The moment each year when we move from summer time to winter time is one of those occasions that make us more acutely aware of the concept of time. During the time when I was the church clockwinder these times seemed to be filled with special import and I looked upon them with something of an air of excitement and a strange sense of responsibility.
In some ways the transitions from summer and winter times emphasise the arbitrary nature of time; a construct that we humans impose upon our lives and worlds. Something that can be changed and altered at will. And yet there is also a deeper sense, something that lies underneath our attempts to regulate and contain. The physicality of 'holding back time', by stopping the clock for one hour (much the easiest way to reset time) offered a wonderful window into this experience. Watching from the tower over the sleeping village living through an hour which didn't exist... or did it?
This is something I wrote about this experience in 2015.
The accompanying photographs were taken from the church tower in 2013 and give a view of the village before the recent phases of development were taking place.
