Can our British Government be more stupid & ignorant than this?

Question

* Summer time started,

* I was shocked to see that the summer time applied on BIG BEN, so it shows the UK local time.

* Doing that to BIG BEN is unforgivable historical, astronomecal, touristirical & universal mistake. AS THAT STRIPPING BIG BEN OF ITS UNIVERSAL LAND MARK & IMPORTANT PROPERTY OF SHOWING GMT (Greenwhich mean time), WHICH IS THE BASE FOR ALL ASTRONOMICAL & UNIVERSAL CALCULATIONS.

* All ships around the world adjust & synchronize their chronometers with BIG BEN on exact hour rings, so to get the exact universal time to the second, so to get their astronomical calculations right.

* By doing that to BIG BEN, it is became same like TESCO STORE TOWER CLOCK! & it lost its universal value!

*** Every educated person, English or coming from abroad expects to see GMT shown by BIG BEN! ONLY IGNORANT PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS MATTER!!

Answer 1

Yeah, but when it's British Summer Time, if Big Ben showed GMT, then it'd be...wrong. You'd be stood in London, think 'I wonder what time it is...', look up towards Big Ben, and see the wrong time. What you're suggesting actually removes any functionality of the thing and relegates it to nothing more than an ornament.

Answer 2

Sorry, guys, you're all wrong. Big Ben is the main bell in the tower.

Answer 3

I guess I am ignorant cause I don't give a monkeys.

Answer 4

Americanization, coming to a appeasing country near you.

They bought the line that DST saves energy.  But why complain now?  GB was Americanized long before this.

Answer 5

"Big Ben" is the name of the bell, nothing to (well not too much!) to do with the clock and time.

Big Ben tower on the Houses of Parliament is nothing to do with GMT / BST and the Meridian time. It is a good 4 or 5 miles to the West of Greenwich, and therefore no where near the Meridian line.

There is one clock at Greenwich that does keep GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) rather than BST (British Summer Time) - but Big Ben shows the time that everyone knows and needs.

Answer 6

Do you know what is "time" in the first place. Today is Sunday, March 30, 2008! However, the world is not only 2008 years old and the calendar we follow is not actually Gregorian Calendar!

Answer 7

Well, Big Ben is the bell that rings the hours and not the clock. And who says that the St Stephens tower clock is the astronomical clock for the UK? It's not the basis for anything, least of all astronomical calculations. It's just not that accurate!

People, whether educated or ignorant, whether residents or tourists, expect that clock to show the correct time. That's it's only job. Since we have British Summer Time the clock must be adjusted to suit. Period.