Clocking on: apparently the right time, after all these years, and all the faces agree… Thanks to Andy Dennis for recording this momentous occurrence!

I must admit, the somewhat vexed question of the Council House Clock had slipped my mind. That is, until reader, local history wonk and friend of the blog Andy Dennis wrote to me yesterday.

You’ll recall that back in the middle of October, top local author and community activist Brian Stringer contacted me regarding the Three Faced Liar, which has undergone some repair work to attempt to get it into tip-top time-telling condition.

I was a little sceptical, as the longstanding inaccuracy and unreliability of this timepiece has been as much a part of the Brownhills character as Downes Newsagents and the Shoulder of Mutton. The prospect that it may actually be right for once was quite novel.

Well, Andy passed by it this week and not only did the three faces concur, but they agreed with his watch, to boot. This is clearly signifying a dangerous shift in the space-time continuum for the town, and I can’t imagine what might happen next if intractable problems like this can get sorted.

Well done to all concerned, particularly David Jones of the Brownhills Local Committee who I know really pushed this one. Nice work. Thank you.

It’s worth clicking on the image and studying the brickwork on the wall behind. I’ve never noticed the detail in that cornices (is that the correct term?) before.

Heaven knows, if this run of reparation continues, we may even get the railings repaired by the pedestrian bridge. I know the Councillors have been fighting for that one for years…

The unveiling of Brownhills’ biggest liar. Never knowingly on time… Picture from Walsall Council’s ‘A click in time’ website.