Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time.

So the thing I'd like to talk about is an old brass wall clock that's been hanging in my grandparents' living room for as long as I can remember. It's nothing fancy, really — it's got this slightly tarnished golden frame, a cream-coloured face with faded Roman numerals, and it makes this lovely, almost hypnotic ticking sound that you notice the moment the room goes quiet.

As far as I know, my grandfather bought it back in the late 1970s, not long after he and my grandmother got married and moved into their very first proper home. Money was tight in those days, so apparently it was one of the first "grown-up" things they ever splashed out on, and he's always been quite proud of that.

We've held onto it for something like forty-odd years now, which honestly blows my mind, because it still keeps perfect time — my grandfather winds it religiously every Sunday morning without fail.

As for why it matters so much, I think it's less about the object itself and more about what it stands for. It's basically been the heartbeat of that house through every family gathering, every Lunar New Year, every noisy dinner. I've got this vivid memory of falling asleep on the sofa as a kid, listening to it tick. So to me it's not just a clock — it's a keeper of memories, and I genuinely hope it gets passed down to me one day.