A visit to London - Covent Garden and the Houses of Parliament

 Yesterday, Tuesday, I went on another coach trip with the Broomfield Coach Trips group, this time into London for a couple of hours around Covent Garden and then the afternoon at the Houses of Parliament.

When we left, it was lovely and sunny but it clouded over and we drove through some fairly heavy rain.  It was still drizzly when we got off outside Jamie Oliver's eating place on Catherine Street (no, I didn't, but one day I will) but it soon dried up and the rest of the day was fine and, sometimes, sunny.

I've been to Covent Garden before - it seems to be a favourite 'use up some time' destination for the group, so I knew where to go and what to expect.  It doesn't change - some up-market-ish little shops, some craft stalls and an awful lot of tourist overpriced 'stuff'.  I took some photos . . .

They haven't really uploaded in the right order but not to worry - here's a rather supercilious turtle statue. . .

. . . and the full version.

It is part of the Tusk Turtle Trail:  I quote . . .

Featuring 16 life-sized turtle sculptures displayed across iconic London locations around Covent Garden, each sculpture in the trail is uniquely decorated by globally renowned artists and celebrities including the likes of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood & Dragons' Den entrepreneurs Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett.

The trail aims to raise awareness of the threats to marine turtles and the importance of their conservation, the trail aims to raise to use creativity, public art and storytelling for good. 
Here's a link to a YouTube video about it. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNBfCE8pGJU

A very good string sextet, well worth listening to in the flesh.  I video-ed a clip but the sound is terrible - here's the clip but, please, turn the sound off and just watch them - they put on a good show.

Two layers of Covent Garden!

Yes, I did, and very nice it was too.  One scoop of honeycomb ice-cream and we won't mention how much it cost, OK?

A way in and spot another turtle.

I didn't realise this was here until I had spent some time wandering around so didn't really have enough time so, when this next happens and I am booked, this is what I will do.

It didn't stop me buying a few fridge magnets because they were three for two and I wanted two of them.  I got one advertising the museum, a map of the underground and one that seems to be focusing on the future for transport sort of thing.

Se all piled back into the coach and drove the very short distance to the Houses of Parliament.  Given the traffic, it probably would have been quicker to walk but my feet were already killing me so I was glad of the rest and, judging by comments, so were a number of others.  We do all tend to be of the retired genre!

So off we got and walked the short distance to the entrance.

This is a Henry Moore bronze abstract sculpture called Knife Edge Two Piece and it's in College Green Park, the other side of the road from the HoP and with Westminster Abbey in the background.

Some of us walking along, doing our best to stay together.

The whole thing is very imposing and speaks of power, might and money.

There's been a building on or near this site from the time of Canute and Edward the Confessor but very little trace remains.  However, not all that long afterwards, William II (William Rufus, son of the Conqueror) had build the building that is now called Westminster Hall, still the largest royal hall in Europe.  It was original a Royal Palace (it's still called The Palace of Westminster) and was used as such by medieval monarchs until Henry VIII decided it wasn't safe after a fire and decamped down the road to Whitehall Palace - how nice to have that option, eh?

However, it was far more than merely a royal residence.  The exchequer was based there, as were the law courts (Guy Fawkes and Charles I were both tried and condemned in this hall) and the beginnings what morphed over hundreds of years into the parliament we now know was based there too.

We walked past a statue of Richard I, the Lionheart, famed for his warlike and crusading tendencies but, really, a pretty Bad King.

And here's Oliver Cromwell with Big Ben in the background - I mean the Queen Elizabeth Tower, of course; Big Ben is the bell.

We had to go through security, of course - and I mean Security with a capital S.  Basically airport security with guns galore.  No photos of police with guns - I wouldn't dare ask - they looked incredibly fierce and kind of scary, which is fair enough!  It could be a very dangerous job.

Once through Security (very efficient), we ended up in Westminster Hall  where we had to wait until it was our turn.  We were a big group so were split into two and my group went second which gave me time to look round the hall and visit the shop (and loo).

Yes, I got my magnet and I also invested in a couple of official guide books, one of the Palace of Westminster and the other of Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower - because I'm interested and will enjoy reading them at my own leisure.

There was a whole lot of info about previous leading politicians.

Wise words from Charles James Fox, Britain's first Foreign Secretary.
I wish they were followed more today.

Some things never change.  They might have been more witty but politicians have always sniped at each other and, sadly, I guess they always will.

I have to confess, this one made me smile.

One of many stained glass crests/windows

They were improving the lighting in the hall and it made me chuckle that we came all the way from mid Essex to see something from our home town.  Check the words on the side of the lifting machine thingy.

This caught my eye.

There were plenty of other plaques set in the floor.  The late Queen Elizabeth lay in state in this hall of course.

I could take a photo of that because there were too many people standing around covered that plaque.

Apparently, the stone work is Victorian.  It was to protect the original stonework which is behind it.

This was Rose, our guide.  She was fab, really interesting and informative .  She was miked up and we had headphones, something that worried me a bit but I found that by positioning the headphones just above my ears and at the top of the aids, it was as clear as a bell and I heard everything perfectly.  That doesn't always happen.

This was interesting.  It is a modern stained glass window between Westminster Hall and St Stephen's Hall and it is illuminated according to the tides of the River Thames which runs alongside, of course.

This was it looked like at the start of the tour . . .

. . . and at the end, about 75 mins later.

I found this via Google.

On 7 June 2016, 'New Dawn' was unveiled in Westminster Hall. The date marked the 150th anniversary of John Stuart Mill presenting the first mass women's suffrage petition to the House of Commons, to the day.

'New Dawn' is a contemporary artwork by Mary Branson celebrating the long campaign for women's suffrage (the right to vote). It draws on concepts and imagery connected with Parliament and the women's suffrage movement. Among these, the back-lit glass 'scrolls' represent the many individuals and groups involved in the votes for women movement, and incorporate the colours used by women's suffrage organisations. Of particular significance to Branson were the petitions presented to Parliament between 1866 and 1918 - more than 16,000 petitions, containing more than 3 million signatures.

I thought that very interesting.

We passed on through St Stephen's Hall which is on the site of St Stephen's Chapel.  Edward VI (Henry VIII's son, a boy king) gave permission for the Commons to sit in the disused chapel and this continued until a devastating fire in 1834  destroyed most of the medieval palace.  The layout of opposing seats remains the model for both Houses today.

This was the last place we were allowed to take photos.  We were taken through the lobbies, the various areas, into both Houses (very impressive but a lot smaller than one would think, and back out to Westminster Hall to end the tour.  Sorry, no photos but I have a lot of mind pictures of what I have seen.  An odd mixture of tradition, conflict, debate, magnificence, status, class and the very heart of Government in the UK.

I want to go back and do this tour again after a while - there was so much to take in and to look at, one got mentally tired after a while.

The journey home was very slow at first; the streets of London were totally rammed and I truly don't know how they do it - I'd be terrified.  There were loads of those motorised bicycles too, dodging in and out and using their designated lanes sometimes . . .

We went through rain on the way back but it was sunny by the time we stopped.

Such a good trip.  Thanks, Ray, Jan and friends.  And, incidentally, it was so nice to have Ray along, seemingly fully recovered from his health scare.

Back to normal again tomorrow.