Big Ben

[ccomley]

calr wrote:

A lot of people don't know that "Big Ben" is the name of the clock. The tower is the "Tower of London"

Close, but no banana!

Big Ben is the name of the big bell that strikes the hours.

The building itself is called "The Palace of Westminster".

The houses of parliament are within the building, of course.

The Tower of London is quite a different building some three or four miles down river, right next to Tower Bridge, the subject of zhudo's second picture.

[Les Pattison]

Well, if this is gonna be for trivia freaks (by the way, I'm not one), I will drop some more facts before someone drops some more clangers.

Calr, I think you fell for the old joke, us school kids all used to tell.
"Which street can't you see Big Ben from?"
Correct answer, accompanied by a laugh, was "Every street".
Sorry mate!

Ok, more trivia about Big Ben - the light in the uppermost part of the tower, actually lit in Zuhdo's pic, only comes on when the House of Lords are having a chat & a drink. Poor old House of Commons, don't get a look in! When the light goes out, traffic build up is caused by a load of taxi drivers taking a few old drunken sods home.
Now you know, they won't drink & drive, don't you? :-D

Actually, the Tower of London is the wee fortress on the North side of Tower Bridge.
It's keep holds the Crown Jewels or so we are led to understand. Protected by beefeaters & ravens alike. My personal belief is the Queen, like any woman, keeps them safe in her bedroom. Probably in a box under her 4-poster. Hope the ravens are still there, otherwise London is gonna get wet.

I don't think Zuhdo minds our trivia comments, it just means his page goes to the most recent again. :-D

[Normcar]

These are fabulous photographs, rich in color and a joy to see. I'm slightly confused about one thing, though. The clock seems to read 5:20 PM rather than 6:20. I was wondering why that was and if I'm mistaken.