January 21: Lunch, Parliament and a Concert

With friends at Maggie Jones'

At noon today we had a lunch set up by the program at a very nice little local restaurant, "Maggie Jones'." We had selected our 3 courses in advance: I had chosen an avocado vinaigrette salad, a smoked chicken and avocado salad, and lemon sorbet. It was a wonderful meal. The restaurant is a nice place, decorated to resemble a cozy cottage, with dried flowers and lots of antiques for decoration. It was rather dark, lighted by candles stuck into wine bottles, but I got a window seat (which was also right next to a beautiful flowering light-pink cymbidium orchid). The food was great. My starter salad came with half an avocado and excellent dressing, and the chicken salad was tasty as well. The sorbet was very good, but it was absolutely freezing in the building, so I kind of wished I'd ordered a warm dessert (or as they say here, "pudding"). One of my friends had ordered "Burned Cream" (Creme Brule), and decided it was too sweet to finish, so I took care of it for her.

After, I raced home to change for a tour of Parliament. We took the tube there to meet our guide. I was very, very impressed. Before we went through security, they sent us to have our pictures taken, and printed off a small photo with id numbers and such to wear around our necks while we were in the building. We had to go through metal detectors and x-ray machines, of course, before we could go in. The main hall (Westminster Hall, built in the 11th century) is absolutely incredible. I hadn't realized that Parliament is housed in the old Westminster Palace-a place where kings held banquets and gatherings. It's where Braveheart was tried in 1305 and where Guy Fawkes was found guilty of the gunpowder plot in 1605, where Charles I was deposed in 1649, and where many monarchs and important people have laid in state (it's where Winston Churchill laid in state in 1965, and most recently, where the Queen Mother laid in state 2002). It's a big old gray room, with beautifully carved wooden beams near the ceiling, and several staircases on the sides. Supposedly, one of the staircases once led to a prison/torture chamber. At the back, there are steps where those on trial would have been seated, and also where the monarch or government official would make speeches.The room opens into what is now the working area of Parliament.

I was so amazed by the rooms we visited. They were far richer and more lovely than I would have imagined, with golden decorations, and sparkling mosaics of roses and thistles and shamrocks and leeks (symbols of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales) on ceilings and floors. Nearly every room contains paintings that I have studied or seen at some point in my life, paintings of monarchs, or politicians, or battles. One of my favorite rooms glorified the Tudor rule, and was decorated by portraits of those important to the Tudors, starting with Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Prince Arthur, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr, Prince/King Edward VI, Queen Mary and Philip of Spain, Elizabeth I and several of her more important courtiers. The paintings were beautiful, and can remember seeing several of them as book covers and entries in textbooks. The House of Lords was spectacular, with the golden throne for the monarch. I remember taking a "virtual tour" of Parliament when I studied the British political system in high school, so it was amazing to see things first-hand. They looked stunning on the computer screen, but in real life it was all breath-taking. We were able to sit on the benches the members use when they fill out their voting ballots and see the trick panels in the walls that serve as writing desks. We had a very good guide, which helped. I hope to sit in on a session in the near future. (We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the building, unfortunately, so the only pictures I have are the ones above, taken in Westminster Hall. Sorry for the quality-by the time we got there, it was dark.)

Big Ben and the London Eye after dark

When we finally emerged from Parliament, it was around 6, and we had a concert to make at 7:30, so there was no time to go home and eat. On the advice of Mary, our program's director, I went to St Martin-In-The-Fields church, the site of the concert, and visited the cafe there for a light dinner. I got a wonderful soup made of spinach, bacon, and sausage, but it was a little different texture-wise, as they seem to delight in pureed soups here. In spite of that, it was delicious, as was the giant rosemary roll it came with for £3. something. I ate dinner with Mary and some friends, then headed up to the concert. It was a "Mozart and Handel By Candlelight" concert, conducted by Ivor Setterfield. The church is pretty, painted white and decorated with gold flowers and cherubs and scrollwork above the altar. There was a big central window that must have at one point been stained glass, but had obviously recently been replaced by a weird modern interpretation of a cross surrounding an egg-shaped, off-kilter light. It seemed totally off with the rest of the decor, but oh well. The music was amazing. awe heard some of the best pieces by Mozart and Handel, including Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," "Adagio and fugue for strings," and "Salzburg Symphony No 1," as well as Handel's "Air from Water Music," "Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 6," and "Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 12), as well as Vivaldi's "Winter from the Four Seasons," and Bach's "Air on a G String." The musicians were all amazing, and it was a lovely way to spend the night.