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Woldingham Goes to Westminster

On Friday 21st June, the Lower Sixth politics groups enjoyed an informative tour of the Houses of Parliament. After a customary visit to Pret a Manger for lunch, we walked to Westminster and our first stop was Number 10 Downing Street. With only one week to go as Prime Minster, we were disappointed that Tony Blair was not at home. Apparently, the European Union summit was a more important call on his time.

After meeting our Parliament guide at the sovereign’s entrance, we then followed the route the Queen takes on the State Opening of Parliament, through the robing room, into the Royal Gallery and the House of Lords. We learnt about many of the strange traditions and customs of Parliament, including why there is a small curtain around the bottom of the public gallery in the Lords – to hide the disturbing sight of ladies’ ankles in Victorian times (and possibly modern times too…). From here we proceeded into the lobbies and chamber of the House of Commons, which always seems so much smaller in ‘real life’. It was a fascinating glimpse into our great institution of Parliament, and the lower 6th thoroughly impressed our guide with their knowledge of the ins and outs of parliamentary business!

We were intrigued by the collection of tents on the green outside Parliament, so we went to have a look at the ‘permanent’ protest of Brian, who has been a passionate campaigner against the Iraq War for a number of years. Unfortunately, the man himself was unavailable for comment, having popped out for a sandwich, but we had a good look at his campsite and protest posters. With food still featuring highly on everyone’s agenda, we grabbed a quick bowl of noodles in Wagga Mammas before heading back to the valley.