Order in the House

House of Commons agenda and pass

Abandoned tube station that is used in films such as Atonement and V for Vendetta

I made a gif

On Wednesday Dad and I had quite an awe-inducing time out in central London. Yes, I did play hooky from school but I promise it was worth it and very educational. Some time ago Dad wrote to our Member of Parliament, Siobhain McDonagh, asking for tickets to Prime Minister's Question Time. It is free and any citizen can apply for tickets to see different MP's questioning the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in the House of Commons for half and hour. It was very interesting- I learned so much about how the British political system works and felt especially fortunate to actually be inside the House of Commons and to walk through the Houses of Parliament...it was an overall engrossing experience. Ed Miliband, the Leader of the Opposition (Labour party), gets to ask Cameron six questions and then MPs are drawn from a hat to also ask their questions. It is a good way to ask about local issues that need solving and for the opposition to get Cameron flustered and make him look bad- he is known for having a bad temper and it was very funny to watch the opposition laughing at his expense. One particular MP became very excited when discussing eduaction- http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2012/jul/11/anne-marie-morris-mp-pmqs-video?newsfeed=true- and illustrates the comedic and 'showbiz'-like (as our MP put) atmosphere of Question Time. What's more, our MP invited Dad and me for lunch afterwards, much to our surprise! We ate at the Houses of Parliament on a terrace right  on the River Thames. I doubt I will ever be able to say that sentence truthfully ever again in my life, so it was pretty incomparable. 

After leaving the Houses of Parliament Dad and I walked to St. Paul's Cathedral which has been on our bucket list of London sights- we've marveled at the exterior countless times but had never been inside. It was very beautiful and grand. Prince Charles and Diana were married there and it makes much more sense than Westminster Abbey (Will and Kate's venue) because it is so light and spacious whereas the Abbey is much darker with its separate rooms and long corridors. We climbed to the top of the dome for an incredible view of the city and met some very friendly Americans ("Hi, I'm from Georgia! Where y'all from?"). After climbing back down we realized how exhausted we were, so left St. Paul's and took the tube home.

My friends may think it's strange to choose to take a day off school to meet my MP and tour a cathedral, but I love it.

P.S. I apologize if this is the hundredth time a double-decker bus has featured in the first picture of the blog post.