I have previously mentioned that my husband has a new hobby – well, it has entered a bigger time scale with widened knowledge and more adventurous ideas....

Our house is now a ticking box – full of tiny clock bits and pieces – bushes and pivots, bezels and pendulums, pinions and pallets, a very necessary magnifier (loup) and magnet to see and locate them, especially if one goes missing.

This new phase all started with the arrival of a large mantel clock – not a 'grandfather' as such, but an authentic family heirloom passed down from my husband's grandfather and presented to him back in 1927 as a parting gift from his Officer's Mess. This large and heavy clock with beautiful oak exterior, now sits proudly in our front room and ticks away happily, although it requires some more attention to get the Westminster chimes into proper working order. Oh yes, quite a learning curve for me too!

Talking of chimes, another mantel clock dating from the 1930's or 40's, has 2 wonderfully musical sequences – both Westminster and Whittington – to choose from, but as it chimes every quarter hour, is best 'silenced' at night...unless placed in a distant room!

A couple of attractively painted Art Deco clocks, and an unusual, more solid looking 1940's one, sit happily in an upstairs bedroom, and with a slopey shouldered similar period clock, all together creating quite an orchestra of sound – particularly with the off beat striking adding rhythmic interest! Imagine the effect!

And then we have the long term residents – a wedding present kitchen pine - never stopped ticking in 40 years, a colourful Smartie, and a vinyl record clock, plus a very reliable German mantel clock, and one made very attractively from a bole of a tree – bought in an Art Gallery 25 years ago.

A difficult choice for pictures, but I've chosen the 2 Art Deco's with the 'double chimer', the big 'grandfather' and the tree 'original'.