Little Bit o’ Light for Lilabet

Nineteen years ago when I was in Europe, some friends and I went to see Big Ben* all lit up at night. It was spectacular! I still remember coming up from the tube and just stopping at the breathtaking sight of Big Ben illuminated. Unfortunately, most of my pictures were damaged by a smudge on the negatives. But here’s a picture of what we saw that night–fabulous, I’m telling you, fabulous.

If Big Ben looked that good, we decided Buckingham Palace would be lit fit for a king (or a queen as the case may be). On that cold night we hiked all the way to the Palace; a mile as I remember. What a disappointment–almost a complete black out.

Well, Queen Elizabeth, Lilabet to those in the know, finally got the memo I sent her! The front of Buckingham Palace will now be lit from sunset to 11:00 P.M. every night. They are even using "LED" lighting to conserve costs. This is way cool, but the Chicago Tribune reports that many visitors are unimpressed. They even quote a woman from eastern England as saying, "I’ve got better lights on my house." (I’m not sure if this is a fair comparison. Don’t you think this woman’s house is probably a tad smaller and cheaper to light?)

Yet something else to add to my to-do list if I ever go back to the United Kingdom!

*Yes, yes, I know. Technically, Big Ben isn’t lit at all because the name "Big Ben" really only refers to the biggest bell in the clock tower; not the whole clock tower as generally used–but you know what I meant.