A long time ago in a galaxy far far away… well it was the 20th century at any rate, I was given a clock radio for my 21st birthday. It was a present from my aunt and uncle and was a version of the Sony Dream Machine – basically a white square cube with a green display on the front.
I loved that radio. It was with me at university and accompanied me to Paris for three years. My faithful companion at journalism college and during my indentures in Birmingham. It was, by this stage, a slightly yellowing version of white and markedly slower than some of its newer contemporaries. Changing the time meant literally clicking each second away which was a time consuming job and meant you sort of needed to start a full minute before you wanted to get there, if you know what I mean.
That clock radio woke me on my 30th birthday, my wedding day, for the birth of my children and my 40th. It woke me for early flights and from afternoon naps and it faithfully kept the time.
Then, six years ago, we moved into this house. And we started a massive renovation, and the clock radio got some dust in its eye. And the button you used to change the minutes started to jam occasionally. Which meant that sometimes you could change the minutes and sometimes you couldn’t. But this was ok when you managed it as long as no-one ever unplugged it afterwards. Ever. The builders were under strict instructions to never turn it off.
I remember going into what is now the 15 yo’s room (ours at the time) when the windows were being installed. The room was completely empty – not even a window – but there, on a stool, sat the dream machine stolidly ticking off the minutes.
Then we moved into our current bedroom and the clock managed the journey up a single flight of stairs and soldiered on for a couple of years. Then the hour button started sticking which meant it was completely impossible to change the time. The only way to do it was to unplug it and plug it back in again at midnight, which was the default time. This meant I had to not fall asleep and had to hover by the plug when the clocks changed twice a year.
“Are you sure you don’t want a new clock? asked my husband after the fourth day in a row when I had fallen asleep at 11.55pm and the clock sat unused. But I couldn’t love another clock as much as this one, which had, let’s be honest, been with me longer than my husband.
And then I found the Ruark R1. And that was the point at which I discovered how technology had moved on in the intervening 28 years. A dial to change the time not a button that made your finger ache after about 15 seconds/clicks. A chance to have one alarm for Monday to Friday and one for the weekend. A clock that, if you unplug it to move it to another room, RESETS ITSELF BY ITSELF. And, for my technically minded husband, a really clear warm sound.
We bought a black one that lives by the bed and Ruark lent me this wooden one to photograph. And the dream machine? Well, it’s currently living under the bed carefully wrapped in an old silk scarf. Retired but not forgotten.
Oh, we have a R1 Mk111 in walnut and I love it so much. It looks amazing and the sound is incredible. I use the Bluetooth function loads and stream podcasts and music from my phone or computer. It just works.
Kate, thanks so much for the post, its lovely to hear how pleased you are with your R1 🙂 The walnut looks beautiful in these shots! Happy listening 🙂
Aaah reminds of my trusty clock radio – it’s 29 years old. A gift when I moved into my first home on my own and my older sister was worried that I would oversleep for work! I still find it hard to fall off to sleep without using the sleep facility – 60 mins of LBC then it fades out. After 3 house moves, it has changed from white to yellow and the reception is not as sharp as it used to be, but still the perfect bedroom companion. Perhaps it’s time for a change at Xmas to the Ruark. Thanks for such a lovely post.
Hi there, Can you see the time in the dark? I am struggling to find an alarm clock that lets me see the time if I wake in the dark, but isn’t so bright that it keeps me awake. Currently have an overly bright one and a flap of material to cover the clock which I then have to move if I want to see what time it is. NOT really satisfactory.
Love your blog by the way.
Hi Sam, that’s another clever thing about this one – you can set the brightness so that it’s dim in the dark and won’t keep you awake. I will admit that this took me a while to discover. In that I complained after about a week that it was keeping me awake and my husband (who is never kept awake by anything) who had read the instruction book said: “Why didn’t you say so” and promptly adjusted it.
Ooh cool. Now I really am tempted. (I was almost hoping that you would say no, so as to avoid unnecessary expenditure, but now I realise that it is, in fact, necessary).
I actually don’t have a wish list at the moment but have just created one and the white version is on it.
What a beautifully written post, so poignant, I’m if same generation & had much live for my 80’s clock radio. Thank you, really enjoy your blog have a great August break.
With much appreciation,
Billy
i absolutely loved reading this Kate. I also have the same Ruark radio which was a gift a few years ago and I LOVE it but more importantly I still have the SONY DREAM MACHINE ‘cube version’ and it too followed me to Uni and when I lived in Paris (decided not to go to Journalism school as didn’t want you to think I was following you !) and it is (fingers crossed) still going strong!!!! as you say, you do need to set aside a few hours aside when the clocks go back or forward for it to keep up but it’s been so faithful I feel I can never part from it.
of course, it’s not as stylish as my lovely Ruark radio. not only does it look totally gorgeous but the quality of sound is a delight 🙂
I’m so mad at you right now. Because now I have to have the R2 system, and it’s not even sold in my country. Oh, the calm time of not-wanting-things before I read this post…
The Ruark radio is just brilliant. We’ve had one for years and they’re so stylish – and can move around the house with you if necessary. Simple. Stylish. Functional.