Parliament Day!

Today I had one class, Modern British Politics, and we got to visit Parliament. I walked down to the tube by myself ready for my first solo tube ride (I realized today that I have always been with at least one other person on the tube). When I got to the platform, I found Mitch and Becky and joined up with them. We took the train to Westminster to meet everyone. We waited a few minutes for everyone to get there and then headed across the street to the Houses of Parliament.

Me, Becky, Professor Fosdal and Caitlin at Westminster tube station. (Photo cred goes to Caitlin on this one)

We went through a security check at the entrance. Our picture was taken and put on a visitor tag that we wore around our necks. I took, what was dubbed by Caitlin to be, the worst picture of our whole group. I have included it for your enjoyment.

Maybe the worst picture ever taken

The first place we went was Westminster Hall. It is a giant room that was built 900 years ago. It originally was used as a market place but now is the entrance to Parliament and used for special events. We then turned a corner and headed in to the dead center of Parliament.

Westminster Hall. This picture really doesn't do it justice, it was absolutely massive.

This was the last place we could take pictures.

First, we went to the House of Commons. They deal with all of the day-to-day issues and debate important matters. We sat up in the Public Gallery which is a balcony above the chamber. Today they were discussing an immigration bill and flaws in their plans for deportation. It was a little hard to follow but it was pretty interesting. I really enjoyed it. We stayed for a bit and then went over to the House of Lords. The Lords are generally much older and not very exciting. The general topic of discussion was Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom. There is going to be a vote in September as to whether or not Scotland wants to continue to be a part of the U.K. so it's a very hot topic right now. The argument we heard was the effects Scotland's independence would have on Great Britain's Olympic team, which was a very oddly specific and seemingly trivial subject. Before we went in to the House of Lords, Fosdal informed us that we all were required to play the game "How Many Lords Are Asleep." Because they are fairly old, and the topics are a little slow and boring, many of them fall asleep. I only saw one but someone else said they found 3. Even though the House of Lords was a little boring, the entire day was fascinating. I really enjoyed going and seeing everything in person.

After Parliament, Mitch, Becky and I went to Pret for a snack and headed home. I've had a really good day and I have an exciting weekend planned so be prepared for that!

JessLynn