19 March 2010
The debating society, amidst a busy season of house public speaking and fervent dinner debates, took a day out to visit a landmark of our cultural heritage – the Houses of Parliament. The day was a brilliant success with boys and staff equally captivated by two remarkable sites – the Jewel Tower and the Houses of Parliament.
The six of us that make up the Abingdon debating committee (or ‘inner circle’), together with a lucky assortment of hopefuls for next year’s committee, travelled to London on the Oxford Tube. Arriving in the Big Smoke before we knew it, and slightly behind schedule after a delayed start, we hastily set out for the Jewel Tower (that said, not all of us visited the Jewel Tower - in fact Chairman Matt Copson exploited the free bus ride to audition for the esteemed part of ‘Teddy Lupin’s son’ in the new Harry Potter film). But for those without these thespian distractions, the sheer size and majestic glory of the building made an impressive spectacle. We were shown into a room which documented the rise of parliament from its origins, past the Glorious Revolution until the present day. This was very interesting indeed, particularly appreciated since a disproportionate number of the debating society study history. With it so appealing to our historical instincts, visiting such an esteemed location was a good decision by Mr Balderson.
We were then given a free hour for lunch. Most of us in the upper sixth seized upon this wistful freedom to visit an all-you-can eat Chinese buffet on the South Bank. Meeting up afterwards, we embarked on the Houses of Parliament. As the climax of the trip, this visit lived up to its high expectations. Our tour guide was, it is fair to say, a rich source of factual depth (or a rather infuriating pedant depending on your opinion). He asked many questions with each of our well-honed egos being shot to pieces as he tore our factual inaccuracies apart. You could almost see the fleeting sense of self-wrath draining from Charlie Beruti’s face as our guide told him World War I did not last from 1914 to 1918 but from 1914 to 1919. That said, many gems of wisdom were revealed to us. For instance, there are two red lines in the Houses of Commons that are precisely two sword lengths apart to keep the peace between the rival parties. Interestingly, when the French prime minister visited the Houses of Parliament, the government actually covered up the paintings of the battle of Waterloo which hang on the walls of the lobby (a battle where, according to our tour guide, we gave the French ‘a good hiding’).
Going round the House of Lords and the House of Commons, I felt proud to be part of a democratic nation. Infuriatingly, the tabloid press regularly delude the public into thinking the country is ‘going to the dogs,’ ‘falling apart’ and, surely the worst, ‘not like the good old days.’ (This would be those days of the slave trade then? Or mass urban poverty perhaps?). But England is admirably liberal in allowing its people to visit the heart of our government system. I am not a misguided nationalist, but we need to appreciate just how symbolic a privilege this is in a global and historical context. Sometimes British heritage is seen as a dirty phrase because of ignorant bigots, who hide frankly racist views behind the seemingly reasonable endeavor of ‘preserving tradition.’ But visiting the birthplace of British democracy was an eye opening experience. Indeed Churchill showed the importance of drawing lessons from our heritage when he ordered the archway to the House of Commons to be preserved, even though it had been badly damaged in the war. He thought the mauled entrance would be a fitting reminder of the folly of armed conflict.
Our trip drew to a close as the Tube lumbered into Oxford. Everyone had enjoyed the day, which, for me, provided a pertinent insight into British history and an opportunity to visit the home of modern British democracy.
The committee would particularly like to thank Francis Maude MP for arranging the visit.
Mark Power Smith
