If time and, consequently, the way of measuring it, is so fascinating, it is because it is a good that is given to all of us at birth, kings or beggars. Priced, yes, mysteriously. ""Time and I, for two others" was repeated many times by King Felipe II, implying how much one can do with life and time," Gonzalo Correas, his contemporary, tells us in his inexhaustible 'Vocabulary of Proverbs'. One Sunday last June, a stranger approached one in El Rastro. The meeting was very brief. He asked me if he could give me a book, and apologized for not having it with him. He promised to bring it the following Sunday, but I couldn't that day, and he left it with a friend: 'John Harrison's clocks and the search for longitude.' It was published in 2024 by the Association of Friends of the Telegraph of Spain and its author, Ramón Novoa Mombiedro, added this dedication: «For A.T. with the certainty that, being a writer, you will know how to recognize the effort of in-depth research, which you will find in these lines. With affection R.N.” That Mr. Novoa does not belong to our writers' guild is obvious: he very much does, I'm afraid. The book, with all the stigmas of self-publishing, is fascinating. "Dissemination and entertainment," he advances in the prologue. And so it is. At times it would seem that we were in a novel by Baroja, by Stevenson, by Melville. «The location of a point on the Earth's surface is determined by two measurements. Latitude and longitude. Measuring latitude did not present any problems throughout history. It was about measuring the height of the sun above the horizon. Even on a ship in a moving sea it could be done with some precision [using sextants, octants and a host of nautical instruments]. The length measurement, however, presented difficulties from the first moment. To know the position it was necessary to know the exact time of the place of departure or reference and the time elapsed until reaching the new point or the speed of transfer. The measurement of distances at sea was done with a knotted rope [hence the term "knot" to measure speed comes from]. Navigation at sea was totally imprecise. The search for longitude has always been a chimera coveted by all empires. Whoever knew it, would tame the seas and dominate the world (miscalculations were the downfall of entire fleets, which preferred to be prey for pirates on already known routes, rather than venturing into the unknown). Philip II experienced it well in his own army. The race to solve “the squaring of the circle,” as longitude was also known, was led by the British in the 18th century, closely followed by the Spanish. Some in the sea, others on dry land (Jorge Juan and his knights of the "fixed point", as these geometers were known here). Some, following Newton, convinced that the solution would be in the exact measurement of time, and others, supporters of José de Mendoza and his calculations based on lunar astronomical tables. The battle was won by British astronomers, geographers, sailors and watchmakers, led by John Harrison. Fascinating character (1693-1776): self-taught, taciturn, extremely modest, extreme music lover and, if that were not enough, bell tuner (his brother made them). He spent nineteen years on the fourth of his five decisive watches and although the powerful Council of Longitude recognized his talent, it was slow to grant him the fabulous prizes (up to 20 thousand pounds) with which that institution stimulated horological research (following, for example, Captain James Cook aboard his Discovery). There are no vanitas in painting that do not feature a light bulb or a clock and no one represents melancholy better than Emperor Charles V repairing his clocks in the Yuste retreat. And yet, there is no book more jovial than this one by my friend Novoa (that's why I already have it, without having seen each other again), kept next to another, a gift from Jiménez Lozano, about sundials, which would be enough for another page of these. "Writers have to say," according to Correas: ""at such a time this was done," and gentlemen "at such a time I found myself in this."" The truth is that this has been written because one morning in the month of June someone was in El Rastro, where the clan of beggars reigns and they go there, like princes, to spend their time.