Not Enough Clocks

There’s not enough clocks in Sydney in my humble opinion. I’d like to see more public clocks, like the one at Central Railway. As you wait anxiously for the bus sitting opposite Central, there’s nothing quite like looking up at the sky, seeing the clear blue or the wonderful clouds, enjoying the wonder of nature, while at the same time finding out how late your bus is.

Yes, I know I could check my watch or mobile phone, but actually I haven’t worn a watch in several years. As I work in an industry where time is incredibly important, and where clocks are ever-present, I stopped wearing a watch several years ago. Not as a sign of rebellion, but because I’ve developed my own fairly accurate internal clock.

An internal body clock which allows me to know almost exactly how long five minutes is, how long an hour is, how long it takes me in a precise manner to get from A to B, and at what time I should wake up (I don’t use an alarm clock either). I’ve discussed it with other people at work whose lives are similarly governed by the passing of time, and they’ve told me they also have this gift.

And, although this has been a good thing in many ways, it can sometimes be a burden, such as when a meeting or a speech doesn’t start on time or goes on too long. And while it’s helped me predict just how late I need to leave home to meet some of my friends (who are ALWAYS late), their lack of punctuality still drives me a little insane, because of this infernal internal body clock.

So that’s why I’d like to see the time externalised a bit. Removed from my internals, removed from my arm. And besides, there’s something a little old-fashioned and romantic about a town clock that I think would help to keep our cities civilised.