Tough being disappointed while in London.
Friends were there several months ago and Big Ben was covered in scaffolding.
Life goes on——as does maintenance.
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I download a lot of TV programs from British torrent sites. In 2017 they had a program about how Big Ben was going to be silenced for up to 5 years, and Queen Elizabeth's Tower was going to be covered in scaffolding for restoration work. The program showed them doing various things to get ready for it. It was very interesting. It must seem strange not to hear Big Ben on a regular basis. It is only supposed to be ringing during this period on special occasions only.