Letter: Greenwich times
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: As a former Greenwich resident, Dr Johnson, might have observed, the astonishing thing about the historic clocks at the Royal Observatory is less that their time-keeping is sometimes erratic (The Weasel, 16 January) but that so many of them run at all - which they do thanks to our expert staff.
Of course Greenwich is really always "on time", since the Prime Meridian set here defines what time is for most practical purposes. The RO digital master clock registers it accurately, as your amusing piece admits, and the Shepherd electric gate clock repeats it to the public (in GMT all the year round) as it has since 1852.
There are many reasons why our other clocks vary; the "grandfather" in the Octagon Room because its mechanism has been removed: this, one of the original Observatory timekeepers of 1675 by Thomas Tompion, ticks on towards the Millennium on open display nearby.
Dr KRISTEN LIPPINCOTT
Director
Royal Observatory Greenwich
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments