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 ...
Well, it is Christmas Eve, the stars are brightly shining and the food is nearly prepared and waiting for tomorrow's feast. So, as a Christmas present for all our readers, we would like to share a delicious Crowvus cocktail with you all. This is called a Caledon . It is based on the book of the same name by Virginia Crow. You can find the book here . The components of the cocktail are very Scottish, just like the book itself! You will need: 1. Drambuie 2. Irn Bru 3. Apple and Raspberry J2O Here's a quick step-by-step guide to making your very own Caledon: 1. Pour a shot of Drambuie into a standard-size tumbler. 2. Add some Irn Bru. The glass want to be just over half-full at this point. (Or just less than half-empty, if you're a pessimist!) 3. Fill the rest of the glass with Apple & Raspberry J2O. 4. Now, give it a good stir to mix up all the delicious ingredients and then settle down with a good book (Caledon, obviously!) and enjoy! Please note: this Crowvus...