Given that this iconic bell is attached to the world’s most
iconic timepiece, does the failure of the proposed Big Ben bong to mark Brexit
on the “right side of history”?
By: Ringo Bones
For clarification purposes, the Big Ben is the nickname of
the Great Bell of the London Clock Tower and ever since its completion back in
May 31, 1859, this iconic landmark is not just a must see tourist attraction,
but also to remind anyone that this is the world’s standard timekeeper given
its location right smack in line on the Greenwich Prime Meridian.
Unfortunately, Big Ben’s chimes were silenced since August
21, 2017 to allow essential restoration work lasting four years to be carried
out on the tower. The last significant work carried out on the tower was back
in 1983 to 1985. Because of ongoing repairs, it would have took UK£500,000
to enable Big Ben to be “temporarily” working by Friday, January 31, 2020 at
23:00 GMT – the scheduled date for the current Brexit. But due to safety
reasons of the workers currently doing maintenance work on Big Ben, the UK
House of Commons refused to fund the scheme of a “Brexit Bong” and the
fundraising instead fell on a popular pro Brexit crowdfunding scheme. The House
of Commons also refused to accept the croudfunding money even if it was raised
in time for a January 31, 2020 “Brexit Bong” for the cited safety reasons. So
far, as of four days ago, only UK£272,000 had been raised and it will
instead go to fund a UK war veterans’ charity called Help for Heroes.
Given that a Big Ben Brexit Bong would have been a
politically contentious issue – especially to EU citizens saddened by the UK’s
departure from the European Union, many say that Brexit would significantly
lower the UK’s standing in the geopolitical stage in the long run. It would
only be a matter of time before the Greenwich Prime Meridian would become just
another “obscure astronomical term” like India’s Allahabad Observatory – only known
to seasoned ship’s navigators and seasoned astronomers.
