With Gwyn Prosser MP at the Houses of Parliament.

29 May 2008

Hark ! I hear the sound of London calling. The call is clear and true, and rings out like a loud bell. A call to political arms…. a chance of a lifetime...
so I must arise and go now and go to London Town
and a cabin will I have there of clay and mortar made.

* * *

Being editor of Doverforum.com certainly throws up some interesting times. Mostly of course its much like anything else, with lots of daily drudge and gargantuan grind needed to produce the results, but occasionally, just occasionally, an invitation drops onto the doormat which causes a chap to perk up bigtime and awaken with some exuberance from his daily slumbering routine. Such an invitation thundered onto my doormat only very recently when our very well known and popular MP, Gwyn Prosser, yes the very man himself, invited yours truly and colleague Colette Boland to join him at The Houses of Parliament. This was one invitation we snatched up.

So off to London we go, camera at the ready, pencil sharpened, best smile polished, shoes carefully shined on the back of ones trousers, to land with some style in the metropolis extraordinaire. After living for some considerable time in Dover, it is almost a shock to come face to face with the money, the buzz, and the power that is London. I used to live there of course. I used to hammer out a living in the cut and thrust of the London fast lane, but it is, nowadays, almost shockingly fascinating to note that Dover is entirely tranquil by comparison. All the busy bee wealth creators in the grand metropolis don’t have time to catch a breath…but it is most impressive…they rush hither and tither, their legs whirring with the speed of helicopter blades in full productive flight. They get things done. These worker bees.

No rushing around like this for your’s truly, not any more. I have in recent times adjusted to the tranquillity of Dover life, so at my own steady pace I opted to go to the big capital a day early and enjoy the luxury of one of those bigshot London hotels. Ah yes, dinner with white tablecloths and solid silverware, all the while wallowing under those overhanging multifaceted and ever so sparkling chandeliers..yes this was just the ticket after a hard winter. So dinner it was then and wine aplenty. More grape young man, more grape! And easy on the ketchup!

Nothing is more satisfying than a good dinner and a.. ermmm skinful of Pinot Grigio!

Breakfast was just as spectacular, all laid out in sumptuous buffet style, another piece of this, shall I try some of that, how about a nibble here and a chomp there. Ah delicious. How many of us take the time over a good breakfast. On then to meet Gwyn in the corridors of power. Through the tough security measures we go and there we are in no time, right next to Gwyn Prosser and his ever faithful sidekick Jo Knight, and all underneath that famous portrait of St Patrick, in the seat of central government..

Gwyn shakes our hands with enthusiasm and takes us on a fascinating and detailed tour of every nook and cranny of this grand place, from the Throne Room to the Woolsack in the House of Lords. Yes Mr Prosser knows his stuff about this great Palace of Westminster and he explains brick by brick much of its history with a warm enthusiasm. We enjoyed the tour greatly and were infected by Gwyn‘s knowledge. Then in the twinkling of an Irish eye we are in the cut and thrust of Prime Minister’s Questions, with Gordon Brown in dynamic form fending off the young pretender David Cameron, in a rip roaring high octane 30 minutes. After that a very nice lunch of Asparagus and Chicken in hugely pleasant surroundings , then a wee saunter with drink in hand onto that famous Thames view terrace to rub shoulders with more MP‘s than you can shake a stick at.

Colette Boland in the Great Westminster Hall, the only part of the building that is entirely original. Much of the rest was destroyed and rebuilt after a series of catastrophic fires. It dates from 1097 and was built by the son of William the Conqueror. It boasts the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe with a span of 69ft. You can literally feel the age, the magnificence, all about you.

The picture above top left shows the trio on the sunkissed terrace, yours truly, Gwyn Prosser MP, and Colette Boland, Doverforum PR.


Then some further pictures before departure. All too soon the day is over, and we make our weary way homeward, back to Charing Cross railway station and all points south.

Paul Boland

A shorter slightly different version of this story will be appearing in the latest edition of the Dover Loyalty Scheme Newsletter....out soon!

• Barry Williams, Dover wrote:
  So, plenty of time for that then... Fair enough, but no time for his Consituents in Dover last weekend.
  
  Ah well, GP, enjoy it while you still have a chance, just two years, maximum to go....
  
• Guest 656 wrote:
  What a wonderful day we had at the Houses of Parliament and many many thanks to our MP Gwyn Prosser and indeed Jo Knight for this great opportunity. It was a pleasure to be there and to witness our own MP at work. He was whizzing around all day, up and down those ever so long corridors of power, back and forth to join us when possible, it made me quite dizzy watching him. My! do they work hard! I loved Prime Ministers questions, been caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all and watching Gwyn at work, very exciting stuff. I must say I was impressed with Gordon Brown in the flesh so to speak, much more flamboyant than I imagined. A great day and proud to have seen it all.We even caught a glimpse of the Dalai Lama who was there on the day. Once again thank you, a truly enjoyable and memorable day.
• jan tranter , dover wrote:
  No barry don't agree its good to get an idea and a look at what gwyn does at westminster and this was a chance to get some insight from an outsiders point of view. to see politicians at such close quarters gives us a lot more understanding of how thinks work.
• Jeane Trend-Hill, Essex wrote:
  Looks like you had a fantastic time. Funnily enough I was in London yesterday hitting the world’s longest champagne bar in St Pancras and having afternoon tea at Claridges. I know what you mean about it seeming so noisy and busy. I lived in North London most of my life and now when I go back and visit I can’t believe the amount of screeching sirens and people practically walking through you rather than round you. It was manic when we left St Pancras station; I was nearly run over twice! I wondered how I ever used to enjoy shopping in Oxford Street because it was so crowded and the queues for the changing rooms and tills in some shops were ridiculous.
• Guest 644 wrote:
  I'm glad you had a good time. I expect a tour around the Houses must have been fascinating. I once saw a wonderful TV documentary presented by Anthony Wedgwood Benn in which he took a camera crew behind the scenes and pointed out trivia, explained obscure parliamentary customs, and showed us hidden rooms steeped in history. Although I can't abide his personal politics it was one of the most fascinating programmes I have ever seen and I wish I'd taped it. Party politics were thankfully kept out of the affair.
  
  OK, I have to ask, was GP aware of the mass booing he received at the hospital protest march?
• howard mcsweeney1 wrote:
  who was it said that our honourable member was on holiday?
  
  according to official reports he was visiting his aged mother.
  
  sounds like a dirty tricks campaign may be in progress.
• howardmcsweeney, dover wrote:
  having now studied the transcript from paul and colette, i would ask the question, "what was gp like as a companion?
  
  i have met him a few times, a personable chap, cannot believe that he would be full of one liners, has a great memory though.
  
  i met him about 3 years ago outside the town council offices, made my views known on a subject, i got a letter explaining his point of view about a month later, then saw him in the same place about 6 months later, and he brought up the subject of my complaint.
  
  i was absolutely amazed that with all the people he must have met and correspondence read, that he remembered me and my moan.
  
  i totally disagree with him on many issues, too many to list here, but i can understand why he keeps getting elected in an island of blue.
  
  on a more political note him and smarmy chas are both ok in the suit and tie department.
  
  i wonder though whether GP will stand next time, he will be 67 then, 71/2 at the end of the next session, i reckon he will call it a day.
• Guest 640 wrote:
  As you say Howard he is a very personable pleasant chap and good company. And anyone who wins three elections in a row must have something going for him in the warmth department. I expect he will stand again although its not something we talked about..as it wasnt a particularly political day out...despite the surroundings etc.
  
  As for the age thing..well I can talk !lol.. but as Jacqui said in that Forum birthday thread..60 is the new 40...so !?
• howard mcsweeney1 wrote:
  paul
  just spotted that pic of colette on the stairs looking very authoritarian.
  
  all the blokes behind her are trying to avert her gaze by looking downwards.
  
  bearing in mind the venue, i was reminded of mrs t. and the effect she had.
• Guest 640 wrote:
  Ah yes indeed Howard some of these women are ermm ..formidable!
  
  Some of you may be wondering why there were not more pictures of the various famous rooms throughout the House. There is a simple reason for this...it's not allowed. It would be fantastic to get pictures like that but its simply not allowed. We quietly took the terrace picture with the least amount of fuss so as not to upset anyone. You are however allowed to take pictures in the Great Hall but once beyond that point all camerawork is verbotten!