The British Sundial Society

BSS member David Le Comte has written an article for the Guernsey Press describing some of the many different sundials to be found there, from the 15th century to modern times including the Liberation Monument commemorating events of 9th May 1945.

The article is available here.

There has been considerable media interest following Frank’s observations about decreasing understanding of sundials, the latest being an item about dials in Cambridge from the local BBC radio station. Listen to it here, the item starts at about 54m 30s and runs for about 4 minutes.

There’s also a more extensive article in The Daily Mail which at least picks up the concern over a decline in understanding of geometrical concepts – with all this publicity, perhaps things will change!

UPDATED 28th February: media interest continues, apparently unabated. There is further coverage at Anglia Regional News. Spotting the possibly new type of sundial is left as an exercise for the viewer!

In a recent item on the BBC News website the Society’s Chairman talks about the challenges of getting young people interested in sundials and his own passion for timekeeping in any form. Read the article to see why letter carver Lida Cardozo describes Frank as an alchemist and we also offer a helpful refresher on spherical triangles!

Updated 19th Feb: this story has been picked up by The Telegraph, highlighting the decline in interest in sundials among young people despite there being other applications for such mathematical insight including spaceships and driverless cars. Suggestions as to how to encourage a wider appreciation and understanding of sundials, particularly among young people. are welcome.

Although the winter solstice has just past, visitors may be interested in a short interview Frank King gave on BBC Radio Scotland on 21st December discussing the solstice and how we perceive it:

The clip is copyright BBC Radio Scotland and is used with permission.