Big Ben

This is the pdf of my pamphlet:

http://courses.rhetorike.org/salvo/node/365

A lot of this blog was originally in my brochure but I ultimately decided that that didn't make sense.

Big Ben is the one of most famous and visited attractions in the world! People gather around the base of the tower to inspect it and then wander away to take pictures of the 16 story tall clock tower. I chose Big Ben as my mega project site because it's the epitome of the UK. Whenever movies are supposed to take place in England, a view of Big Ben and a double decker bus are usually all it takes for people to know it's London.

Big Ben is huge in popular culture! In London you can hardly walk down the street without seeing a model, postcard, or keychain of Big Ben. While I was studying Big Ben in London, Danielle, Bridget, and I were visiting with a friend of ours that happened to be working in London for the summer. He also happened to be wearing a Big Ben shirt and we happened to be staying in a hostel that a wall poster of Westminster Palace.

Unfortunately, everybody had seen Big Ben except for me, so I ended up going by myself. I already knew that non-UK residents were not allowed to tour Big Ben so I was going to have to content myself with examining it from the outside. I also knew that I was to get off at the Westminster tube stop. This was the first time I had traveled within London by myself so when I exited what I thought was the Westminster stop, I was alarmed to notice that there was no tower in sight. Now confused I turn around to see that, yes, this was the Westminster stop, but then where was Big Ben?

Oh, yes, behind me.

I proceed to take as many pictures of Big Ben from as many angles as possible, including trying some dramatic shots.

Since I wasn't allowed to tour Big Ben, I tried to experience the site as much as I could by watching, hearing, and smelling. I then tried to get more information on Big Ben, such as a information booklet or an actual book.

Neither of these were to be found. I even asked the street vendors if they had books, to which I received strange looks, followed by a slow "Noooo." Why on earth would anyone want to learn more about a tourist trap?

I then walked down to the Aquarium to see if they had any Big Ben merchandise to no avail. I did, however, get this really great shot of Big Ben in the background of this very majestic lion.

I then returned to document Boadicea. I thought her statue was gorgeous, but then of course I couldn't find any information on her either. The only thing I had to go on was the inscription on her statue.

Going on Dr. Salvo's recommendation, I wanted to learn about the relationship between Boadicea and Big Ben, so I went out on a limb (more like hand rail) to capture this picture of Boadicea and Big Ben facing off.

After I returned home, being unsuccessful in my endeavor to locate books on site about either of these monuments, I learned the stories of both. I wanted to know why Boadicea was facing Big Ben and it's because she's protecting British Parliament from the Romans.

I had decided through my frustration on lack of documentation that I wanted to make a brochure telling people what these two "tourist traps" were. This brochure is linked at the top of the page and I think that it gives a succinct history of both sites.