Man employed to sit on Big Ben and shout ‘BONG!’ every hour

[Chippy_Tea]

Free accommodation in London and £24,000 pay on top nice work if you can get it.

A man has been employed to sit at the top of Big Ben and shout “BONG!” very loudly while the bell is being repaired.

Jonathan Squires, 57, of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, has to live 24/7 in the clock tower and shout into a megaphone on the hour, every hour.

News that the traditional bell would be silent for four years was met with howls of protest by people with too much time on their hands.

Even Prime Minister Theresa May interrupted her work on important global crises to say it was wrong for Big Ben to be quiet during a lengthy restoration project.

Parliamentary officials decided the best compromise would be to employ a man to shout “BONG!” so tourists would still experience the charm of Big Ben’s chimes.

Mr Squires, a former geography teacher, was selected after proving he emitted the loudest and most realistic “BONG!” out of all the candidates.

He will be paid £24,000 a year, plus meals and accommodation in the 96-metre clock tower, which was built in 1859.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference to unveil him today, Mr Squires said: “I’m looking forward to keeping the nation abreast of the time.

“It’s a simple enough job "I just have to shout “BONG!” into my megaphone the required number of times, on the hour every hour.

“It is an honour to serve my country in this way, and I hope the Prime Minister is satisfied.”

Mr Squires takes up his position next Monday.

http://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/big-ben/

 

[Leon103]

Surely fake news.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't know if its fake but apparently they never needed to silence it for 4 years just when necessary, health and safety have made the decision to permanently silence it.

The man who maintained Big Ben's clock for decades has branded the decision to silence the bell for four years as 'nonsense'.
Melvyn Lee urged parliamentary officials to consider ways of striking the main bell when repair work takes place on the tower around it.

From midday on Monday the Great Bell is being taken out of action for four years over health and safety concerns for those working on the Elizabeth Tower meaning that it could be silent at the historical moment for the country.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Big-Ben-s-clock-wants-bong.html#ixzz4qUSerTBv

 

[Covrich]

If I did that job, I'd still cock it up

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If I did that job, I'd still cock it up

Did you mean "Clock it up" :lol:

 

[Goldthirst]

I think the Mac cartoon summed it up very well. :lol:

 

[LarryF]

Aren't there some pot head kids out there who shout "Bong" every hour of the day and night anyway. I'm sure a bag of weed out of the evidence locker would keep them doing it indefinitely.

 

[Cwrw666]

I heard a thing about this silencing it thing on the radio. Yes they have to do it for the sake of the guys at work in the clock tower as it's way above safe decibel levels. But apparently it's a bit of a nightmare job to switch it back on whenever they're not at work as it's not just a case of `switching it on' but major re-setting work every time they do it.
Personally, couldn't care less, there's plenty of other bells in the country they could substitute for it on the radio, TV etc.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Do people honestly give a **** about stuff like this? It's a bell.

 

[Covrich]

Do people honestly give a **** about stuff like this? It's a bell.

Whlst I suspect the article in the OP was a joke.I would not be surprised at all to hear that some people would have outraged by the silencing of it.

We live in a world where people wake up in the morning thinking of something to be upset or offended about.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Think of all the poor tourists that turn up to hear the bell and its silent, that's not cricket.

 

[DavidHatton]

Surely they could just fit a very loud speaker system to replay the bong of ben!
as artifice is their number 1 aim :whistle: