Britain

Now Britain! Terrorism and the refugee crisis is changing the world in how they live and how they think. Two terrorist incidents took place on London Bridge and the Borough Market just after the Manchester concert bombing. These incidents are the third attack in Britain within three months. The London attacks left 7 people dead and 48 people wounded. 23 people were killed in Manchester with dozens of people wounded. Over 9 million dollars was raised in the recent One Love Manchester Benefit Concert. Terrorists like to attack lively areas full of happy people and tourists. None of that complies with their religious beliefs. Now terrorists are home grown men who plow down people in vans, trucks or cars. They are an army of people who don’t proudly wear uniforms or work in groups. They want to commit suicide for their cause. As suddenly as the violence begins, it is over. People are then just left to pick up their dead and wounded.

A lot of the British spirit as well as lives have been lost recently. What is also being lost is traditions from our cultures due to modernization or just the will to no longer put the effort into long time traditions. The bells in the National Cathedral will be around for a long time as will the bells in every tower in England. The famous foundry that cast those bells will soon be a tradition from the past. London’s White Chapel Bell Foundry has been making historic bells for over one hundred years. The place was established in 1570 and now they will be closing its doors forever.  Historical facts say the place could have been established as early as 1420. That is more than a Century before Shakespeare was born!

It is the oldest continuing operating business in the United Kingdom. This is the company that produced the bells for Westminster Abby and as well as the bells for Big Ben. It is more about the fabulous bell sounds than the clock but both are historic sites that don’t need terrorism creating havoc there. The fact of the matter is that these days we don’t need bells. They were the way of communicating basic information to a largely illiterate population. Now we serve those people with social media sites. Bells used to actually warn people of invading armies. Now the enemies don’t stand proudly in their uniforms with flags sewn into the fabric. They just randomly destroy innocent people’s lives.

So, now there is no practical purpose for bells and their popularity is down. We like bells but we don’t need them any longer. The foundry is located right in the middle of one of London’s hottest neighborhoods.  So, now prime real estate tops tradition. The world will be losing a connection with history with the closing of the bell making factory. America’s first Liberty Bell was made at the foundry. The loss of a 500 year old tradition is as sad as the loss of lives. So say farewell to the lost lives due to senseless terrorism and say a farewell to a bit of British tradition as well.