The cuckoo clockA carved wooden clock in the shape of a little house. The cuckoo is switched off — only the ticking remains.

In the main room there's a carved wooden cuckoo clock in the shape of a little house — one of the house's treasured objects. We've switched the cuckoo off on purpose (the chime on the hour isn't for everyone), but we leave the ticking of the pendulum. Some find it relaxing, some find it annoying. It's up to you — below you'll find twelve seconds of video with the sound, so you can listen to it before you arrive.

1. 01

   The cuckoo is off

   The little bird's mechanism is disabled: no chime on the hour, no little door opening. All that's left is the hands going round and the ticking.

2. 02

   To stop the ticking

   If the noise bothers you, stop the pendulum with your hand (the little rod swinging at the bottom). The clock stops and falls silent. We do it ourselves sometimes.

3. 03

   To start it again

   Give the pendulum a gentle push to one side: it starts swinging again and the ticking resumes. Nothing more — you can do it yourself without calling anyone.

4. 04

   The three weights on the little chains

   Beneath the clock hang three weights at the end of three little chains. Only one drops while the clock is running — the one for the timekeeping mechanism. The other two stay put because the cuckoo and the melody are disabled. If the dropping weight reaches the bottom, gently pull the chain beside it to bring it back up.