TWISTS IN THE TALE
Just a few famous weathervanes around the world
ILLUSTRATIONS: LOUISE BILLYARD
Old Father Time Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood, London, boasts a distinctive weathervane: the mythical figure of Old Father Time hunches over a wicket, a golden scythe slung over his shoulder. It’s an image that leaves an impression – in 1969, England cricketer John Snow featured Father Time as the protagonist of his poem, Lord’s Test. Gifted to the club by Herbert Baker, architect of the ground’s second grandstand, in 1926, many think it reflects Law 12.3 of cricket – ‘After the call of Time, the bails shall be removed from both wickets’ – as a reminder that all things come to an end – Father Time being a personification of passing time. Others prefer a more optimistic interpretation, believing that Father Time is setting up the bails for the start of a match. Either way, the old man bears testament to the transience of life, both on and off the playing field.