to address the verdigris. Peter took the orchestra and Top Feature drive pulleys to scope renewal or re-facing (these were the ones we had lots of issues with at Birmingham - essentially 40+ year old rubber no longer soft enough to drive effectively). I showed Peter the worn Top Feature turntable that really needed some attention - it had worn down over the years and needed a new flange or complete new drum (in

Right, let's pick up where I left off last December....here are the highlights for January: Tuesday 06-Jan: Had a meeting with intu management. That's when I found out where the clock was going. We discussed power, water, drain, orientation, assembly procedure, equipment needed (e.g. crane). Thursday 22-Jan: I fixed the clock tower to a pallet and assembled the four faces. I looked at the clock face with the hour hand not working and found a compound gear needed repairing - took it home and fixed it next day. I removed the Top Feature motor as in needs renewing (bearings worn). The orc

I too have walked past the hoardings but have not been inside yet. I can however throw a bit of light on what's occurring. With the clock weighing about a tonne and then something like three tonnes of water, they decided that the load needs to be spread on a concrete slab. First steps are therefore to dig up those lovely new tiles and the screed underneath. They will then build a dwarf wall, 4.5m diameter and form a concrete slab inside. Next is a glass reinforced plastic (GRP) liner to hold the water. A further concrete slab will then be poured, the purpose of which is to stabilise the

Well spotted ; Atom being Greek for that which can not be split ('a' means not and 'tom' means cut). Of course that name was chosen many centuries before Rutherford split the atom.

Let's assume a theoretical wire is made from three copper atoms. Copper is good as its electrons are easily detached (that makes it a good conductor). Each copper atom has 29 positive protons and 29 negative electrons. Here’s the wire before we connect the battery: Atom 1 has 29+ and 29- (balanced) Atom 2 has 29+ and 29- (balanced) Atom 3 has 29+ and 29- (balanced) We switch on and the battery (+) takes an electron from Atom 1 Atom 1 has 29+ and 28- and so has a positive hole Atom 2 has 29+ and 29- (balanced) Atom 3 has 29+ and 29- (balanced) Atom 1 takes an electron from Atom 2 A

My take on that electron and hole moving around stuff: When electricity was discovered, it was generated by 'cells' (put more than one cell together and you get a battery). They decided that one end of the cell was positive and the other negative (still holds today with the + and - markings) and that the electrical current flowed from positive to negative. All well and good until someone later discovered that electrical current is actually electrons moving from the negative of the cell/battery, round the circuit to the positive. Trouble was that the convention was well established by then

Minor update: If anyone still doubts the return of the clock to the Vic Centre, keep an eye out next week for some hoardings that they are going to erect around the new location. Engineer

Cheers; I'll try that Stephens place. Was down Finch Close not so long ago pricing up bearings and bits for 'me' clock from a firm called Brammer.

As per the title, I need about a dozen slates, 14" x 7". At risk of stating the obvious, they are to repair a roof (for a friend). Went up there thinking I just needed to replace a half-slate next to a chimney stack but counted several others cracked or partially missing. Have seen reclaim sites on the net, flogging them for around 60p each but nothing local (to avoid big shipping costs).

In regard of that green colour, we found some original paint when splitting some sections apart. Someone took a sample away for matching and that's when the link was made to the green used to paint cockpits. I suppose a reference to the Spitfire makes it more evocative, though it sounds like it was a common shade back then. I might be putting two and two together to make five but during WWII, Emett worked as a draughtsman for the Air Ministry - I'm guessing he had some post-war contacts with access to gallons of war surplus paint.

Wednesday 03 December 2014 Meeting at Vic Centre: Me and the intu Technical Projects Manager. Discussed proposal to get the clock installed by Easter 2015. Immediate need is to get the parts back to Nottingham. Peter said they had identified a room that could be used as a workshop. We later had a short meeting with the intu General Manager. He is keen to engage the younger generation; those who will still be around in another forty years. We considered building behind a screen for a big unveiling, compared with being in full view of the public (don't know which they'll do). Before I le

In answer to a question I posed: The foundation stone was recovered from the floor before they tiled over. It needs de-clagging (concrete stuck to back) but is essentially OK and fit for re-use.

Small update: I had a meeting with intu management on Wednesday. Looks like there's a desire to re-install the clock next spring, rather than summer. They are making arrangements to get all the parts back to Vic Centre a.s.a.p. so that I (and others) can do further renovation work. They really do see it as an asset and are keen to ensure it gets re-installed as a focal point for the Centre.

A soundbar is probably the way to go. When stereo evolved into surround-sound and finally Dolby 5.1, it meant having a lot of speakers strewn around the room. There's left and right for the original stereo, then they added left rear / right rear (or left surround / right surround) - these two are generally smaller, to render, well, a surround sound. Number five was the centre, mainly for the dialogue so that it sounds like it is emanating from the moving image instead of being spread out. Finally is the .1 - that's the LFE (Low Frequency Effects) or sub-woofer (they made it 0.1 as it only

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