A question from the book: why are there no clocks?
A guest asked, in the comments box on the booking form, why the board room has no clocks. I thought the question deserved an answer in public.
The question
The question came with a booking for six on a Friday, and it was written in a careful hand: why is there no clock in the board room? The guest added that she was not complaining, only curious, and that her husband had spent ten minutes looking for one before he had given up and asked a waiter.
The honest answer is partly historical. The original board room had a clock, a large and handsome one in a wooden case, and the timber company's directors consulted it at the start and end of every meeting. When the building changed hands, the clock went with the previous owners, and nobody has since seen a reason to replace it.
The rest of the answer is a matter of choice. I think that people at a card table are happiest when they are not counting the minutes. The staff have watches, the dealers know the time of the levels and the tournament is announced by hand. A guest who needs to know the time may ask, and will be told.
The compromise
The clock in the hall
There is a clock in the hall outside the double doors, an old railway clock with a white face that Denise rewinds every Monday. Guests are welcome to step out and look at it. I am told that several regulars check it a good deal more often than they admit.
The dealers' watches
Each dealer wears a watch and is trained to announce the level changes and the breaks at the table. Players are not asked to keep time, which is, I think, the whole benefit of the arrangement. The dealers' announcements are polite, and no one has yet failed to hear one.
Could we change it?
I am always willing to consider a suggestion, and I should be glad to hear from guests who feel strongly. The matter will probably come to nothing, as such matters do, but a small clock above the doors would not ruin the room, and I would rather hear a good argument than hold an opinion without one.