Church man appeals for knicker elastic to mend clock
A church official today appealed for the women of his parish to donate a length of their used knicker elastic - to help mend a broken church clock.
David Lord, the verger, or caretaker, of All Saints Church in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, said an 18-inch length of elastic would satisfy his needs, allowing him to recondition the 100-year-old motorised timepiece.
The 66 year old, whose plea was printed in the parish magazine, said the vicar-in-charge of the 19th century church had seen the funny side of the bizarre request.
‘‘His wife is the editor of the magazine and she thought it was quite funny,’’ said Mr Lord.
The verger acknowledged that his call to the female congregation had been partly tongue in cheek, but added: ‘‘The clock is broken and I ain’t going into a shop and asking for knicker elastic.’’
Mr Lord added that if any parishioner answered his prayers she would be rewarded with a guided tour of the clock tower.
His supplication, published in the July edition of the parish magazine, is headed ‘‘Elasticated in Time’’ and starts ‘‘Dear sir/madam’’.
He wrote: ‘‘Regarding the clock stopping. This was due to the fact that the workings rely on a length of string and a length of knicker elastic.
‘‘They trigger a mercury switch that brings the counterbalance to its full height and then slowly falls to allow the mechanical clock to carry on working.
‘‘The knicker elastic then brings the balance to its full height again (every 12 hours).
‘‘Sadly, the elastic has reached the end of its life and I am now appealing for a donation from the ladies of the congregation for knicker elastic.
‘‘Slightly used elastic would be acceptable with the said garment removed.’’
