"Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible to have ignored the circumfusion of those mean dwellings that swarmed like an epidemic around its outer walls."
Well maybe The Houses of Parliament is not exactly Gormenghast but watching a documentary yesterday on the comings and goings, one was reminded of Mervyn Peake's trilogy. The principal door keeper and chief clerk fulfilled roles of obeisance in their duties, the parliamentarians brayed like a load of donkeys as they debated and it was like looking through the wrong end of a telescope, mostly scary!
So maybe rather than spend a fortune on refurbishing the place, a new building is required with a proper debating chamber and efficient facilities, rather than a very attractive large Victorian building which really does not work in the 21st century. We should really be walking away from outdated rituals of Black Rod, fusty old uniforms, hall ways of interminable books on parliamentary etiquette and maybe invest in something sleeker.
Then this morning the news revealed that Prince Charles was not happy with his brother Prince Andrew, for asking for jobs and secure incomes for his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie - the line should be drawn somewhere Charles is supposed to have said. Bad blood between the brothers, Andrew was outed for sleeping with an under-age girl may have contributed to that. Can't resist this one, get those hats, only don't, they are terrible!
And then quieter moments, holly berries are red already, will the pigeons give them a miss before Xmas?
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| On the way to Whitby last Monday |
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| Whitby Harbour |
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| Whitby in the distance |
Click on the pictures to get a larger image ;)
You have certainly crammed a lot of food for thought into this post Thelma. I have only been absent from blogland for the weekend, but I come back and it seems as though I have been away for an age. I do so agree about the Houses of Parliament. These days they are only really suitable for decorating the HP Sauce bottle!
ReplyDeleteThat is funny Pat, it is a very elaborate building but starting to crumble in places, not sure what you could turn it into a museum maybe. Perhaps I should not have been cruel to Andrew's daughters but their taste in hats leaves a lot to be desired.
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