As the hammer struck Big Ben at 9am I was mesmerised. It was a sound I'd heard from the ground thousands of times over the years, but to be there right in front of it was something else. Holding on to a metal girder, as well as hearing the sound, I felt the vibrations through my body and it made me feel an incredible connection to the past.
In a world that is becoming increasingly taken over by technology and AI, it was amazing to know that the Victorian workmanship and engineering was still being respected and looked after by the current custodians. Nowadays nothing seems built to last but the Victorians did things differently. And after the lengthy refurbishment, the sound of Big Ben will be heard for years to come.
A Personal Challenge
And it's something I never thought I'd be able to do, as someone with incurable bowel cancer who can get out of breath on the way back from the shops. It wasn't a bucket list thing per se, especially as my bucket list is just a fairly long list of buckets, but I was there for a feature I've written for today's Daily Express.
When I got the date through to go up the Elizabeth Tower I thought it would be fine as there were eight days between my chemotherapy treatment and climbing a tower with a lot of stairs. During those eight days I knew I could get through the gruelling chemotherapy side-effects – the pains in the legs, the nausea, the tiredness, and everything else.
NHS Appointment Battle
That was because I'd forgotten about the wonders of my so-called world-leading cancer hospital and the constant battle for appointments. Instead of booking my treatment on the day I was expecting it to happen, after much discussion, the wondrous NHS booked it for the day before I was due to be attempting the 334 steps to get to the belfry in the Elizabeth Tower.
I discussed it with a nurse at my cancer hospital and she seemed visibly worried when I told her about the number of steps. My confidence that I'd make it up to the top of the tower fits in with the attitude that I try and have about incurable cancer.
Mental Health Support Campaign
It will kill me but I'm not going to let it destroy my everyday existence. If I want to go up a tower I'm going to go up a tower. If I want to stay out all night then that's what I'm going to do (though I probably won't because it's getting cold in the evenings and there aren't as many places to go as there were in the past and also I get tired).
I think I would have arrived at this mindset much more quickly if there was proper emotional and mental health support for cancer patients, to help them get through any issues they have. This is what the Daily Express's Cancer Care campaign has been focused on since its inception in January 2025, and I'll keep pressing the issue this autumn to ensure that the Government and the NHS sticks to the promises they made about mental health support back in February, when Wes Streeting was Health Secretary.
As anyone with cancer will know, a big part of it is doing the best for yourself. That's why I cheated at the Palace of Westminster and took the service lift to the belfry instead of climbing the stairs. But it's definitely worth the climb of 344 stairs for visitors on a guided tour to witness the spectacle for themselves.
