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    Today's BBC World Service Item on "Big Ben"
    From: Richard B. Langley
    Date: 2014 Aug 14, 14:13 -0300

    On my way in to work this morning, I listened to the BBC World Service as I 
    often do (via Sirius satellite radio; it's very difficult, though not 
    impossible, to get it on HF these days in eastern North America). The Outlook 
    program this morning had an item on The Great Westminster Clock, a.k.a. "Big 
    Ben" and its time keeper, Paul Robeson. It was an interesting listen. You can 
    hear or download the podcast of the Outlook episode at this Web page:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/outlook
    
    More on Paul Robeson here (includes a couple of laughs):
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/big-ben-behind-the-clock-face-7578555.html
    
    The BBC item reminded me of an earlier posting of mine to Navlist on 1 January 
    2009 in response to one by our dear-departed George Huxtable, relating a 
    local association with "Big Ben": 
    http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx/Leap-seconds-Big-Ben-Langley-jan-2009-g6883
    By the way, there's a recording of "Big Ben" (and the unusual 7-pips Greenwich 
    Time Signal) ushering in 2009 on the GGE website:
    http://www2.unb.ca/gge/Resources/7pips.NewYear.BBC.Radio5Live.aifc
    
    Another distantly-related "local connection" is the factoid that it was on the 
    Great Western Railway that standard time was introduced in Britain in 1840. 
    The line, connecting London to The West Country, went through (and still 
    does) Keynsham, a small town betwixt Bath and Bristol. It was where I was 
    born and lived for about 8 years.
    
    And one last connection, while I'm on a roll, the first shortwave listener QSL 
    (confirmation of reception) card that I received as a high-school kid in a 
    suburb of Toronto was from the BBC. It features a picture of the clock tower. 
    I still have it. A scan is attached.
    
    -- Richard Langley
    
    
    
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Richard B. Langley                            E-mail: lang@unb.ca         |
    | Geodetic Research Laboratory                  Web: http://gge.unb.ca/     |
    | Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering    Phone:    +1 506 453-5142   |
    | University of New Brunswick                   Fax:      +1 506 453-4943   |
    | Fredericton, N.B., Canada  E3B 5A3                                        |
    |        Fredericton?  Where's that?  See: http://www.fredericton.ca/       |
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    
    

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