27 Astonishing Things You Didn't Know About London
9. Big Ben Isn't The Tower's Name
Here's one fact about London everyone should commit to memory. The iconic clock tower on the corner of the Palace of Westminster is not called Big Ben. The bell inside the tower is Big Ben. The tower itself is now called the Elizabeth Tower (it was renamed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee in 2012). Prior to that, the tower was properly referred to as the "clock tower", although journalists in Victorian times labelled it incorrectly as St. Stephen's Tower. Actually, St. Stephen's Tower is the small tower above the public entrance. This isn't at all confusing, is it?
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
