Yesterday we visited Parliament.
There were a few protestors outside of the building.
Protesting mostly the war and the rising cost of tuition. The tuition here is still astronomically cheaper than some of the private schools in the U.S. Take Cambridge for example. It costs 9,000 pounds per year to attend, which is around $15,000 compared to Harvard's $52,000 tuition! Students in the U.K. are protesting because of the rise to 9,000 pounds from what used to vary from 3,000-6,000 pounds. On the other hand, they very rarely received grants and scholarships. It's a fun place to be with so much debate about a topic that's so relevant to my generation.
The architecture of Westminster Palace (the building where Parliamentary government takes place) is Parallel Perpendicular Gothic Style.
Big Ben-which fyi, is actually the bell in the tower, not the tower itself if you'd care to know-from the rear side of the building.
The lights have little crowns on the top of them :)
This is the oldest part of Westminster Palace completed from 1097-1099. The ceiling is made of wood and decorated with angels, which back in the day, cost only 15 shillings each to make-only about $1!
Many famous people have had their public wake viewings here such as the Queen Mum and Sir Winston Churchill. Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II recently gave her annual opening of Parliament speech in this room. The Pope, Bill Clinton, and Nelson Mandela have also all spoken in this room.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside so I snuck these off of the internet. This is the House of Lords. This picture shows the annual opening of Parliament where the Queen comes and reads the speech that the Prime Minister of the day has written. She is driven to the palace in a carriage and then enters a robing room to dress with the cape and crown and enters into the house.
The throne in the House of Lords where only The Queen herself sits. It was refurbished for 2 million pounds just a few years ago! There is much debate going on now with the new Prime Minister David Cameron along with his coalition government and the minority leader Nick Clegg about the role of the House of Lords. The reason for much debate is the thought that in a modern day society, should there really still be a house that is not elected and can only be entered by birth. I saw some of the lords walking around and they seemed to be pretty nice and intelligent guys, so I wouldn't be educated enough to decipher what would be most advantageous for the U.K.
This is the House of Commons, located just 800 meters down the corridor from the House of Lords. There are 650 members of Parliament or MP's that are elected representatives from around the United Kingdom including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England. The Prime Minister is the authority figure in this house as is The Queen in the House of Lords. The Prime Minister, being elected, does actually, I don't even know if I can say this without being charged for treason, have more power than The Queen. He has the power to say when things are done and how they are done, and she is more of a symbolic figure. Since the House of Commons is an elected house, no member of royalty is allowed inside the chamber and there has not been since 1642 under the reign of King Charles I. Since the Queen cannot summon the MP's herself, members of the House of Commons are summoned to the opening of Parliament by the Queen's messenger affectionately called "Black Rod" because he walks down the corridor from the House of Lords to the House of Commons with a black rod and then proceeds to pound at the door with it. The MP's symbolically yell at him and tell him to go away and slam the door in his face and then he knocks again; this time the MP's agree to follow behind him. It's all very ceremonial and historically symbolical. Check out the link below if you want to see it for yourself :) It's really interesting!
Tomorrow I'm helping with a photo shoot at work and am really excited as I've never seen one in action before. We're using the vacant room next door that has these huge windows so it should be really great! Saturday I'm going to a rugby game so that should be interesting! I don't even know the rules or teams, so I might just cheer for the ones that are wearing the best colors haha! :)I'm sure it'll be great!
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