BLOG EXCLUSIVE: BIG BEN SILENCED
Just heard that from Saturday 11th August for about a month, Big Ben will fall silent for maintenance work.
This means the pips will return at the end of PM.
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE EXTRA TIME?
When this happened before we asked for suggestions and chose a listener's idea of birdsong.
What about this time? The same thing for the entire month or so? Something different every week? I will mention this on air tonight but if you want to get your idea in first - click on the comment link.
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"Bring back the birdsong!"
"Bring back the birds!"
"Bring back the birdsong!"
"Bring back the birds!"
(Placards available from Fifi)
;o)
A refrain from the Froggers Song
How about the opening bars from Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols? Would stir Middle England a little.
Heh! All you are going to lose is the chimes of Big Ben? Peanuts, that is.
I turned on Radio 4 a bit early for the one o'clock news, and found myself in You and Yours. Before I could scream, a tape-clip ended and was followed by dead silence for the best part of six minutes, after which the pips were superimposed on the latter part of the weather forecast, and there was then an apology for "loss of transmission".
So what went on there then? Someone didn't notice they'd finished the tape, and didn't switch back to the studio?
Never mind silence from Big Ben, what's happening to the Radio 4 transmissions. Yesterday lots of stutters and micro-breaks, today complete silence at the end of You and Yours on both FM and digital - 'Long live Long Wave', says I.
Shhhhhhh - witchi - just having the finishing touches done - will be ready by the blog birthday.
Oh for crying out loud not the bl**dy birds again! If I want to hear birds I can go outside!!! Birds on the radio? It's blooming ridiculous!... (Continues on page 94)
Eddie - how about a little prayer?
(ok jonnie - am just getting over excited!!)
Bird song and other sounds of nature, like...
frogs frogging
crickets cricketing
grasshoppers grasshopping
badgers badging
chirups chiruping
...well, you get my drift - naturey type things doing what they do in naturey type places! ;o)
Izz
Well, Eddie, you *could* try one of the following:
(1) airplane engines (and invite listeners to identify them on the Blog)
(2) frogs
(3) snatches of Tony Bennett (I think that might appeal to the presenter!)
(4) snatches of different languages (this could be topical, with current discussions on the Blog!)
(5) excerpts from different national anthems, especially lesser known ones
I think my preferred of these might be (5) because, like the birdsong, it would have an educative role.
Alternatively, how about familiarising us with different folk songs from around the British Isles?
Rev Green - hello! Was only thinking about you the other day
Oh dear Appy - is Monday getting you down (Furrowed Brow)? Why don't you have a relax in a hammock with Fabio at the beach, he seems to be doing wonders there for others who have the Monday blues.
大象传媒 radio 3 was also quiet just after composer of the week; it made me think of "duck and cover".
Maybe for big ben, the beeb could dig up some archived Cold War era government safety messages. Just to compare and contrast with our modern day concerns.
Appy - oops, I see you've already booked him for this evening.
I'll just be sitting over here in the corner, quietly - please don't throw anything with sharp bits!
Eddie....as I mentioned on a thread, i forget which' some time ago...
.....there are plenty of other 'bells' 'round Britain.....why not a 'Plain Bob Minor' from Winchester or a daring 'Grandsire Doubles' from Salisbury or the equally daring but risky 'Cambridge Surprise Minor' from Oxford....of course....all together now..
123456
214356
241536
425136
452316......etc....
ttfn......methodelicious.......init?
I like DIYs idea, too. Bells have very individual sounds to them. And we could give the bellringers an outing at the same time.
I've often thought, when on the continent, how very 'plain' their bells sound compared to our lovely tradition of pealing bells.
Yes, a lovely idea.
How about road sounds, inviting listeners to guess which motorway?
Like the National Anthems idea and DiW's bells. One of the eeriest things I have ever heard was a solitary ( I presume) bellringer performing Abide With Me.
You could just play recorded big ben, But no then you would have to tell us every night thats its recorded otherwise you would be decieving us.
Bird Song is fine. Competition is we have to guess the bird.
Or snippits of dialetcs.
You could even just talk for longer........,......
(no perhaps not)
The birds were wonderful, but let's have a slight change but keep to nature and something soothing: different animal sounds from all around the UK. And we'll have to guess if, e.g. badger grunting (do they) from Northern Ireland, or Scottish rampant stags. The cunning thing this time is that people will muddle up the animals. And you could have one hoax.
no no no, not bells. if you want bells listen to bells on Sunday - they all sound the same.
I would go for birdsong myself, it's very relaxing and quite summer-y too.
otherwise lute music - Vivaldi wrote lots of good stuff for the lute.
or at a push National anthems. there wouldn't be time for much so you could turn it into a competitoin where listeners who thought they knew which one it was could ring in and -
oh no! sorry. that would be such a bad idea. And tactless of me to bring it up.
Izzy (10)
good idea....I have a brill recording of whale flatulance somewhere.....goes something like....PPPHHHHAAAAARRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSTTT...T..T.but at a very low frequency....
ttfn...........ooobubbleselicious.....init?
whale sounds.
witchiwoman (12)
Bless you :-)
I do hope that I was the only person who, on reading BigSis (17) write:
give the bellringers an outing
thought "That is not why it is called campinology!" I will be on the naughty step if anyone wants to know where I am.
H.
Yes, a selection of bells from around the country. I think the 大象传媒 has a big sound archive of them. I have a vague idea that I hear them in the early hours as the graveyard shift presenter sends us off to bed or to the World service. Or was that all a dream?
Eddie.
Cock 'o the North played on the bagpipes.
Humph.....(23)
behave you naughty boy.....haven't you got a sample to test or somefink?
How about each day the sound of someone laughing uproariously, even better if a young person, perhaps we could start with Johnners at the end of the test match.........
I think Eddie should sing a karaoke version of a current chart hit.
Broadcast excerpts from the Beeb's 'You mustn't deceive the audience' courses. Or listen to the sounds of self-flagellation by 大象传媒 executives...
I really liked the birdsong, but it would be uncharacteristically predictable of PM to do it again, so what about random sounds of summer, screams of terror as bathers flee a Great White, the clatter of stumps as another English wicket falls, the sound of rain on a caravan roof.....
If pushed I'd vote for the mystery animal noise thing, especially if it included whale flatulence. We need to be careful I suppose, its not just froggers who listen to the programme, there are grown ups who listen as well.
I think the idea of bird songs is nice.
Different extracts each day from John Cage's 4'33" would be good...
A random selection of Radio 4 theme tunes new and old. Confuse your listener by ending with the synth-tastic 80s PM theme. Or make them think it's time for bed with Sailing By. For a blast of retro 2006-type nostalgia, play the Radio 4 UK Theme. Use some of that vast bank of sound effects collections the 大象传媒 has - "Dawn of Emptiness" from Blake's 7 on "大象传媒 Sound Effects No. 26 - Sci-Fi Sound Effects".
A binary representation of the bongs as pips.
Fill the silence with a rota of listeners five word summation of the day's programme. Should fill about the same amount of time.
I get sick and tired (note: I'm not from Tunbridge Wells) of people failing to recognise major world languages - thinking Portuguese is French, Polish is Russian and so forth. Why not play clips of foreign language speakers?
Selections of past PM theme tunes
Why not replace Big Ben with the sound of aircraft taking off and landing.
How about the sound of Ambridge being burnt to the ground?
One or two sounds of steam, working hard .... railways or road-vehicles ..... ah, memories!
The PM theme tune! I can't believe no one has suggested it already. A whole month of wallowing in the nostalgia followed by the unbelievable relief of stopping again when we get Big Ben back!
Perhaps you could play a recording of Big Ben, but make it clear that the chimes are "as live" and not actually live.
My first choice would be the birdsong again, but how about 'National Anthems" - A few bars of various anthems from countries that never normally get their anthems played.....
You have clips of Joan, and of Valerie. How about continuing the retro trend and bringing back the theme tunes you used to have years ago?
How about those seven foreign words we Brits can just about remember?
Each evening you could have the shortest language lesson in history
You could choose a single phrase for the whole period: I recommend "Two beers,please", but that may not be PC
"And tonight's language is French" - "Deux biers, s'il vous plait"
"And tonight's language is German" - "Twei bieren, bitte" [I think]
And so on. You could completely re-educate the whole Radio 4 listenership in a few short weeks.
Just a thought
how about bells from other notable institutions throughout the UK?
I suppose you may not logistically be able to sort it out and they may not keep perfect time?
Oh well.
how about the sound of laughter...a little irreverent but by 5.00 most days I could do with a laugh.
OK - having now read the previous entries I see someone already came up with the anthems idea. So, how about the lovely Dot Davies reading a short poem
A human immitating the chimes- different people each time, some who do it well, others could be 大象传媒 presenters chiming or bong-ing or whatever the verb for Big Ben's sounds are. They have to sway slightly while chiming, side to side works best, I have found. In fact, human replacements should be placed around Big Ben to chime , and you could just use them!
How about reading out a list of the names of the soldiers that have been killed in Iraq since the invasion - or is Broadcasting House too close to Westminster to be allowed to do so ? In that case I would suggest a list of the names of the prisoners held unlawfully in Guantanamo ...
Not really as positive as birdsong ...
All else failing, you can always play the UK theme. Some of us still miss that former morning fixture !
What about AD-DC's Hells Bells
How about sound bytes of politicians making promises that were never kept or definitive statements of an outcome from their actions where the exact opposite happened.
Should be enough recorded material in the 大象传媒 archives from all political parties to satisfy the 大象传媒's balanced reporting criteria and we can all have a jolly good laugh.
Beats birdsong any day!!
Church bells are quintessentially British - why not 'ring the changes' every evening.
You should play the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-air' theme song by Will Smith.
For some reason, your server thinks I am being malicious, so I'll try again. Why not ask listeners to record the six o'clock chimes of their own clocks and use those?
I suggest....
...a brief recording of the chamber of the House of Commons that segues into the sound of children playing. You could make a fresh recording of the children every day.
What about some jokes from Dutch comedians?
Or more birdsong?
Or limericks on a theme from the news?
Sid
PS If you have prayers, I shall come and take the mike.
Hi Eddie, The birds have had their chance. How about the animals - plenty of scope with whales (not the country), donkeys (or are there already enough on the programme), jackals (plenty of them on every night) or earthworms (yes a bit of peace and quiet). Stuart PS perhaps the sound of laughter would be a much better idea.
Have some 'guest clocks' chiming. There are plenty of possibilities- churches, town halls, colleges etc.
Why not work with Amnesty International or some similar NGO and use the 30 seconds airtime rather than play some pointless sound ? (After all PM is a current affairs programme ...)
Whatever you do, DO NOT use that extra time for another pointless survey or opinion poll ...
Here's an Idea....
On the Supertramp album, is it 'Crisis what Crisis' , there is an amazing bit of 'musique conrete' sound collage,"The Fool's Overture", that includes Big ben, Crowds singing Jerusalem, Churchill ' everything 'English' , in fact ....
Why not this? or commissioning a sound artist to do similar ?
More birdsong!
It was a most brilliant bit of radio because of its incongruity and also because of its peacefulness in between the serious business of news and comment, and it brought me out in a broad grin every day on my way home during the spell.
To do the same again would be not predictable but fantastically persistent!
Please, please bring back the birdsong.
more birds-better than Big Ben. Have been missing them. Who says the bbc doesn't do repeats?
Unusual animal sounds- not just birds.
What *does* a duck-billed platypus sound like?
invite your listeners to suggest a short sound byte from a familiar tune, to be repeated six times.
It should be no more than seven notes. Here's two for you. Intro to "singing in the rain" - first seven notes. Or The Archers, first seven notes.
If Big Ben is going to be silenced for what may well be the entirety of our summer, how鈥檚 about something with a summery theme鈥 like the classic sounds of an Ice Cream Van! That would bring a cheery end to the show.
You could play all the traditional ditties: 鈥淢atch of the Day鈥, 鈥淕reensleeves鈥 etc. Or perhaps reinterpret some tunes of your choosing 鈥榠n the style of鈥 an Ice Cream Van
I wonder what The Bongs would sound like if played in the style of an Ice Cream Van鈥
I think a paragraph or two of John Knox's writings would mark the zeitgeist nicely. There's an epistle to Newcastle & Berwick that would do admirably.
What about soundbites from Kathy Clugston's frankly rebellious attempts to introduce non-RP elocution to Radio 4 by stealth ??
'Hoy noy broyn coy'..
'the rane in spane falls manely on the plaane'..
Failing that, snippets from Neil Nunes' cryptic attempts at the Shipping Forecast - why deprive those who aren't insomniacs from this surreal experience.
Failing that, I'm with Fifi, bring back the birds, and maybe have a few evenings with 'bat sonar' as picked up by special microphones and converted into sound at 'human range'.
Other sounds of summer nature very welcome, as long as doesn't involve too much of the human mating ritual endemic in public at this time of year.
...a lot of years ago they used to play a record of Bow Bells betyween EVERY programme....it used to give one a chance to digest what had just been heard - not like the frantic way you start programmes now before the last one has finished ...anyway, it would be good to hear that recording again - have you still got it? KP
1. Mobile phone ring tone of the day
2. Nothing, just leave the mike open and hope for a passing police car.
3. Sailing by
I enjoyed the birdsong very much.Instead of repeating it though,could we have (wild )animal sounds;eg.wolves baying,snails eating,bees buzzing,whales calling....but please not dogs barking-we get enough of that "off air",thank you!
Since change bell ringing is peculiar only to Britain (and some of our former colonies), what could be more British than to hear the sounds of changes being rung?
I understand that there is only one set of bells on the whole of the mainland of Europe that can be rung in changes. We in Britain are the only people who mount our bells in wheels, which is essential to change ringing.
By the way, I am not a bellringer!!
How about a word or two from Brian Haw?
What we need is train horns from the 'golden years' of the 1970s and 80s. Suggest you start with the English Electiric Type 5 (BR Clas 55 Deltic - and preferably 55007/9007 "Pinza"), and work your way down to the Class 03 and 08 (maybe even 01, if you feel man enough...) diesel shunters. It's up to you whether or not you include electric locomotives (a bit soulless) or multiple units (too carriagey for my liking).
I would like to hear the theme tune for Black Beauty at the end of PM.
I've always thought that would be a great outgoing theme tune..
Two suggestions:
The best of Elvis presly - just a great way to start the evening
or perhaps for a wider audience - the best of the 2007 Proms
I agree with bells, churches from Scotland, Ireland and Wales for a change!!
What about going back to the time before Big Ben and use a Town Crier to ring his bell and cry "Six O'clock and all's well"
I think the old PM theme song should be replaced by Eddie Mair doing that yodelling again.
Come and try to take my radio, Eddie! C'mon, C'MON!!
What about the PIPS?!!!!!
You could replace bongs with great british singers - especially from the 78 era.
Week 1 sopranos
Week 2 mezzos and contraltos
Week 3 tenors
Week 4 baritones and basses
In place of "Big Ben Bongs", may I suggest the use of clips from the album 'Rainforest Requiem' - an album that charts a day in the life of the Amazon Rainforest.
The wildlife recording is of the birds, mammals, insects, frogs, rain, etc., in a dawn-to-dusk setting (The British Library National Sound Archive).
The 大象传媒3 Late Junction compilation CD No. 1 has the Poison Dart Frog from this album as one of its tracks - 大象传媒LJ30042.
You could pretend to like The Arctic Monkeys.
How about cattle lowing, to give them support at this very vulnerable time for them - caused without doubt by mankind's commercial greed.
Why not the sounds of David Cameron banging together the heads of leading Tory supporters and financiers: Boing! Boing! Boing!
I suppose replacing the bongs with the sound of that giggly 'Plane Stupid' spokesman being sucked into a jet engine is out of the question?
Why not a Jumbo taking off at Heathrow?
DIRECT ACTION AGAINST POLLUTERS.
Am I wrong or is this not the 21st. How about a recording of Big Ben? I trust the 大象传媒 has some sound recording equipment?
It seems my earlier comment upset Eddie, posted as it was thirty seconds before his remark: "For anyone who suggests bringing back the PM Theme tune on the blog, I鈥檓 going to come round and take your radio away."
Sorry Eddie, I wasn't being entirely serious! Please don't take my radio away!
Why not use the chimes from a clock that I am told is identical to Big Ben - except that the main bell in not cracked. It is wonderfully sonorous, like Big Ben should be. It is the city clock in Buenos Aires.
I reckon the Big Ben theme played by different orchestal instruments.
One day something from the horns, then percussion, harp, trumpets, bassoons, etc, etc.
How exciting would that be ??
Mark
Eddie, As you are going to need at least 25 different sounds to cover the embarrassing silence from Big Ben, I suggest you play a variation of a game that we used to play.
We used to bash out, on a piano, all the loud endings from popular classical symphonies. I don't suggest you get a piano, but the final few chords from stirring music could finish your programme and also be a "guess the music quiz"
How about
1. An extract from the greatest political speeches over the last century - cromwell, churchill, kennedy etc.
2. The headlines from a different country every day.
3. UK headlines from previous decades.
4. Some music (probably heresy for radio 4) but what about the number 1 song on this day 30 years ago, 29 years ago, all the way down to a year ago.
Quote Bob: "Why not replace Big Ben with the sound of aircraft taking off and landing." what a good idea. With Heathrow flights restricted by protestors it would help with continuity??!! Good competition as well; 'Name That Plane'
How about a rousing burst of organ music from a different British cathedral organ each evening
Atmosphere sound tracks
You've already mentioned the ideal replacement for the bongs - except there is no such thing as silence. As a 大象传媒 Sound Recordist I recorded background "atmosphere tracks" (atmos) all over the world.
You've got one atmos already if you wind up the volume on the Big Ben microphone. The background sounds of London are well reproduced there.
Other suggestions are harbours, golf links, cats purring, thunderstorms, woodland, rivers, suburbia, farmland, theatreland, motorways, wind turbines, insects, fairgrounds - there's more than a month's worth available to anyone with a stereo microphone.
One very specialist atmos is the sound of air molecules which is used to set the value of zero on the dBA noise scale. You can't get anything quieter than this and it sounds like a constant sharp hiss.
I'm with bringing back the theeeeeeme toon! However, I do have a rather lovely recording of a Morris Minor from a radio feature I did once, if you're interested! Nothing lovelier! (in the motoring world that is!!!)
Vroom vroooooom!
how about in the modern awareness of climate change the noise of a traffic jam - horns hooting etc ?
More birdsong is quite appealing ... but it occurs to me that there was a bit of hanky panky with the wood pigeon tape last time* - might be best to draw a discreet veil etc.
Sid
*remember 'take two cows, Taffy'?
how about the sound of tropical fish in a tank?
they use it at the doctors
I agree with the foreign language requests, but why go for the obvious ones. try the news headlines in some of the lesser known languages. With the various gaelic dialects, cornish etc. you should have a weeks worth just out of these islands
If you had :
- laughter from different countries;
- the sounds of different steam trains; and
- recordings of people shouting in many languages;
then you would have the perfect ending for your interviews with politicians.
I would like to hear the sound of whale song perhaps along with other sounds you may hear in the underwater environment. Why not move from air (Bird Song) to water. Sounds like a logical and enjoyable way to go.
Lillie Bolero! The World Service don't play it as often as they used to! - it could do with a regular outing!
As we have had such a grotty summer - how about sounds that we heve for summer?
Sea gulls - waves - cricket - ice cream tunes and so on.
I dare you to fins a sound that stands for the sun
Yours Pandy
An edited composite of bells from classical pieces such as Falla's El Amor Brujo or Prokofievs 'Cinderella'.
I think it should be a recording of bells, initially not Big Ben so people realise it is recorded not live. People seem to be forgetting 2 things:
after the initial tune 'bongs' continue through the news has it is spoken, which presumably you can't do with anything else, and
now that we have digital the sound reaches the ear at different times. With a recording you may be able to time it so that each 'bong' leaves the speaker, if not reaching the ear, at the same time, at 6.00 pm not 6.00.03 pm, by sending out the headlines and the bells earlier for DAB and Digital Services (Sky, Freeview, etc.) carrying radio signals.
Perhaps you could have different bells during the week, with Big Ben on Friday (say) repeating each week.
Or have the AM theme that was dropped - the UK Theme Tune.
How about asking schools to send you their version of Big Bens chime using whatever instruments they want. different school each time.
Since WS has now more-or-less dispensed with it, how about bringing back Lily Bolero ? It takes virtualy the same time as Big Ben's chime up to the hour.
the safe option:
people send in tapes of their local clocks striking
the alternative version (a la i'm sorry i haven't a clue)
listeners send in Picture of their local clocks and the presenter of the day has to provide the @bing bong' noise that they think it makes.
I like the animal sounds idea - although to make it more fun, don't reveal the name of the animal until the following day, and invite listeners to debate their identification of the animals on the Frog. This would serve the additional benefit of ramping up the post count, so we can exceed the magic 50k by 17th.
Don't forget two newly identified subspecies:
Homo sapiens ericensis: easily identified by a call that sounds vaguely like "Let the healing begin".
Homo sapiens fifiensis: easily identified by a call that sounds vaguely like "Always listen between 5 and 6".
The 大象传媒 World Service broadcasts in about three dozen languages, operates on a shoestring and deserves all the support it can get. How about a few secondsworth of headlines from each of the different language services, a new language evrey day?
Birdsong - relaxing, educational, real, unspinnable, and truly beautiful.
In Fatima, Portugal, the church clock in the square chimes a beautiful version of "Ave Maria". It does it in the way Big Ben chimes "Brownie Bells"; - a bit each quarter hour and the whole lot on the hour. It would be lovely if Big Ben could chime "Ave Maria" sometimes. Please will you use it.
The tune notes are: (with b flat and the c as middle c):
C / F F A / F F A / G G A G / F C F F A / F F A / G G A G / F
chorus each quarter hour B B A A / G G G / C A / B B / A A / G G A G / F
Sometime ago you had a "singing for all" item. Every night a different song, raise our voices loud and long. It used to be called Community Singing. PLEASE.
Community Singing ! You did an item once...then we can all sing along. Can't remember the man's name, he was brilliant.
I would like to suggest while Big Ben is silent my lovely old westminster chiming clock could fill in the gap. The tones are beautiful and Radio 4 listeners would have the reassurance of something very familiar but different tones!
How about beeping the names of UK towns & cities in morse (and then saying what they are). Very inclusive ... lots of non-Londoners out here!
how about clips of some of the classics... Mozart etc.... Opera, Piano, Cello... etc
... educate the peasants !
Signed: A semi-educated peasant
My favourite sound at 18.00h...
the clink of ice into a glass
the chopping of a fresh lime on a wooden board
the rattle of the bottle top coming off,
the gurgle of the gin onto the ice
the hiss of the tonic hitting the ice and gin
the plop of the lime into the mixture
the sound of one swirl to mix the fragrance
and then the long, satisfying gulp, followed by a few seconds of hallowed, reverent silence.
You could do a different gin every night, but save the navy extra strong for Friday
Tommy Cooper one-liners!
That would bring a smile at the end of the programme - for starters, how about:
"Cos it's strange, isn't it. You stand in the middle of a library and go 'Aaaaaaagghhhh' and everyone just stares at you. But you do the same thing on an aeroplane, and everyone joins in."
Eddie, what about:'Good evening. This is PM at 5.00pm' in a different language every evening, followed by identification of the language and where it's spoken. Anything from Inuit to Italian, French to Farsee, Swahili to Spanish, the list is extensive and should fill in all your slots.
How about different song chants from indigenous people from all over the globe?
I like suggestion 36. The first five pips in the tune (roughly) of Big Ben, a pause before the 6th, longer pip to be the final "dong"
If I could tread where Big Sister hesitated ...
would anyone else support the Radio 4 theme?
That bit in it that sounds a bit like the Blue Peter song makes it all the more appropriate, in my view.
Why not the radio 4 tune "sailing" or if that would send listeners to sleep how about mystique "so scandalous" circa 2000 without the words just the music.
In this multicutural age, why not air as many chants from as many religeons around the world as possible; muslim.jewish,hindi.buddist,harri-krisghnar,maori,lost african tribe,you get the idea... IT would give them all amention and a little info about each before hand might be quite thought provoking. You have a month.
How about a toilet flushing? To refresh before the 6 O'Clock News
Confuse Archer's Addicts - play an extract from Barwick Green! :D
Well, it's obvious really, particularly after last week's trial outing - applause!
Alternatively, I really like the idea of a simple sentence repeated daily in a different language. Die Sendung mit der Maus (a German children's TV programme with which Archers listeners should now be familiar, being the favourite of the cuckoo Ruari) starts each programme in a similar multi-lingual way and it works really well.
I really like the idea of bells but, why not unusual ones or those that we don't hear now e.g. those wonderful police car bells during Ealing comedy chases.
I'm sure there are also some recordings of carillions - some of these are played manually by people wearing things like boxing gloves on their hands (I jest not).
As far as I remember, at Prinknash Abbey in Gloucester a monk plays a set of bells each evening around 6 o'clock (maybe for the Angelus ?) - I'm sure a live relay could be arranged ?
If all else fails we could have the bicycle bells from Queens "Fat Bottomed Girls"
How about the countdown at the start of Thunderbirds !!!!!
No town criers, please, we might get Eddie Grundy applying.
No, I suggest a variation on pips: fruit with pips.
Every day the sound of a pipped fruit being sliced, peeled, squeezed etc.
That would appeal to the 6pm G&T-lovers; perhaps a chance to give some UK fruit (and veg, why not?) some air time.
You could have a hoax one and feature the sound of a seedLESS grape being peeled (Oh, how we laughed).
Pip pip!
Ian (33), I stopped reading after your suggestion -- brilliant idea!! :-)
Izzy (13&15), No worries -- great minds think alike :-)
If you are going to do bells, why not include continential carillions as well as English hour-bells? Dutch would be a good start point.
Do we have to have the pips - I'm sure they are getting louder and they are really harsh and unpleasant. We have a cd of national anthems of many lands - quite jolly - then again you could use the time and not cut people off when they hadn't really finished- or have a minute's silence to consider the latest deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc, etc,
Ten seconds of Vera Lynn's best songs, instead of Big Ben'weel meet again' etc. She is our national treausure after all. Steve Proctor.
OK - following on from my previous two posts (45 and 50) and having read all the others that came afterwards - I now put my vote behind Lillibulero
We could all sing along:
There was an old woman tossed up in a basket,
Seventeen times as high as the moon;
And where she was going, I couldn鈥檛 but ask it,
For in her hand she carried a broom.
Old woman, old woman, old woman, quoth I
O whither, O whither, O whither so high?
To sweep the cobwebs off the sky!
Shall I go with you? Aye, by-and-by.
In place of the bongs- how about a fine cockerel crowing its heart out to wake us all up!
How about some military march tunes reflecting those regiments, corps, etc which have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. One may not support the war but wouldn't it be a great expression of solidarity with the service men and women currently there? Picking up on Rev Green's idea above, it would give us all a moment to pause, reflect and hope for peace, whatever our creed or none.
Either Mittfh's idea or David Brinicombe #(96)
We could send in recorded nature / animal sounds and see if we could identify the beasts?
There is always the SONG!!. Jonnie has spent ages mixing it up but you could unmix back to each individual who volunteered their dulcet tones doing their bit of chorus. And we have to guess which frogger it is.
Replace Big Ben with "Sailing By." It's totally wasted on the shipping forecast......
A little bit of dialect speech from around the UK?! The wonderful accents and dialect words of the Yorkshire people interviewed in their flooded towns and cities last month was a joy to the ear.
It's either that or a bit of whatever the Proms concert will be that night.
Why not tour the country and lets heare the chimes from a different Town Hall clock each night?
Read a line from a poem each night. When it's finished, find time to read the entire poem. I suggest:
- THE BELLS, E A POE
- THE 6 O'CLOCK NEWS, Tom Leonard (https://www.tomleonard.co.uk/sixoclock.shtml)
Just say the word, and we'll be happy to oblige.
CHRIS TRAWIN
Honorary Secretary
Christ Church, Southgate Society of Bell Ringers
And no, admin annie, they don't 'all sound the same' - bells have personalities too!
Dear Blogmeister
To stand in for Big Ben
how about a nice loud
MOO
to keep our farmers spirits up
nb the "moo" should be in Welsh to please the language experts who have commented above.
yours ever so sincerely
Rebecca Riots
It used to drive me crazy as a kid, but now I rather miss it . . .
. . . so lets hear the closing them tune of the Magic Roundabout. It used to be a great intro to the news - the end of fun time, and now for some serious stuff.
Oh OK, just give us some pre-recorded bells from around the UK, then.
How about just going over to the Big Ben microphone as usual and catch the sounds of the maintenance work?
"Grunt. Oof! Clunk! Oops...clatter...bong-ong-ong-ong... That's done it. How 'bout a cuppa?"
There are plenty of other notable clocks in the UK as well as Big Ben. Why not have a regional selection of clocks chiming and striking at 6pm from around the country?
Big Ben pips suggestion
The first few notes of famous symphonies e.g. Beethoven's 5th?...
I liked the birdsong and found it informative, but a change is as good as a rest.....
What about...... a child/children chanting "bong" (my daughter used to do it along with Big Ben chimes)
OR
some people chanting "Om (Aum)" to centre the mind...
Eddie - Just before the Six o'clock news I think you should play the:- Ying tong ying tong Ying tong ying tong Ying tong iddle I po, song. Go on. ;-)
The sound of waves
It's got to be "the bells"; how many chimes on churches and other public and other private buildings are there, I wonder? OK perhaps not as inconic as "Big Ben", and maybe not as reliable for timing - so you'd have to rely, perhaps, on recording - but a wonderful opportunity. And just think of the jolly for the researcher and recordist. Travelling round Britain for a month, with a single mission.
I like the bells and the animal sounds and the UK dialects/languages ideas.
If it's 'Liilibulero', you ought to play a Jacobite or Irish nationalist tune in the interests of nalance.
Thought: if it's anima;s/wildlife, one week should be devoted to different species of frogs.
Tree frogs, bullfrogs, any more thoughts?
Following on from Chris (134)
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"- Stingray.
Competition! Competition!
I say go with (51) Virginia's suggestion... we could play Guess The News Presenter every day. That'd be hilarious!
We could send you pictures of what we're doing at five o'clock, and you could describe them.
Sid
I meant 'balance', of course.
Drat
And to remind folks of the Stingray intro:
Gosh that's a LOT isn't it?
We are now busy discussing all the ideas. More on the programme tonight.
I suggest a different primary school age child each day, telling their favourite joke.
Please not the birds again!
How about stick with bells but lets hear some tunes played from the famous Carillons of the Netherlands, Belgium or Northern France.
Bell ringing - I would like to hear parts of peels from different church towers. Change ringing is such a uniquely British (and in a few parts of the commonwealth) sound which should be celebrated. . Also as an activity, it cuts across all social boundaries. Bellringing is a declining activity and needs a bit of a boost. LETS HEAR IT FOR SUCH A JOYFUL AND EVOCATIVE SOUND.
ian (31) wrote: I think Eddie should sing a karaoke version of a current chart hit.
This gets all of my (telephone) votes. Especially as the lines have probably closed now.
Last night on hearing the news I rushed to the piano and whipped up a short, plaintive and respectful version of the chimes; made an mp3, and promptly got rid of it this morning in a moment of doubt. Still, I think it would be great to hear some PM listeners' interpretations of Big Ben - a harpist, a cellist etc.
Of course, if I was really naughty, I could suggest that I could stand in for Big Ben. :op
Eddie,
How's about giving the sun /moon set and rise times?
Lots of great ideas already posted above, but I don't think anyone has suggested The Shipping Forecast yet? For listeners who aren't still awake at 12.50 in the night this is a missed treat. I like the idea of different things for each week Big Ben is silent. The birdsong was great but maybe we need a new variant - perhaps non-English birds too (there are some great Australian ones), or birds doing non-bird noises like immitating telephones, building sites etc. PM could produce a bird identifying chart to go with the songs (just the sillouettes - like the Jaynes guides to aircraft and fighting ships, but do this quick before The Guardian realises this is the one chart they haven't yet done). So my proposal for the 4 weeks is:
Week 1 Shipping Forecast
Week 2 Unusual bird song
Week 3 Bell peals
Week 4 Guest clock recordings
Listeners to ring up the Listener Line and shout:
...." BONG!!! *
...plus their name (or nom de frog) in the gaps between.
Fifi
Eddie,
Can you please find a recording of the wonderful late John Snagge saying: "This is London" and play it just before the pips. It would bring back lots of memories for me of the days when the 大象传媒 could be trusted. Thank you.
Bells. Excellent. Civilised. Satisfying.
OR (if we want to be serious)
A sentence on what other news services are leading with: what's hot news in Sydney, or Kabul, or Amsterdam. Etc.
Has to be something we really appreciate and brings back great memories!
Hows about the standing ovation our sadly missed previous PM received from all his sychophants!!
"Thought for the Day"? like one of those daily calendars, with sayings by Confucius, Oscar Wilde, Madonna (oh, sorry, perhaps not her) et al?
A bit more on Town Criers. Something like Oh Yeah; Harken ye people to the news of the day.
Guess the car exhaust notes, would be fun...
How about animal mating calls? Pretty wide scope there!
as it's August, howabout sounds of the seaside?
I think we should all club together and buy you a miniature clock, digital of course, that is capable of mimicking the sounds of "Big Ben", and this would probably be far more reliable. It's time to come into the 21st century Eddie! No one would ever know...
Why all this fuss about what you are going to do without the Big Ben chimes ? Just play a recording of them ! After all most of what you get from the media these days isn't real.
I'm with Silver-fox (156) on this one.
Why not a shrill alarm, that can wake us up with seconds to spare in preparation for the 6 'o' clock news
I suggest you use the sounds of various old fashioned telephones ringing - like what yer used to have before they could be unplugged.
Hey Doc @ (187)
Where've you bin? (I mean where've you BEEN - not have you been in a bin) Great to hear from you again. :0)
Ruf
Dr Hackenbush (187), by jiminy it's good to see you back!
You're looking well; have you been ill?
Fifi xx
How about the sound of the explosion then Micahel Caine exclaiming "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!".
It's a long story, but talk to Or*nge broad-banned...
Eric - please tell me you won't make the final decision on this until you've read my belated suggestion (above). Thanks all.
Eddy
You could get yourself a copy of that very handy 大象传媒 special effects CD and re-run the one of Big Ben chiming every night, but you would have to spend about 5 minutes disclaiming it or you might get banged up by OFCOM for misleading the public.
Alternative: How about Mark E Smith saying, What is moderninity? (Yes, his exact word).
Dr H (187)
Excellent to "See" you again. And talking of old-fashioned telephones, I found today.
Just turned off your programme early because of my automatic reation to "The Archers" theme that was played without warning.
Perhaps a relavant sound would be roadworks on the A38, or any other main road for that matter....maybe a soundbite from different roadworks around the UK each day...?
Hey, sorry if I'm not in time, but what about changing the sound every other day - my own personal suggestion is to use the sound of Artic ice cracking and crashing into the sea. Why this is a good idea in terms of marking time - hardly needs explanation. Just think of the impact you could make on the consciousness and conscience of your listeners ...
Please .....this is too important not to do all we can to create discussion and prompt action.
Love the programme
A Dublin listener
The Month Python theme tune, timed so the raspberry falls on the hour.
Campanology please, bells ringing out across the countryside from a different church each day. Hot summer days, hay meadows and lying in the grass looking at the blue sky...
When Big Ben was silent for a time in the 1950's, Great Tom at St Paul's Cathedral deputised. This seemed very appropriate and had almost as much "gravitas" as Big Ben.
Whatever you decide, make it bearable - according to the official Parliament website the bells will fall silent until the middle of October (sorry if someone's already mentioned this but just too many comments to trawl through!).
uuugh.... the bells! the bells!
no more bells!!
Esmerelda, Esme, make them stop, pleeeease make them stop, I can't take any more....
aaaaaghhhggggggggggggggggh!
[I used to be a bell ringer, you know, but not any more]
1. aircraft engines and/or fly pasts e.g. hurricane, spitfire, concorde, tiger moth, lancaster, sunderland, tornado, buccaneer
2. whale song
3. classic motorcar engines
4. Positive history defining sound-bites e.g. Neil Armstrong, Churchhill, JFK, Martin Luther, Mandela
why not use various chimes from round London....
"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clement's
"You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's
"When will you pay me?" say the Bells of Old Bailey
"When I grow rich" say the Bells of Shoreditch
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow
What about the Radio 4 Theme instead of the chimes?
British birdsong please please!
Eddie, tell us a joke.
A little laugh to lighten the mood at the end of the show, go out on a high, leave them wanting more etc....
Just a thought
How about using the Lincolnshire Poacher?
A traditional British folk song and also the callsign of a famous (and supposedly British) spy number station.
It might put the wind up all those Russian agents in London...
I don't know what all the fuss is about, surely the 大象传媒 has a recording of the chimes it could play until the Real Mcoy is back in action......
I dare say that if there had not already been the publicity about the work on Big Ben would anyone have been any the wiser if a recording had been played?
How about silence. We get so little these days it would make a pleasant change.
How about a mixture of sounds e.g. birds between midnight-6am, traffic sounds from 6am-9am; domestic noises washing-machines, hoovers, coffee-percolating etc 9am-1pm; some suitable music to nap/snooze by 1pm - 3pm; a mixture of children's voices, laughing with snippets of children's tv/cartoon theme tunes - 3pm-6m; more traffic sounds 6pm - 8pm; dinner jazz 8pm - 10pm; relaxing sounds 10pm - midnight.
What about every hour the clock tells that sad idiot protesting was outside the houses of parliament to go and get a life
I meant to add to my 'mixture of sounds' comment that I would still like to hear the sound of a bell striking the hours - perhaps from different areas of the UK
what about natinal amthems this would be a good chance to find out what peace of music countries around the would represent themselvs with
Eddie
How about the pearls of wisdom from "The Tao of Bergerac"
Wise words indeed!!
Chris
How about a giant cookoo with the weather people popping out to say if it's going to be wet or dry?
my top three - birdsong church bells and random sounds of summer. Any of those would be pleasant to listen to.
Why not use a recording of................. Big Ben's chimes? Why make a fuss when the solution is so easy?
I agree with playing a tape of Big Ben for week 1 - then you could use the time to play an apology for defrauding and deceiving the public, abandoning the responsibilities of the 大象传媒 charter, in the slot on week 2. Maybe sneak another recording of Big Ben in for week 3, and then play a more sincere apology (as you are getting good at them recently) in week 4 - (or maybe just a recording of the original apology. Why not? No-one would know).
How about a nice cockernee sing song recorded live in an east end pub the previous night just to remind everyone how only London matters.
Or you could just have other bells from around the country for a nice change.
How about sounds of the summer ....
Cricket being played on the village green
The waves gently lapping the shore
Rain beating against the window
Wind blowing the leaves off trees !!!!
Ann
Black Lace - Do do do. Come on and do the conga. Choo-choo-choo.
That train across the floor. You-you-you. Come on and join the conga.
Do-do-do. It's conga night for sure.
What about the sound of the waves lapping against the sea shore, the wind whispering through the trees and the occasional light air craft humming away in the background?
Either that or a nice classical piano piece!
=)
Can you whistle....Eddie?
Could we have chimes from various Churches and clocks around Britain?
Dear Eddie,
The most endangered species on our planet in descending order? Presuming they all make a noise!
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence?
You've got me going now ...
The Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Jason Taylor (223)
Trio - Da Da Da? It's a bit more cosmopolitain
why not have something topical each day, depending on what's headlining in the news or that day's main discussion point?
Say hello and get on with reporting the news?
Why is routine maintenance to a national monument a news item? Is it because every 5 years it falls in August. If there's nothing to report nationally, why not promote a regional story that could have impact in more than one region of the UK or extend the international reports? Don't irritate the country with this old story that sits in file waiting to be used.
How about a cuckoo clock?
There are some great chiming clock towers throughtout the UK why not use this as an excuse to do a tour of UK clock towers and their chimes. Ask listeners to recomend their local clock !
I think the bongs should be substituted with moo's, alot more fun!
Guess the waterfall? May include waves breaking, fountains etc.etc.
I suggest you have the Nottingham Council clock - Little John. I am sure it would be easy to set up and it does have brilliant resonance and it can run over the headlines.
Hello Eddie, How's about some whale song? The sounds that a Humpback whale makes when it sings to its calf. A complete 鈥榮ub-phrase鈥 lasts around ten seconds and would slot perfectly into the gap left by Big Ben. I think it may have the added benefit of calming some of the more rabid folk I meet on the streets of our great capital (Assuming they were listening to your show)