Society and the Arts

We were fortunate to get tickets to observe Parliament in session. Ken’s cousin (an Iowa-born expatriate) had recently become a UK citizen, and he was happy to ask his MP (Member of Parliament) for tickets on our behalf.

After clearing security, we walked through a massive hall where folks like the Queen and Nelson Mandela have spoken (we knew this by reading the brass plaques on the floor) and then waited in a massive rotunda with incredible glimmering gold mosaic work (sorry—no photos were allowed in that area). Though our access into the building seemed pretty typical of what we’d experience in the states, once we reached the rotunda, things started to get very formal. In this area, the staff were wearing morning coats with tails. We, along with the other guests that day, were told to stand in silence for the procession with the golden mace as the Speaker made his way into the Parliament chamber. Then we were ushered into a gallery where bullet proof glass separated us from the Members of Parliament, but where we could see them clearly.

The glass reminded me of a brief conversation I had with a policeman while we were waiting outside. He told me there were no trash receptacles outside of Parliament so that no one could place bombs in them. Security all around the capitol city was enhanced. Now, instead of just the blue-clad Bobbies with their nightsticks, we were seeing police in bullet-proof clothing wielding machine guns at all of the top tourist sites (like this changing of the horse guard).

Parliament was just like we’ve seen it in the movies (like Amazing Grace . . . a must see movie about William Wilberforce the MP who fought for the abolition of slavery in England back in the early 17^th century—first campaigning for the Slave Trade Act in 1807 and then the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833—far earlier than we managed it in our country. By the way, William Wilberforce is buried in Westminster Abbey not far from where he fought his political battles in Parliament!). The be-robed Speaker sat on the dais presiding at the head of the table where the MPs debated—Government on one side, Opposition on the other, with the mace displayed beside them . . . just in case the debate got out of hand, I suppose! There are actually two stripes of red carpet on the floor, running the length of the gallery, to indicate that no discussion can take place in closer proximity than that . . . apparently to avoid sword fighting on the house floor (the lines are marked at a distance just greater than the length of two swords!).

Though the MPs were dressed in business attire, the Speaker was wearing a robe . . . and the three clerks sitting in front of the speaker were all wearing white wigs . . . which, along with their age, added quite a bit of pomp to the proceedings, which were very lively. Though everyone seemed to be called “right honorable sir” or “honorable lady,” there was quite a bit of verbal sparring in the session we observed.

The morning started with a session of Oral Questions with the Minister of Culture, Media and Sport and then the Minister of Women and Equalities, following opening prayers, which we were not allowed to observe. It was fun for us to listen in while the MPs discussed topics like arts education in school, funding for film festivals and location film-making, resale of sporting tickets, and broad-band internet access (a topic of hot contention . . . as many districts don’t seem to have high-speed access available to enough of their constituents. Patricia Arquette’s Oscar speech got lifted up when the topic of equal pay for women was being discussed . . . and there was a gesture of appreciation to all of the Oscar nominees and winners from the UK . . . quite fun for our arts-oriented family!

The arts truly do matter, and it was wonderful to see them being discussed in Parliament. Art really does help us reflect on life. The many plays we saw in London spurred good conversations on a variety of topics, including autism, homosexuality, class, political oppression, friendship and love.

The plays that I would most recommend were The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (based on the book of the same title), about a young man with autism and the incredible stress that it put on his family, and Shakespeare in Love, which brought all of our learning about Shakespeare from Stratford and our Globe Theatre tour into amazing focus, showing us what the life of the theatre was like back in his day.

One of our biggest delights in being in this city of arts was how often we were reminded of what a wonderful arts community we live in at home. When we saw the marquee for Lion King, we were reminded that it had premiered in Minnesota . . . years ago! The same was true for Scottsboro Boys—we saw the Guthrie premier a few years back. Speaking of the Guthrie . . . that’s also where we’ve seen Mark Rylance in several productions. He was the first artistic director of the Globe Theatre in London (the theatre reconstructed as a replica of the Globe Theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed). And, we even noticed that Horst, founder of the Aveda brand, and former neighbor north of us in Wisconsin before his recent death, had a photo exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Count your blessings. We live in an area with amazing arts. How nice to be reminded of that while we journeying so far from home!