Under The Clock.

Continuing our St Valentines Day theme, I wonder if people headsing for a romantic liason still meet their intended partner under the clock. In the movies, in literature and even in real life people met under the clock in bus or train stations before heading off to restauraunts or hotels.This was especially true, allegedly, of those who embarked on blind dates and were told to turn up at the meeting point carrying red roses, handkerchiefs in their top pockets or, rolled up newspapers.

Presumably, if some of these clocks were popular meeting places things must have got complicated with, often the wrong people meeting up. Perhaps some of these clocks had marshals standing on a soap box directing those with red roses to stand in one line and shout out the name of their intended to the waiting crowd whilst the group with the top pocket handkerchiefs or the rolled up newspapers stood in other lines. Probably there would be one poor soul with a rolled up trouser leg who discovered that he was in the wrong place entirely. Then of course, you would have the spies who used similar methods of identification, but with the added use of passwords and the muttering of strange phrases such as 'the red cardinal sends his regards'. I imagine life beside some of these clocks was anything but dull.

Now of course, things are different. The clocks hands no longer sweep towards the appointed meeting time, now we have the digital numbers changeing. Gatherings under such clocks would probably now lead to gatrherers getting ASBOs and probably most people meet up in the local Burger King or down the pub.

Somewhere out there though, there might still be the odd couple or two who still meet up under the clock.

We can but hope so anyway.