I’d been fixing Tim Hunkin and Andy Plant’s water clock on and off for 25 years when in 2020 Shaftesbury Estates said they were going to completely renovate the building’s facade and would I carry out a full overhaul of the clock. I started maintaining it when it was Neal’s Yard Wholefoods. There have been so many changes in the area and here it's where the clock wasn't working yet, I was amazed that tourists would still gather on the hour to watch the clock perform. In the days that it was Neal’s yard, the clock was easy to keep going because we had access to each floor lean out of the window to carry out most of the tasks, but as business has moved into the first and second floor things became much more complicated.

To make maintenance simpler. I did used a remote system where I could stand from the street level and operate the clock. This was a great improvement to be able to operate all the clocks functions from the pavement so it wasmuch easier to see clearly what was going on.

High development of the area meant more dust and debris landing in the gutters and sump so I upgrade the filters to prevent clogging the solenoid valves. This worked well and the clock ran perfectly for the year.

One of the main issues was the minute tube, the clear perspex tube becoming green with algae. The only way to prevent the algae forming most introduce chlorine to the system, but as the area became more upmarket, the buildings owners decided that it was intolerable to have a weak solution of chlorine raining down on people, even though it was kept precisely to swimming pool concentration. It was with great sadness I had to give up keeping this wonderful clock operating as the owners demands and behaviour became so intolerable. and in 2022. I had to give it up also because the security people who ran it were forever, presenting new obstacles in gaining access and attaching their silly logos to the watering can and clockface. It all came to final straw when a gutter nearly fell on me and there was no recourse from Holland and Barretts signage installers and the security company, who ran it, gave me no explanation or apology.
They basically swept under the carpet, while continually ramping up their health and safety to Kafkaesque levels.