Kimberley City Council wants to meet with the Chamber of Commerce. The subject under discussion? Happy Hans. Specifically the Happy Hans who occupies the cuckoo clock in the Platzl.

The message? Fix it, please.

It’s no secret that there are problems with the clock. Sometimes Happy refuses to appear — quarter or not. Sometimes he appears and will not go away — yodelling away for hours.

The Chamber has tried to find a way to repair him, but you can’t go to the owner’s manual. The mechanism that operates the yodelling mascot was created by Bavarian Society volunteers years ago. That it still runs at all is a testament to the ingenuity that created it.

But the City wants to see it functioning properly.

“We went through the accordion festival with it four hours out. It was out by an hour for a month after the time change. I was in the Platzl the other day and it was yodelling incessantly. I heard someone say ‘geez the City can’t even fix the clock’.

“We wear it every time it doesn’t work even though the clock is not owned and maintained by the City.”