The numbers above the town

Text: an original contemporary opinion-article-style practice extract.

Scaffolding now surrounds the town hall clock, and the restoration plan promises a ring of perfectly matching numbers. Before we welcome that neatness, we should look more closely at what is already there. The 2 stretches out a long, flat foot; the 5 sits slightly higher than its neighbours; the 8 appears squeezed between two minute marks. These are not elegant digits, but together they give the clock a face that belongs to this town.

The maintenance ledger offers only one line about them: “Dial repainted by workshop apprentices.” It supplies no names. On the clock itself, however, some strokes are broad and confident while others are fine and hesitant. We cannot attach a particular number to a particular painter, but the differences show human effort more vividly than that anonymous entry in a book. A uniform stencil would cover the only visible sign that several learners once worked above the square.

Of course, a clock must tell the time. Yet a public object can do more than perform its basic task: it can reveal who made and cared for a place. Flawless numbers appear on countless screens; these uneven ones exist only here. Repaint the fading sections, follow the surviving outlines and let each digit keep its character. The restored clock will still count the town’s hours, but it will also keep its human work in sight.

In this extract, the writer tries to persuade readers that the irregular hand-painted numbers on the town hall clock should be retained during restoration.

Evaluate how successfully this is achieved. Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.