'Real Time' (Man in a Clock) by Maarten Baas

The man trapped in a clock, Paddington.

At the corner of Eastbourne Terrace and Craven Road, in Paddington, on the front of the EFL building, you will find a clock.

Now, clocks are everywhere, so why is this one so special? Well, this one has a man trapped inside it.

Yep. As you peer up at this clock, a man appears and cleans the clock face, from inside, rubs out the hands and then repaints them... every minute.

It is part of an art installation entitled 'Real Time', by Dutch artist Maarten Baas.

The first 'Real Time' piece, entitled 'Sweeper's Clock', was produced in April 2009 and consisted of a video of road sweepers moving rubbish around to create analogue clock hands.

Maarten Baas followed this up with a person painting a digital clock from behind a translucent screen and then a man painting analogue hands on a grandfather clock, from behind a screen.

World Time Linear Clock

The World Time Today.

If you were to enter London's West End via Piccadilly Circus, then don't rush straight out of the station. Take a moment to marvel at the 1920s architecture and then go in search of a truly unique timepiece.

Built into the wall is the World Time Linear Clock which was the brainchild of Architect Charles Holden and John Mowlem & Company.

It was installed during the expansion of Piccadilly Circus station, during the the early 1920s.

The scrolling band rotates as the Earth spins.

The time is displayed by a west scrolling band, with Roman numerals, that moves at the same speed as the Earth rotates, around the equator.

It shows both GMT and BST and gives a rough indication as to the time around the world. It is not entirely accurate as world time zones only broadly follow longitude. But, it is still a fascinating piece of machinery.

How to use.

Lightbulbs highlight a small number of cities that include London, Cape Town, Sydney, New York, Victoria (Canada) and Buenos Aires.

I was surprised, on my visit, how no one noticed this piece of horology that once informed the traveller, that needed to know, the time around the world. 

Now, people are too inpatient and in a constant rush, which is a shame.

World Time Linear Clock, Piccadilly Circus station.