Parliament

Today is my last full day in London, tomorrow morning I'll be on a train headed to Oxford.

I started out the day with a trip to the Starbucks down the road to get internet access and connection to the world outside my island summer home. Going a week without a steady internet connection was brutal, at times I didn't think I'd make it, I even shouted "Go on without me!" out loud once much to the chagrin of everyone else in the Tube. But I've done it. I don't know how all those people I've learned so much about this week possibly managed. 

Blake and I went to an early afternoon tour of Parliament, which was awesome. We started in the room where the Queen gets prepared to give a speech to the House of Lords, with its paintings and statues of Royalty, and a series of carvings depicting the story of King Arthur around the walls. The room for the House of Lords was very interesting, and we learned about the protocol and how one becomes a member. There are only 92 out of 792 seats that are still hereditary-given, with the others coming by party-appointments.

The rooms connecting that with the House of Commons were all fascinating too, with my favorites being the room with the painting of the Speaker of the House standing up to the King when he demanded to see the list of MP's he wanted, and the room with the statues and busts of important former-Prime Ministers. A neat tradition is for newly elected Conservative MP's to rub the shoe of the Churchill statue as they walk into the room to be sworn in, and for Liberal Democrats to rub the shoe of Lloyd George standing opposite him. There are also full statues of Thatcher, Attlee, Asquith, and a couple others. It was a really neat way to tie up my trip to London, seeing and hearing about these powerful figures I read about all summer.

The room for the House of Commons was very cool to see in person. I watched the Prime Ministers Question Hour a few Wednesdays this past year, and I got to stand in the same spot I se it happen in. There were a few tours going on in the room, and mine got to stand on the side the Government sits, with the other tours over on the Opposition side. I've grown to know a lot about the Parliamentary system, and admire a lot of the way it operates. It has also taught me to love and be more critical on my own form of government.

We ended the tour in Britain's largest Great Hall, which was a huge, ceremonious room with a ceiling that was near a thousand years old. It was a great tour, and I am very happy I took it.

We went back to meet our friends at the apartment to plan ahead for our day of travel tomorrow. I need to find my train times and get all packed up. I also may try and stop by Trafalgar Square on my last night here. I am extremely grateful to have been able to spend this week here, as are my friends. Starting tomorrow you will be reading, loyally no doubt, as I write from Oxford. Cheerio.