Lunch at parliament...as you do!

So today I went for lunch at Parliament...as you do.  Sadly (obviously?) I wasn't there to receive any great honour; no, I was just there for a bite to eat and a good old gossip.  You see my friend Grace works there, and at some point casually mentioned that you could have guests for lunch; Emily and I have been nagging her mad to invite us down ever since.

Tourist shot!
*Note to fellow cape wearers: Carrying your bag under your cape is not fantastically flattering...as you can see.

As well as a delicious (and generously subsidised) lunch on the terrace over looking the river (enough to make me want to ditch journalism and move into politics), Grace gave us a whirlwind tour of the grounds...

Incredible stone work including some very impressive gargoyles. I do love a good gargoyle.

Westminster Hall: Built in 1027 it's the oldest part of Parliament, and the only surviving part of the original Palace of Westminster

Its awe-inspiring wooden ceiling is especially important as historians didn't previously think that carpenters were able to build self-supporting roofs until much later (13th or 14th century)

Em and I posing with some rather fantastic (in a Liberace kinda way) stone Deer. 

After Westminster Hall Grace took us through to the main building (where sadly I wasn't allowed to take pics).  We walked through St Stephen's Hall (which was home to the first Common's chamber), into the central lobby (a large hexagonal space with the House of Commons chamber to one side and House of Lords chamber to the other), and best of all into the actual House of Commons chamber itself - the highlight of the whole trip.  Being inside the chamber was insanely exciting and a little surreal.  It's much smaller than you'd think/ it looks on't telly.

I even came home with a souvenir in the form of a rather grand bottle or House of Commons sparkling water!  Who says politics isn't glamorous?

Anyway I just thought I'd share this as it really was one of the most exciting days out I've had in ages.  And don't worry if you don't have a friend with a jazzy job, Parliament is open (well bits of it) to everyone.  You can find out more about visiting, or even do a virtual tour here.

No doubt I'll be back on the leftovers in front of my laptop at the kitchen table for lunch tomorrow...

Made In Britain: The Mission

If you’d have said to your grandparents (or even your parents) that Made in Britain would one day be a niche selling point, they would have thought you were crazy.  My dad has been in the clothes/ retail business his whole working life (and was taught the trade by his dad), and was manufacturing his own small yet affordable line of clothes in the UK as recently as the early 1980’s –  something that wouldn’t be viable today, just 30 years later.  Then came the Primark years, and although many of us felt twinges of guilt at the facts behind the Made in China labels, we were all too easily seduced by the trend-conscious designs at cheaper-than-charity-shop prices.  Now though we’re in recession and all that cheap and cheerful schmutter hanging in our wardrobes doesn’t seem so cheerful anymore now the elastic is starting to droop and the trends they nodded to have long-since passed.  The Made anywhere-but-Britain labels are wearing a bit thin too, and more and more of us find ourselves longing to see Made in Britain sewn into the inside of our clothes…and thankfully we are.  Maybe it’s the 'Mary Portas effect', but over the last few months I’ve become increasingly aware of fashion brands bragging about their Made in Britain credentials, and good for them.  These brands are single-handedly and selflessly, with no support from Government, keeping our once brilliant and world-leading manufacturing industry alive, and I think the least we can do is support them.  So, with that in mind, this is my long-winded and slightly ranty introduction to a new series of blog posts on some of the wonderful brands who continue to manufacture in the UK, and deserve our support and respect.  I really hope you enjoy them, and are able to support these brands in your own way too.