ABSTRACT
*Barbara Burch died on Monday, January 30, 2012 (see pp. 10–11). When I reached out to shut her sightless eyes the time was exactly 11:55 am. Of this I can be sure thanks to the large timepiece that I could see through the window of St Thomas’ Hospital on the banks of the River Thames. And, five minutes after her final breath, it tolled 12 times. The bell that provided this public pronouncement of a private tragedy is a familiar landmark on the skyline of London and is known the world over as ‘Big Ben’. The metaphorical shadow cast over me by the bell and the building in which it is housed serves as the inspiration for this book.
