On Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:52:34 +0100, Nick Odell
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:23:22 +0100, Graham.
wrote:


Big Ben on FM or AM radio is sort of accurate to a second or so. It can
be heard most days on Radio 4 at 5 P.M., as well as other times.
Occasionally, to their great embarrassment, you can hear the announcer
talk over the start of the chimes.

That's standard procedure now, and has been for a year or so.

Certainly at 1800 and midnight, (Pips at 1700*, not Big Ben)
the intention was, barring accident to broadcast all the bongs
uninterrupted.

Now, the standard practice is to start reading the news headlines
after the first bong and fade them out after the third.

In both the above schemes the silence between the end of the forth
quarter chime and the first chime is filled with a station ID, time
check and "Good evening".

At midnight on New Year's Eve all 12 bongs are played in full, thank
goodness, but they still fill that poignant pause with an
announcement.
Total sacrilege IMHO.

* The 1700 pips on weekdays is followed by the start of "PM" which
used to have a theme tune, which was dropped around the time of 9-11
and never re-instated. Some of us die hard R4 listeners imagine we can
still hear it.


I think it's considered okay to talk over the chimes of BB after the
first couple because they go on so looooong. "Crashing the Pips" is a
no-no.

Announcers will talk over absolutely anything nowadays.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?