Introduction

Okay maybe I’m can’t really take you to London but what I CAN do is this: Tell you a story about what we did. Today we went on a huge walk around and we spent all day walking and when I say all day I mean it. It was so hard because over here (this is a true fact not an opinion) it gets soooooo much hotter than in the paradise country….New Zealand. (Before I get to deep into telling you about it I will tell you this:This is a 100% funny version of the story so if you think it is boring you probably would not want to see the boring one, # 1. reason is because it would be so embarrassingly boring and #2. is because I do not have one.)

The walk

So as I was saying we had a rather long all day WALK.We did get to have a break on the train on the way there and back. We went on the train to The Houses Of Parliament. It includes the Clock Tower, Victoria Tower,

House of Commons, House of Lords, Westminster Hall and the Lobbies. Guess what the clock tower is called: Big Ben! Interestingly the Houses Of Parliament were built around 1834 after the Palace of Westminster was burnt down.

Big Ben

We did not go up it but we did look at it and because I like doing reports and profiles I am going to collect info to make a report about the Big Ben: (Sorry most of this information is taken directly from the following website: www.aviewoncities.com/london/bigben.htm as I don’t have time to summarise it in my own words at the moment)

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Name: It is known as the Big Ben but its official name is St. Stephens Tower
Age: About seven hundred and twenty four years old
Size: The tower is 315.9 ft high, and is roughly 16 stories.

Some other facts:
The clock inside the tower was the world’s largest when it was installed in the middle of the 19th century. The name Big Ben actually refers to the clock’s hour bell, the largest of the clock’s five bells. The other four are used as quarter bells.

There were two bells cast as the clock tower’s hour bell. A first, 16 ton weighing bell was cast by John Warner and Sons in 1856. Since the Clock Tower was not yet completed, the bell was hung temporarily in the Palace Yard. The bell soon cracked so it was recast in 1858 in the White chapel Bell Foundry as a 13.5 ton bell. Unfortunately soon after this bell was placed in the belfry in July 1859, it cracked as well. This time, instead of yet again recasting the bell, the crack was repaired and a lighter hammer was used to prevent any more cracks.

The hour bell was probably named after Benjamin Hall. Some sources however claim the bell was named after Benjamin Caunt, a British heavyweight boxing champion.

The clock was the largest in the world and is still the largest in Great-Britain. The clock faces have a diameter of almost 25ft (7.5m). The hour hand is 9ft or 2.7m long and the minute hand measures 14ft (4.25m) long.

The clock is known for its reliability, it has rarely failed during its long life span. Even after the nearby House of Commons was destroyed by bombing during World War II, the clock kept on chiming.
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