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99-662: The film concerns Paul ( Alexei Sayle ), a Welsh former miner and aspiring screenwriter , who writes a hard-hitting film script about his own experiences of the 1984 Miners' Strike . However, the Hollywood production company that gets hold of his script turns it into a ludicrously sensationalist and anachronistic action film, starring Al Pacino (played by Richardson) as Arthur Scargill , and Meryl Streep ( Jennifer Saunders ) as his wife. The film also stars Robbie Coltrane , Nigel Planer and Keith Allen (all of whom play multiple roles), in addition to fleeting appearances from most of

198-520: A Perpendicular Gothic Revival style and was completed in 1859. It is elaborately decorated with stone carvings and features symbols related to the four nations of the United Kingdom and the Anglo-Welsh Tudor dynasty . A Latin inscription celebrates Queen Victoria , in whose reign the palace was built. The tower stands 316 feet (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry

297-454: A YouTube channel, showcasing videos of various bike rides. In 1974, Sayle married Linda Rawsthorn. He lives in Bloomsbury in central London and is a keen cyclist. He also owns a house near Granada , in southern Spain. He was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1990. A recurrence of this condition in 2015 led to him being rushed to hospital and then transferred to a neurological unit for

396-480: A character actor ranging from serious ( Gorky Park , 1983) to humorous ( Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , 1989). He appeared in the 1992 Carry On film, Carry On Columbus along with other modern comedians, including Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson , as well as surviving members of the original Carry On team . He narrated the 2023 political documentary film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie and

495-460: A deadbeat escapement and remontoire as originally designed, he invented a double three-legged gravity escapement , which provides the best separation between pendulum and clock mechanism, thus mitigating the effects of rain, wind and snow on the dials. Denison never patented his design, and it quickly became the standard on all new high-quality tower clocks. On top of the pendulum is a small stack of pre-decimal penny coins ; these are to adjust

594-508: A 'satirical memoir', was published in 2010. In 2012 he joined The Daily Telegraph as a motoring columnist. In early 2015 he toured giving readings from the second volume of his autobiography Thatcher Stole My Trousers , published in 2016. In November 2020, Sayle began hosting a monthly podcast, The Alexei Sayle Podcast . Produced/co-hosted by Talal Karkouti; guests have included Josie Long , Stewart Lee , Omid Djalili , Lise Mayer , Diane Morgan and Jeremy Corbyn . He also launched

693-529: A 10-point pledge by the Board of Deputies of British Jews intended to combat anti-semitism, should they be elected. The letter was organised by Momentum activist Jackie Walker and former Labour MP Chris Williamson , both of whom were expelled from Labour in relation to controversial allegations of anti-semitism. In May 2021, Conservative MP Matthew Offord wrote to the BBC's Director-General urging, unsuccessfully, that

792-643: A 1988 comedy about Britain's first communist football team. He has since contributed to many other radio shows, including writing the five-part sitcom series, Sorry About Last Night (1999), in which he also played the leading role. On 3 November 2006 he presented Chopwell Soviet , a 30-minute programme on BBC Radio 4 that reviewed the Chopwell miners 80 years after the village of Chopwell became known as Little Moscow. Sayle returned to Radio 4 in 2016 with Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar , which has run for four critically acclaimed series so far. In 2019, he narrated

891-647: A British tabloid newspaper around the same time, he indicated that he wanted to become the "first Socialist Doctor ." He also appeared in several episodes of The Comic Strip Presents... between 1985 and 1993, playing the two leading roles in Didn't You Kill My Brother? which he co-wrote with David Stafford and Pauline Melville . Sayle has co-written and starred in many other programmes, including three series of Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988–1991), two series of The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1994–1995) and one series of Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998). In 1989, Sayle

990-421: A chimney, until around 1914. The 2017–2021 conservation works included the addition of a lift (or elevator) that was installed in the shaft. Its foundations rest on a layer of gravel, below which is London Clay . Owing to this soft ground, the tower leans slightly to the north-west by roughly 230 mm (9.1 in) over 55 m height, giving an inclination of approximately 1 ⁄ 240 . This includes

1089-456: A collapsing mine (to which Paul points out that the mine would not be operational, since the film is about a strike). Concerned with the direction the film is taking, and the studio's desire to cast Al Pacino as Arthur Scargill despite the two having little in common, Paul expresses dissatisfaction with his friend who set up the meeting, but is told to trust him. During a location scout , the representatives from Golden Pictures say that they think

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1188-530: A feature called St Stephen's Tower , located above the public entrance. On 2 June 2012, the House of Commons voted in support of a proposal to change the name from the Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower in commemoration of Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year, since the large west tower known as Victoria Tower had been renamed in tribute to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee. On 26 June 2012,

1287-635: A full UK stand-up tour in October and November 2012 and a sixteen-night residency at the Soho Theatre in January and February 2013, where he performed new material. He played a further ten nights at the Soho Theatre in April 2013. He also performed at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe . Sayle's early work included several performances for Capital London . In 1979, he wrote and performed the radio series, Alexei Sayle and

1386-455: A legacy from when English monarchs claimed to rule France. A ventilation shaft running from ground level up to the belfry, which measures 16 feet (4.9 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m), was designed by David Boswell Reid , known as "the grandfather of air-conditioning". It was intended to draw cool, fresh air into the Palace of Westminster; in practice this did not work and the shaft was repurposed as

1485-651: A lot of different words than like what we use. For instance: they say 'elevator', we say 'lift'; they say 'drapes', we say 'curtains'; they say 'president', we say 'seriously deranged git!'" In 1988 Sayle played the role of Trinculo the King's jester in Shakespeare's The Tempest , directed by Jonathan Miller at the Old Vic theatre in London. Sixteen years on from his last stand-up comedy tour, Sayle returned in 2011 as an MC, compering

1584-495: A mining accident. The miners working on site (despite the alleged strike) tell him that his daughter is down there. He narrowly escapes, but is told that while he was down there, disgruntled miners raided "the dynamite store" and are planning on blowing up a nuclear reactor in retaliation. The film is completed and the publicity tour commences, showing a promotional tour portraying *The Strike!* as an action romance film. Paul, horrified by this, begins drinking heavily. The remainder of

1683-671: A new five-floor block. Two floors are occupied by the current chamber, which was used for the first time on 26 October 1950. The clock ran accurately and chimed throughout the Blitz . The main bell, officially known as the "Great Bell" but better known as Big Ben, is the largest bell in the tower and part of the Great Clock of Westminster. It sounds an E-natural. The original bell was a 16- ton (16.3- tonne ) hour bell, cast on 6 August 1856 in Stockton-on-Tees by John Warner & Sons . It

1782-596: A planned maximum of 22 mm increased tilt due to tunnelling for the Jubilee line extension. In the 1990s, thousands of tons of concrete were pumped into the ground underneath the tower to stabilise it during construction of the Westminster section of the Jubilee line. It leans by about 500 mm (20 in) at the finial. Experts believe the tower's lean will not be a problem for another 4,000 to 10,000 years. A new feature

1881-404: A screenplay about his experience in the 1984 Miners' Strike. His friend arranges a meeting with the film executives of "Golden Pictures", which is known for pornographic films, but wants to branch out and become more reputable. The executives tell him that they like the script, but they want to make some changes, such as having Arthur Scargill dramatically rescue a woman, played by Meryl Streep, from

1980-532: A three-part television series in which he reconnected with his home town. He stated in the programmes that on first hearing that Liverpool was to be awarded the European Capital of Culture , he received much criticism for describing the city as "philistine". He now feels that he does not know whether or not his original statement was true but as a result of making the series he does now consider Liverpool to be his home, and he has vowed to go back there more often in

2079-545: A turn so the new hammer struck in a different place. Big Ben has chimed with a slightly different tone ever since, and is still in use today with the crack unrepaired. Big Ben was the largest bell in the British Isles until " Great Paul ", a 16.75-ton (17 tonne) bell currently hung in St Paul's Cathedral , was cast in 1881. In August 2007, the bell's striker was replaced for the first time since installation. The origin of

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2178-566: A week. Around the age of 15, Sayle decided to join the Young Communist League , but only went to a few meetings. In 1968, he joined a Maoist organisation, the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) . In 2009, he said that, while no longer active in left politics, "I still would adhere to those philosophical and economic ideas of Marxism that I got when I was sixteen. ... it's seemed to me as true now as it did then". Sayle

2277-506: A week. The Keeper of the Clock is responsible for looking after the movement in addition to overseeing every aspect of maintenance around the Palace. A team of horologists are on call 24 hours a day to attend to the clock in the event of an emergency. On 10 May 1941, a German bombing raid damaged two of the clock's dials and sections of the tower's stepped roof and destroyed the House of Commons chamber. Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed

2376-497: Is 334 steps. Its base is square, measuring 40 feet (12 m) on each side. The dials of the clock are 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in diameter. The clock uses its original mechanism and was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world upon its completion. It was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy , the Astronomer Royal , and constructed by Edward John Dent and Frederick Dent. It

2475-549: Is a critic of fox hunting and was among more than 20 high-profile people who signed a letter to Members of Parliament in 2015 to oppose Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron 's plan to amend the Hunting Act 2004 . In February 2016, Sayle said of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn : "He's ascetic and morally incorruptible. The propaganda that's thrown against him is disgraceful. Until he appeared, you had to vote for one kind of Oxbridge twat or another, people who all go to

2574-480: Is allowed to speak, and gives an impassioned speech about patriotism and democratic values, while his wife (inexplicably present) looks on in the audience. Scargill ends saying that his daughter asked him if he would always be a coal miner, and says that the decision rests with Parliament. A vote is called and the vote is unanimously to agree to the strike's demands and allow coal miners to work! The doors to Parliament open to show Scargill's wife and daughter. His daughter

2673-608: Is currently occupied by the Petitions Committee , which oversees petitions submitted to Parliament. Journalists during Queen Victoria 's reign called it St Stephen's Tower . As members of Parliament originally sat at St Stephen's Hall, these journalists referred to anything related to the House of Commons as "news from St Stephens", a term that survives in Welsh-language political reporting as "San Steffan". The Palace does contain

2772-430: Is in leg braces and takes tenuous steps into parliament, while members shake her hand, telling her how brave her father is. When she makes it into Scargill's arms, Parliament erupts in cheers and won't quiet down, ending the film. The executive tells Paul that he should be proud of how successful his film is, and says they should do it again sometime. Paul returns on a bus to his hometown where he sees townspeople picketing

2871-582: Is known for its reliability, and can be adjusted by adding or removing pre-decimal pennies from the pendulum . The Great Bell was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes ; 15.1 short tons ). Its nickname may be derived from Sir Benjamin Hall , who oversaw its installation, or heavyweight boxing champion Benjamin Caunt . There are four quarter bells , which chime on

2970-429: Is known for its reliability. The designers were the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy , the Astronomer Royal . Construction was entrusted to clockmaker Edward John Dent ; after his death in 1853, his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work in 1854. As the tower was not completed until 1859, Denison had time to experiment before its installation in April that year: instead of using

3069-412: Is not impressed with the accommodation. While driving, he expresses interest in a small house along the road, and purchases it, evicting the woman who lives there. Back in the film offices, the executive and Al Pacino say that they want to change the ending of the script from a tragic ending of the strike failing to a happy ending of the underdog winning. Paul and his friend say they are not happy with how

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3168-459: Is partying with Al Pacino and asks for a scandalous scene of Arthur Scargill and his drunken antics, which Paul attempts to write, but in the morning admits to Al Pacino that it doesn't fit with the story. Watching a film reel of more footage, Paul looks in anguish as he sees that the stereotypical miners have physically abused Scargill's wife to send a message to him. Scargill is distraught when he sees this, but they are interrupted when he learns of

3267-427: Is square, measuring 40 feet (12.2 m) on each side, resting on concrete foundations 12 feet (3.7 m) thick. It was constructed using bricks clad on the exterior with sand-coloured Anston limestone from South Yorkshire, topped by a spire covered in hundreds of cast iron rooftiles. There is a spiral staircase with 290 stone steps up to the clock room, followed by 44 to reach the belfry, and an additional 59 to

3366-530: Is thought that the bell was originally to be called "Victoria" or "Royal Victoria" in honour of Queen Victoria, but that an MP suggested the bell's current nickname of "Big Ben" during a Parliamentary debate; the comment is not recorded in Hansard . Since the tower was not yet finished, the bell was mounted in New Palace Yard but, during testing, it cracked beyond repair and a replacement had to be made. The bell

3465-595: The Sunday Mirror . He was one of eight contributory authors to the BBC Three competition End of Story , in which members of the public completed the second half of stories written by established authors. The winning entry to Sayle's story, Imitating Katherine Walker , was written by freelance writer Arthur Allan. Sayle's autobiography, Stalin Ate My Homework , which deals with his early life, and which he describes as

3564-487: The BBC World Service , a practice that began on 31 December 1923. The sound of the chimes is sent live from a microphone permanently installed in the tower and connected by line to Broadcasting House . At the close of the polls for the 2010 general election the results of the national exit poll were projected onto the south side of the tower. On 27 July 2012, starting at 8:12 a.m, Big Ben chimed 30 times, to welcome

3663-527: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and became his manager. Sayle became the leading performer at The Comic Strip . He appeared on The Comic Strip Album (1981) and recorded Cak! (1982). He also appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981–1982). An example of Sayle's humour was his attack on American phrases: "If you travel to the States ... they have

3762-458: The Games of the 30th Olympiad , which officially began that day, to London. On 21 August 2017, Big Ben's chimes fell silent for four years to allow essential restoration work to be carried out on the tower. The decision to silence the bells was made to protect the hearing of the workers on the tower, and drew much criticism from senior MPs and Prime Minister Theresa May . The striking and tolling of

3861-635: The Great Clock of Westminster , and, by extension , for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally known simply as the Clock Tower, it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II . The clock is a striking clock with five bells. The tower was designed by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin in

3960-402: The 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time on Channel 4 's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007. In an updated 2010 poll he came 72nd. Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python , with riffs based on often absurd and surreal premises. His act is known for its cynicism and political awareness, as well as physical comedy . Sayle

4059-606: The 2024 sequel, The Big Lie II: Starmer and the Genocide . Sayle has released five comedy singles with full musical backing, and one live recording from the Comedy Store in London 1981. This was "Dedication", released as a double A side with Alex Arundel, the London-based Scottish songwriter and founding member of Alternative Cabaret, with the song "When The Gold Runs Dry" being the other A side. Sayle's most successful single

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4158-613: The Clock Tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire. Construction of the tower began on 28 September 1843. The building contractors were Thomas Grissell and Morton Peto . An inscribed trowel in the Parliamentary Archives records that Emily, sister of Peto's daughter-in-law, was given the honour of laying the first stone. It was Pugin's last design before his descent into mental illness and death in 1852, and Pugin himself wrote, at

4257-627: The Fish People , for which he won a Pye Radio Award (later known as the Sony Radio Awards ). An album based on the show, The Fish People Tapes , again featuring Sayle, was released. This was followed by Alexei Sayle and the Dutch Lieutenant's Trousers in 1980, the name being a reference to John Fowles ' The French Lieutenant's Woman . He also starred in two series of Lenin of the Rovers ,

4356-505: The House of Commons confirmed that the name change could go ahead. David Cameron , then prime minister, officially announced the change of name on 12 September 2012. The change was marked by a naming ceremony in which John Bercow , then Speaker of the House of Commons , unveiled a plaque attached to the tower on the adjoining Speaker's Green. Augustus Pugin drew inspiration from the clockmaker Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy when he designed

4455-516: The House of Commons, not via the tower entrance. It was last used in 1880 when atheist Charles Bradlaugh , newly elected Member of Parliament for Northampton , was imprisoned by the Serjeant at Arms after he protested against swearing a religious oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria. Officially, the Serjeant at Arms can still make arrests, as they have had the authority to do since 1415. The room, however,

4554-563: The Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few." In January 2020, he was condemned by some Jewish groups after being one of thousands to sign an open letter criticising Rebecca Long-Bailey and other Labour leadership candidates for saying they would sign

4653-549: The Westminster Quarters are imitated by other clocks and other devices, but the sound of Big Ben is preferred as the original and best. Big Ben is a focal point of New Year celebrations in the United Kingdom , with radio and television stations airing its chimes to welcome the start of the New Year. To welcome in 2012, the clock tower was lit with fireworks that exploded at every toll of Big Ben. Similarly, on Remembrance Day ,

4752-447: The air " I know that my Redeemer liveth " in Handel 's Messiah . The notional words of the chime, again derived from Great St Mary's and in turn an allusion to Psalm 37 :23–24, are: "All through this hour/Lord be my guide/And by Thy power/No foot shall slide". They are written on a plaque on the wall of the clock room. One of the requirements for the clock was that the first stroke of

4851-564: The album Panic , the cover of which parodies the cover of the Michael Jackson album Off the Wall . Sayle has written two short story collections, five novels, including a graphic novel and a radio series spin-off book, as well as columns for various publications. His book Great Bus Journeys of the World , co-written with David Stafford, is mostly a collection of his columns for Time Out and

4950-608: The beginning of the 20th century. The ornate surrounds of the dials are gilded. At the base of each dial is the Latin inscription DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM , which means "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First". Unlike Roman numeral clock dials that show the "4" position as IIII, the Great Clock faces depict "4" as IV. The clock's gun metal hour hands and copper minute hands are 8.75 feet (2.7 m) and 14 feet (4.3 m) long respectively. When completed,

5049-550: The bells for important occasions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday , was handled via an electric motor; and at least one of the four clock faces always remained visible during the restoration. Scaffolding was put up around the tower immediately after the bells were silenced. The cost of the project to the taxpayers and creditors was originally estimated to be roughly £29 million (equivalent to £35.7 million in 2023), but it more than doubled, to £69 million (equivalent to £77.6 million in 2023). In February 2020,

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5148-402: The bells remained silent with few exceptions. Elizabeth Tower, originally named the Clock Tower, and popularly known as "Big Ben", was built as a part of Charles Barry 's design for a new Palace of Westminster after the old palace was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834. Although Barry was the chief architect of the neo-gothic palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of

5247-527: The board, and the resulting hashtag #IStandWithAlexeiSayle trending on UK Twitter . The University of Kent holds material by Sayle as part of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive. The collection includes television scripts from The Young Ones and Doctor Who , radio scripts and material relating to his own shows. Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of

5346-473: The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and the start of the two minutes' silence. In 1999, prior to the millennium New Year, a recording of the clock was released by London Records under the title "Millennium Chimes", with the artist labelled as Big Ben. It reached number 53 for the week ending 8 January 2000 (which included purchases prior to 31 December 1999). The chimes of Big Ben have also been used at

5445-401: The chimes of Big Ben returned to regular service for the first time since August 2017, preceding the hour bell being sounded at 11:00 a.m. local time, the first hour strike marking the beginning of two minutes of silence. The clock has become a cultural symbol of the United Kingdom , particularly in the visual media. When a television or film-maker wishes to indicate a generic location in

5544-639: The clock and tower. Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell. Along with the Great Bell, the belfry houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Quarters on the quarter hours. The four quarter bells sound G ♯ , F ♯ , E, and B. They were cast by John Warner & Sons at their Crescent Foundry in 1857 (G ♯ , F ♯ and B) and 1858 (E). The Foundry

5643-399: The country, a popular way to do so is to show an image of the tower, often with a red double-decker bus or black cab in the foreground. In 2008, a survey of 2,000 people found that the tower was the most popular landmark in the United Kingdom. It has also been named as the most iconic film location in London . The sound of the clock chiming has also been used this way in audio media;

5742-536: The dials and clock hands were Prussian blue , but were painted black in the 1930s to disguise the effects of air pollution. The original colour scheme was reinstated during the 2017–2021 conservation work. Analysis of the paint layers found that no fewer than six different colour schemes had been used over the past 160 years. The Victorian glass was also removed and replaced with faithful reproductions made in Germany by glassmakers Glasfabrik Lamberts . The clock's movement

5841-457: The dials. Each is made of cast iron sections bolted together. The whole frame is 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in diameter making them the third largest in the UK . They each contain 324 pieces of opalescent glass. Originally, the dials were backlit using gas lamps, at first only when Parliament was sitting, but they have routinely been illuminated from dusk until dawn since 1876. Electric bulbs were installed at

5940-429: The dramatisation of four of his short stories in the series Alexei Sayle's The Absence of Normal , again on Radio 4. A second series was broadcast in 2021. Since February 2022 Sayle has presented BBC Radio 4's Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train . Sayle's first high-profile television appearances were on Central Independent Television 's late-night alternative cabaret show O.T.T. (1982). He left nine weeks into

6039-426: The expulsion of Marc Wadsworth from the Labour Party, Sayle commented: "The Party should walk over broken glass to beg people of Marc's calibre to work with them – they are very few and Marc is one of the best. There is a battle going on to destroy and reverse the unexpected and amazing gains the left has made in the last three years. Marc is a casualty in that battle and I am joining the fight to see him re-instated to

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6138-463: The film is interspersed with an awards ceremony in which the film receives numerous accolades while Paul continues to drink. Arthur Scargill convinces the miners to hold off on blowing up the nuclear reactor until he speaks with Parliament at 3 o'clock. He borrows a motorcycle and races to London, arriving just as Big Ben strikes 3. Just as the miners are about to detonate, they hear over the radio that Scargill has burst into Parliament and hold off. He

6237-472: The film's direction is going and want to cancel the film. The executive writes two cheques: one to get Paul's friend to leave the production, and the other to keep Paul on board. Al Pacino tells Paul that they need him, and, after seeing the amount of money on the cheque, he agrees to write whatever ending they want. On the film set, Golden Pictures tears up the modern mining town to create the image they want and turning down actual miners because they don't match

6336-404: The front line." In November 2019, along with other public figures, Sayle signed a letter supporting Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election . In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing

6435-503: The future. Sayle also narrated the Public information film (PIF) Moon Lighters about two moon creatures, Biblock and Hoblock and the dangers of lighters . Sayle replaced Rolf Harris as the narrator for the Nick Jr. and Milkshake! series Olive The Ostrich . Episodes featuring Sayle's narration commenced broadcasting on 22 July 2013. Sayle alternates his comedy work with performances as

6534-408: The hammer. According to the foundry's manager, George Mears, the horologist Denison had used a hammer more than twice the maximum weight specified. For three years Big Ben was taken out of commission and the hours were struck on the lowest of the quarter bells until it was repaired. To make the repair, a square piece of metal was chipped out from the rim around the crack, and the bell given an eighth of

6633-518: The hour (which sounds 25 seconds before the main bell tolls the hour). Because the low bell (B) is struck twice in quick succession, there is not enough time to pull a hammer back, and it is supplied with two wrench hammers on opposite sides of the bell. The tune is that of the Cambridge Chimes , first used for the chimes of Great St Mary 's church, Cambridge , and supposedly a variation , attributed to William Crotch , based on violin phrases from

6732-423: The hour bell should be correct to within one second per day. The tolerance is with reference to Greenwich Mean Time ( BST in summer). So, at twelve o'clock, for example, it is the first of the twelve hour-bell strikes that signifies the hour (the New Year on New Year's Eve at midnight). The time signalled by the last of the "six pips" ( UTC ) may be fractionally different. On 13 November 2022, Remembrance Sunday,

6831-462: The middle section of At Last! The 1981 Show , produced by Stewart Lee at the Royal Festival Hall . Although this was mainly a nostalgia night with comedians such as Nigel Planer and Norman Lovett revisiting their material from the 1980s, Sayle premiered some new material that was more anecdotal than his previous work. Sayle says of his old style, "What I was doing, which I hadn't realised,

6930-399: The miner's rights is straining their marriage and taking a toll on their daughter. Paul has a nightmare in which a disembodied voice tells him his film is misrepresenting the miners he wanted to help. Paul says it got out of control and he never meant for it to get that way, but the voice accuses him of being complicit by taking the money. He is woken up by a phone call from the executive, who

7029-399: The modern mining town doesn't look like what they imagined, and decide to set the film in the 1930s and replace various locations such as a shoe store with archaic places like a blacksmith shop. Paul meets a friend who was also a miner and promises to get him a role in the film, but the executives think that he doesn't look like a miner. Al Pacino drives in a limo to a hotel for the shoot, but

7128-490: The movie theatre with signs that say he is responsible for misrepresenting their plight. Paul throws his typewriter into the air, letting it smash onto the ground, as he walks out into the pasture. Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian , television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in

7227-418: The narrative concerning the making of the film with "completed footage" from it, in a film-within-the-film) would be revisited twice by Richardson and Richens: first in the later Comic Strip film GLC: The Carnage Continues... , and then in the movie Churchill: The Hollywood Years . Neither of these films, however, achieved success comparable to The Strike . Paul, a Welshman and former miner, has written

7326-431: The nickname "Big Ben" is the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall , who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after English heavyweight boxing champion Ben Caunt . Now "Big Ben" is often used, by extension, to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to

7425-399: The planned broadcast of Desert Island Discs featuring Sayle, on 23 May, be halted on the basis that every broadcaster "should be wary of giving a platform to anyone who is seen to be 'excusing' antisemitism". There was an outcry on social media in response, rejecting the claim that Sayle was doing this, with support for Sayle (whose mother came from an orthodox Jewish background) from across

7524-414: The quarter hours. Big Ben is a British cultural icon . It is one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom and parliamentary democracy, and it is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London. The clock tower has been part of a Grade I listed building since 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The clock and tower were renovated between 2017 and 2021, during which

7623-469: The regular Comic Strip performers, including Adrian Edmondson , Rik Mayall and Dawn French . Its subject matter, cinema release, and prestigious award success all contributed to making The Strike one of the most famous of all the Comic Strip films. In addition, the film's theme (of a Hollywood studio creating a warped version of a British historical event) and its chief stylistic device (intercutting

7722-543: The renovations revealed that the Elizabeth Tower had sustained greater damage than previously thought from the May 1941 bombing raid that destroyed the adjacent House of Commons . Other costly discoveries included asbestos in the belfry, the "extensive" use of lead paint, broken glass on the clock dials, and serious deterioration to the tower's intricate stone carvings due to air pollution . The cost of addressing these problems

7821-502: The same dinner parties, people like the Ed Ballses and George Osbornes . Jeremy has shown that, within a democratic tradition, other things are possible." In 2016, he wrote a comment piece for The Guardian saying that he was happy to mock New Labour in his act, but now that Corbyn was about to "reform the party in his own image – ascetic, socialist, kindly and ethical", he would stop making jokes about Labour. In May 2018, regarding

7920-617: The show's run to tour Australia with the Comic Strip. He played various roles in the situation comedy The Young Ones (1982–1984), along with Adrian Edmondson , Rik Mayall , Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan . In the programme Sayle portrayed several members of an Eastern European family; the Balowskis. In 1985, he appeared in the Doctor Who serial Revelation of the Daleks . In a column for

8019-405: The soot-stained dial frames having been stripped away. The clock faces were regilded, and the shields of St George repainted in their original red and white colours. The 1,296 pieces of glass that make up the clock faces have also been removed and replaced. In December 2021, after four years of renovations and restoration, the tower emerged from behind its scaffolding in time for the ringing in of

8118-447: The state funerals of monarchs on four occasions, chiming one stroke for each year of the monarch's life: firstly, at the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910, (68 strokes); secondly, at the funeral of King George V in 1936 (70 strokes); thirdly, at the funeral of King George VI in 1952 (56 strokes); and lastly, at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 (96 strokes). On some occasions, Londoners who live an appropriate distance from

8217-445: The stereotype they have in mind. The footage of the beginning of the film shows Scargill in an anachronistic town as the only person who is literate. He reads a modern copy of Das Kapital in a tavern while the townspeople (including stereotypical miners who wear old-fashioned mining helmets in town) berate him for not having the courage to lead a strike. Meryl Streep is the invented wife of Arthur Scargill who believes his commitment to

8316-503: The time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all my designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful". Completed in 1859, the tower is designed in Pugin's Gothic Revival style and is 316 feet (96.3 m) high, making it the third tallest clock tower in the UK . Its dials (at the centre) are 180 feet (54.9 m) above ground level. The tower's base

8415-413: The time of the clock. Adding a coin has the effect of minutely lifting the position of the pendulum's centre of mass, reducing the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence increasing the rate at which the pendulum swings. Adding or removing a penny will change the clock's speed by 0.4 seconds per day. It keeps time to within a few seconds per week. It is hand wound (taking about 1.5 hours) three times

8514-554: The top of the spire. Above the belfry and the Ayrton Light are 52 shields decorated with national emblems of the four countries of the UK : the red and white rose of England's Tudor dynasty , the thistle of Scotland, shamrock of Northern Ireland, and leek of Wales. They also feature the pomegranate of Catherine of Aragon , first wife of the Tudor king Henry VIII ; the portcullis, symbolising both Houses of Parliament; and fleurs-de-lis ,

8613-466: The top of the tower, which is lit when Parliament is sitting, was also fully dismantled and restored along with the other lights in the Belfry, being replaced with low-energy LEDs . One of the most visible changes to the tower has been the restoration of the clock-face framework to its original colour of Prussian blue , used when the tower was first built in 1859, with the black paint that was used to cover up

8712-411: The tower and Big Ben can, by means of listening to the chimes both live and on analogue radio, hear the bell strike thirteen times. This is possible because the electronically transmitted chimes arrive virtually instantaneously, while the "live" sound is delayed travelling through the air since the speed of sound is relatively slow. ITN 's News at Ten opening sequence formerly featured an image of

8811-472: The tower with the sound of Big Ben's chimes punctuating the announcement of the news headlines of the day. The Big Ben chimes (known within ITN as "The Bongs") continue to be used during the headlines and all ITV News bulletins use a graphic based on the Westminster clock dial. Big Ben can also be heard striking the hour before some news bulletins on BBC Radio 4 (6 p.m. and midnight, plus 10 p.m. on Sundays) and

8910-409: Was " 'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? ", which achieved Top 20 chart success in the UK upon re-release in 1984. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who also produced for Madness and Elvis Costello ), the record (in its 12-inch version) achieved notoriety owing to its extensive use of profane language. The two follow-up singles, "Didn't You Kill My Brother?", and "Meanwhile", were taken from

9009-574: Was a comic persona. The guy in the tight suit was actually a creation. I thought it was me in a sense but it wasn't". With artists such as Isy Suttie and Jim Bob , Sayle appeared at the fourth " Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People " event at the Bloomsbury Theatre in December 2011. In January and February 2012, he compered four nights of stand-up comedy at the Soho Theatre . He completed

9108-511: Was added in 1873 by Acton Smee Ayrton , then First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings . The Ayrton Light is a lantern sited above the belfry and is lit whenever the House of Commons sits after dark. It can be seen from across London. Originally, it shone towards Buckingham Palace so Queen Victoria could look out of a window and see when the Commons were at work. Inside the tower is an oak-panelled Prison Room, which can only be accessed from

9207-527: Was awarded an International Emmy for Stuff . In conversation with Mark Thomas on BBC Radio 4's informal chat-show Chain Reaction , Sayle revealed that the first he knew of the award was when he watched Channel 4 News and saw, to his amazement, Benny Hill collecting the award on his behalf. In 1990, Sayle had a fatwa proclaimed against him by a Muslim cleric from Syria after a joke on his BBC comedy show Stuff , which has never been withdrawn. Sayle

9306-595: Was born and brought up in the Anfield suburb of Liverpool , the son of Molly (Malka) Sayle (née Mendelson), a pools clerk, and Joseph Henry Sayle, a railway guard , both of whom were members of the Communist Party of Great Britain . Sayle's mother was of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and some members of his family were devout Jews. Sayle was named after Maxim Gorky , whose real name was Alexei Maximovich Peshkov. From 1964 to 1969, he attended Alsop High School in Walton , and

9405-431: Was estimated at £18.6 million (equivalent to £20.9 million in 2023), bringing the total budget for restoring the Elizabeth Tower to nearly £80 million (equivalent to £90 million in 2023). The 2,567 cast-iron roof tiles were removed and refurbished, and a lift was installed to make access easier, along with a basic toilet facility with running water , for the first time in the tower itself. The Ayrton Light at

9504-659: Was expelled halfway through sixth form . After that, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport , before attending Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. He attended Garnett College in Roehampton , a training college for teachers in further education. When The Comedy Store opened in London in 1979, Sayle responded to an advert in Private Eye for would-be comedians and became its first master of ceremonies . In 1980, comedy producer Martin Lewis saw Sayle perform at

9603-635: Was in Jewin Crescent, in what is now known as the Barbican , in the City of London. The bells are sounded by hammers pulled by cables coming from the link room—a low-ceiling space between the clock room and the belfry—where they are triggered by cables coming from the chime train. The quarter bells play a once-repeating, 20-note sequence of rounds and four changes in the key of E major : 1–4 at quarter past, 5–12 at half past, 13–20 and 1–4 at quarter to, and 5–20 on

9702-552: Was recast on 10 April 1858 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as a 13.5-ton (13.76-tonne) bell. The second bell was transported from the foundry to the tower on a trolley drawn by sixteen horses, with crowds cheering its progress; it was then pulled 200 ft (61.0 m) up to the Clock Tower's belfry, a feat that took 18 hours. It is 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) tall and 9 feet (2.74 m) diameter. This new bell first chimed on 11 July 1859; in September it too cracked under

9801-569: Was signed in 1992 to a seven-year contract to play an Eastern European chef as a regular character on the American sitcom The Golden Palace , the sequel to The Golden Girls , but was fired and replaced by Cheech Marin before the pilot was filmed. The series was cancelled after one season. In 1994, he presented the miniseries Drive , which gave advice for safe driving through Sayle's signature form of humour interspersed with serious pieces. In 2008, he wrote and presented Alexei Sayle's Liverpool ,

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