Alfred Massa, Tarxien
Well done Kerċem
The Kerċem parish church clock will function once more after being silent for about 30 years. This is really good news and contrasts sharply with the sad news emerging from the Balzan parish.
We are lucky to have various church clocks around the islands, but quite a number of them for some reason or other have been left either dormant or to die a natural death. Many of them go back hundreds of years and were constructed by the famous clock maker from Valletta, Ġan Anton Tanti (1731-1817).
As a boy I remember going up the bell tower of the Tarxien church to wind our parish clock which unfortunately has been abandoned for some years now; thus also condemned to remain silent.
Besides being a tradition, such church clocks helped particular parishioners to know the exact time.
In various countries one can enjoy hearing clocks striking every fifteen minutes. But as usual, we prefer to be an exception in various ways; this is one of them.
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Franco Farrugia
Jul 20th 2008, 14:42
I think that we are becoming quite soft with ourselves!!!!
When I wa a kid, living at Luqa, we had aeroplanes LITERALLY landing and taking off over our heads. I repeat: Literally!!!! And we never minded it. We rarely complained about it, even within the family. It was just taken for granted, one of those things you simply had to accept.
Surely, we never expected the Airport to close down during nighttime.
I am surprised nobody complains about car horns in the dead of night as well as car stereos blaring.
Get a life, all of you, and if necessary, buy some ear plugs!
Saviour Sam Agius
Jul 20th 2008, 11:23
Living in Tarxien, which is quite far from Kerċem, I'm sure it won't interrupt your sleep at night. Those living next door to churches do not seem to harbour the same enthusiasm you have for having these noise pollutants going on 24/7.
This inconvenience has long been spoken of and dealt with. It is certainly not a modern phenomenon. One of the grandmasters had ordered having the clock of the St John Con-Cathedral muted at night because it was interrupting his sleep.