I've been pretty awful at reading so far this year, apparently averaging about one book per month. That's a far cry from 2019, say, where I got through 41 books in the year. Today's wander was prompted by my rubbish reading, as I needed to go hand back some books to the library, because I'd managed to renew them so many times that I hit the limit on renewals. Oops. Several of them were still unread.
So, off to the Central Library for me, tail between my legs. On the way there I did my best to recreate a historical photo of Dowry Square; while I was in the area I walked under the adjacent Norman arch and poked around behind the Cathedral, and I also had a little diversion to the city centre and came back along the south side of the river, hitting some trouble with the lock gates as I finally crossed the harbour back towards home.
Pause for a moment first to admire the frieze and the acanthus-topped columns, but then check out the clock. It's not far off the right time, which is unusual for a public clock these days. But even a broken clock is right twice a day, right? Not this one—it would still be right four times a day, as it's got an extra minute hand. Before time was standardised across the country, this clock would show both local time and "Railway Time", i.e. Greenwich Mean Time.
It's directly over the entrance to Saint Nicholas Market, formely the Corn Exchange, but sadly they're closed on Sundays, so I couldn't take my usual wander through.