Translations, coaching, interpreting

*The Sound of London*
The story of our naming London, 1858 When in 1858 the Houses of Parliament in London were enriched by a bell weighing 13.5 tons, for the perfection of the famous clock tower, the Members of Parliament felt the need to give the respectable new arrival a proper name. This was easier said than done, however. What name were they going to give to the new bell? When one of those present suggested to name the bell after one of their renowned members, Sir Benjamin Hall, who was informally referred to as 'Big Ben', since "from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people", this suggestion was welcomed with loud cheers. The new bell was to bear the name of Big Ben, for it was the largest bell known, a better name was unthinkable. We all know the sound of Big Ben. It is often heard, after the well-known smaller bells, booming the hour over the radio, especially when tuning in on the BBC. The clockwork in the tower is always guaranteed to be right on time. If any of the cogwheels shrink from the severe cold in winter, the clock tends to be one second fast, while the heat in summer may work exactly the other way. However, these deviations are immediately corrected by the "clock-watcher", who puts a halfpenny on the weights to add just that little extra weight for the clockwork to continue to give the right time. Nieuwegein, 1987 On Monday 16 February 1987, after successful preparations, our translations agency was born. Just like all other things it needed a proper name. Preferably a bell-like, resounding name. Bearing in mind the punctual clock-tower in London, on which we would like to pattern ourselves, we could hardly do otherwise than call it Big Ben. It seemed logical to add a word, expressing our key activity: Translations. This is how we have been registered with the Chamber of Commerce and factories in Utrecht ever since: Big Ben Translations. So many years later Now many years have passed and see: the translations agency has grown into a flourishing company, not only known in Nieuwegein or the Netherlands, but in fact world-wide. Our co-operation with translators all over Europe enables us to offer our clients high-quality translations from and into all languages. You needn't search high and low for good translators, if a text must be translated into, say, four languages. All is kept in the safe hands of one agency. And should any order meet with a delay, (or other untoward event) due to the cold or whatever, Big Ben Translations will take up the task of the clock-watcher and put an extra coin on the weights.

The story of our naming

Nieuwegein, 1987

So many years later