Friday: Parliament

So you're all probably well aware of the symbol I can't seem to quit taking pictures of....Big Ben. It's so beautiful, and reminds me of so many things (namely a part of the movie Peter Pan)...and I have more pictures of this clock than anyone would ever need. But I love it, so deal.

At any rate, what you may or may not know is that clock is attached to Parliament. The rest of that massive building is where the House of Commons and the House of Lords is. We took a tour of Parliament, and got to take the Sovereign's Entrance (Victoria Tower) and the "Queen's route" that she takes when she comes into Parliament to give her annual speech each November. (Apparently it's similar to our state of the union address, only she doesn't stutter, pronounces everything correctly, and sits on an enormous golden throne that was built in 1845.)

So we started off in the Sovereign's Entrance, and our tour guide gave us some history regarding the things we were seeing as we waited to go through airport-like security, where every person gets patted-down and people/bags go through an x-ray machine, etc. As we waited, we learned that the building that stands today was rebuilt in 1845 after the fire. Kings of England had lived on that property for centuries. Henry VIII (you may remember him and his wives) was that last King to live on this site.

And of course there was no photography permitted for the most beautiful aspects of this tour, so you'll have to bear with my descriptions.

There are some other neat tidbits regarding the history of government here. They have a copy of the death warrant with wax seals all over it from 1649, that was a warrant for Charles I. Oliver Cromwell tried Charles for treason, and he was hung drawn and quartered. There was no Sovereign for 9-10 years after that, but Charles II came back in 1660 (from Paris) and reigned.

Some things you need to know about British Parliament (or just "Things I found interesting"):

• The sovereign may never enter the House of Commons, they may only enter the House of Lords. There is a messenger at the door to relay messages from the sovereign to the House of Lords, down a long hallway.


• Most everything within Parliament's decorations on the inside of the building has something to do with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. (initials, paintings, etc. everywhere). Victoria came to the throne at age 18 and reigned for 64 years (the all-time record thus far).


• Enormous beautiful murals hang on the walls representing different parts of England's history. Two of the ones I particularly liked were the Battle at Waterloo (It was a naval battle against the French. and Duke Wellington was the man in charge of that victory); and also the Death of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. It's really incredible to see the paintings and realize that I'm sitting in the same spot where a battle happened.


• During WWII Parliament was bombed, so the House of Commons was rebuilt in 9 years time. The archway into the House of Commons is still damaged, you can see the blemishes from the bombing in the stone.

I don't know how many of you know this, but I really like to watch the House of Commons on CSPAN. I particularly liked watching it when Tony Blair would have to answer rapid-fire questions and everyone would shout their agreement or disagreements at him. Neat thing? I stood in that room. Let me tell you about it.

House of Commons

First. all of the benches are green. For the most part, seating is on a first-come-first-serve basis, though depending on which way they voted on a particular issue they're discussing that day, the two sides (that face each other) will sit on the Aye or Noe side.

The Sergeant at Arms carries what's called a Mace, or a silver sceptre-type thing that is representative of the sovereign's presence as the House of Commons does business. On top of the table in the middle of the room, there are brackets on which to place the Mace. Only the Sergeant at Arms is permitted to touch the Mace. Pretty cool. I need to look for that when I watch it on CSPAN again.

The carpet is also green, but there are two long red lines in front of either row of benches that are apparently 2 swords-length long, so people who disagree may not draw their swords on one another. (Obviously this was an older rule.) There is also a sign above the cloakroom requesting them to "Hang Swords Here" on hooks, but instead that's where they place their umbrellas (which they need most of the time here.)

Westminster Hall

Westminster Hall is enormous. This is the place is the oldest remaining building on the site, and dates back to 1097. I did get a chance to take some pictures of this hall, as well as the stained-glass window within it. This place is not only huge, but it is incredibly easy to see how it worked for people hundreds of years ago, as a center for commerce, celebrations, proclamations, etc. Really neat.

And we ended our trip to Parliament with some pics just outside the building, since I'd never been able to get behind those big black fences before. I also took a picture of Big Ben again, from an angle that I'd never seen before with my own eyes.

After the Tour....

We were left to our own devices, so Rachel and I went to Oxford Circus (the main drag with all of the shopping) to hopefully find some jeans and maybe a jacket....I didn't really bring warm enough clothes on this trip. But I was quickly irritated with the numerous shoppers all clamoring around in H&M and TopShop looking for bargains, and soon I didn't want to be shopping at all. (Not to mention that these are incredibly long days with a LOT of standing and walking, so my feet often feel like bloody stubs.) After shopping, we went to Doggett's for dinner, another pub on the banks of the Thames, and saw the Myspace DirtyBeach guy. This guy is on the beach of the Thames everyday creating art in the sand. It's really neat art....and he's also a pretty attractive person wearing....a kilt. That's it. A kilt. So I took some pictures for all of you who may be interested in the eye candy....and of course, art. :o)

And then it ended up being a pretty late night at the Cheshire Cheese (in the old city) and then Wetherspoon's...the only pub we've found so far open past 11pm. So it was a long day. I have met some cool people, and so far everything is great!

Today (Saturday) was a day off, so I have been attempting to catch-up a bit. I took a nap, started some laundry, doing homework, went over to Camden Town to shop a bit, but for the most part I'm taking it easy. On Monday we've got class-related things again, and more than likely I'll be attempting to get schoolwork done tomorrow. Time is flying by, yet I still feel like there is more to see and not enough time to squeeze it all in. I miss talking to you all and will be diligent about updating this as often as possible!