The bell in Corby’s iconic town centre clock was heard for the first time in 25 years this afternoon.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:0010, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
00:30The reason we're here today is that it's the 1st of August and at 11 o'clock for the first time in 25 years
00:55we've managed to get the town bell on the town clock rung and it's just a pleasure to hear.
01:01But anybody under the age of 25, they've never heard this bell before
01:04and the people that have been in Corby a long time, they remember the sound of that bell
01:08and it's such a joyous, wholesome ring.
01:11It was an idea put together, we thought it would be a good thing to do
01:14to take partnership with the Willow Shopping Centre and the Rooftop Arts.
01:18We're creating art here in the square at the moment, it looks like a good thing to do.
01:22And it's just mindfulness and supporting summer, it's the 1st of August, the sun's come out.
01:28It's just a great day to do things.
01:30I was walking through here, through the woods, past the Olympic sized swimming pool and past the cube
01:36I'm trying to get all the iconic images in and I walked across the zebra and thought
01:39do you know what, I've never heard that bell in such a long time, I wonder who owns it
01:43I wonder what the problems are with it, can we in any way get it rung?
01:48So I spoke to Dan Pickard of Corby Willow's Shopping Centre
01:54and he said yeah, I've got the key here.
01:56So he went up and tested it with a quick bang and it sounded wonderful again
02:01so we thought well let's do it, let's pick a day that everyone's going to remember
02:051st of August, start of summer and the summer holidays and the schools being off
02:09and everything came together, it was great to see so many people in the middle of the town centre
02:13celebrating what is part of Corby, it's unique to Corby
02:16and I think Corby has got to praise itself, give itself a pat on the back sometimes
02:21for some of the great things that are in the town that we can look upon
02:25whether it's heritage or whether it's just history or living history around, it's like the clock is.
02:30There's lots of people to thank, obviously the Willows, the Shopping Centre team
02:34Dan Pickard for ringing the bell, the rooftop because they brought down some art materials
02:40for kids if they want to draw some art or draw the clock
02:44Duncan Bond's over in the corner taking some photos, well he's not, he's drawing, he's drawing the clock
02:49and Deep Root Tall Trees who sang their song about the town centre clock here on this occasion too
02:56which is just joyous, brings everybody together in a great community feeling
03:00and I think we need this, I think the town needs this
03:03and I think every town centre needs something to bring it more together
03:06more in line with community and a social point for society.
03:10Art Choir came along and sang a song called The Clock on Corporation Street
03:15Art Choir writes all their own songs and they have done for the last ten years
03:19and The Clock on Corporation Street came about through a discussion our songwriting group was having
03:24about memories of Corby and important places and they started to talk about the clock
03:29and how people used to meet under the clock if they were meeting a new girlfriend or boyfriend
03:34and people would use it as a real kind of location point within the town
03:38and they talked about their memories of it, of it striking
03:40so we wrote this song with another local musician called George Riley
03:44and it was just perfect to come along and sing it today underneath the clock.