When it comes to historical names, I'm kind of a traditionalist, so coming to find the London clock tower was getting a gender reassignment made me want to revolt against our mother country all over again.
London's iconic clock tower, popularly known as "Ben Ben", is going to be renamed Elizabeth Tower, in honor of Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee. Look, we had a parade and a party - do we need to start naming things after her? Especially when they're older than her (believe it or not)? Double especially when she's still alive? Is a boat, bridge, and stadium not enough?
The British parliament added, "[We] will arrange for this decision to be implemented in an appropriate manner in due course". Which I hope is never. How a 316 foot, 13.5 ton bell is "a fitting tribute to the queen and the service she has given to our country in this Jubilee year" confuses me. The sister structure at the other end of the Palace of Westminster is Victoria Tower, which was named for Queen Victoria, the only other British monarch to celebrate a diamond jubilee.
As for the name that will soon be lost to aristocracy, it's most likely attributed to Benjamin Hall, the engineer whose name is inscribed on the bell. Others believe it is named after 1850s champion boxer Ben Caunt, though I suspect one of their favorite swear words is derived from that.
No comments:
Post a Comment