This week, we finally managed to install our new (not new ) item of furniture - a mid-18th Century grandfather clock. It's not bright and shiny like more modern ones, but a dark oak with a warm patina which the beeswax polish is drawing out. In order to set it up, we had to do a certain amount of research - how to hang the pendulum, where the weight went on the endless chain - and it got me thinking... where and when did certain divisions of time come from? The time periods which I have written either had household clocks or didn't, I have not written novels from the time of their invention. Clocks have been around for a long time, and the obsession with measuring time in an ordered fashion dates back to at least the ancient Sumerians. It was they who established a circular reading of time and, I imagine, the sixty seconds/minutes came about as much because it was an easy way to divide a circle as anything else. But it wasn't until much later that the precision of seconds ...
Earlier today we shared our #AuthorOfTheWeek interview with Susan Crow. You can watch it here:
But, as well as this, we have a short blog here from Susan, talking about her inspiration and how her writing is an encapsulation of her inspiration.
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From our Author of the Week:
Perhaps the most inspirational thing for me is the notion that I can make a difference with my scribblings. I have an absolute passion to improve this ailing earth. I'll never be a great speaker. I'm not a scientist. But I can, through my writings, communicate something of the wonderful richness of the natural world. Once I begin to write about the countryside, about the gardens, about the seashore and all other aspects of Nature, I just keep on writing. There's no stopping me. If I come up against something I don't know well enough, I research until I do - and I get such a buzz from doing the research. There's so much I've still to learn. If all adults shared a little of what they know about plants and animals, rocks and stars, the new generation will develop a respect and responsibility which will be this planet's good friend as it begins to heal in the years ahead. For me, that is inspiration enough.
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