Part of the Club

All through this hour

Lord be my guide

And by thy power

No foot shall slide

The Clock Tower, commonly called Big Ben, is among London’s most iconic landmarks. Big Ben’s clock mechanism was designed by London’s top barrister of the day, Edmund Beckett Denison and was quite revolutionary. It was easily the biggest clock of its time and remains one of the world’s largest timepieces. And here I was Monday at the foot of Clock Tower ready to embark on one of London’s most exclusive tours.

Elliot and myself climbed 334 steps along with the rest of the group and our friendly tour guide. We stopped twice into rooms wrapped along the Clock Tower along the way twice. The first time we stopped we sat down and listened to our guide talk about the most notable figures in designing and creating the Clock Tower. After climbing another bunch of stairs (by then about 2/3 of the way up) we stopped again. We walked into a room that was directly behind the eastern facing sundial. As we walked around the sides of the Clock Tower on that floor we saw each sundial face, South, West and North. The combined weight of the clock faces is over 5 tons; being made of iron rails and 312 pieces of opal glass. The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. (Now I know why the Tea Room in the HOC is called the Pugin Room!) The dials are 23 feet in diameter and the numbers are 2 feet tall. Luckily for us the sun was shining and we got to see the minute hand move to the next minute. At the base of each face (we learned this since we could not see it from inside obviously) there is the inscription DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which translates as “Lord save our Queen Victoria I.”

It was then the last of the stairs we climbed next till we reached where the big bell and the four smaller bells were. The big bell is 8 feet in diameter and weighs a little over 13 tons. This bell is decorated with the Portcullis of Westminster and the Royal Arms. Our guide also pointed out the inscription on the bell, which reads: This bell was cast by George Mears of Whitechapel for the clock of the Houses of Parliament under the direction of Edmund Becket Denison QC in the 21^st year of the reign of Queen Victoria in the year of our Lord MDCCCLVIII. The most exciting moments of the tour were here because we witnessed the 12 o’clock chimes; the great grandeur of the bells. Also the views of London are spectacular from the bell room. 

On the way down we stopped into the Clock Room or the Engine Room. The clock’s movement is famous for its reliability. There is a pendulum installed within an enclosed windproof box sunk beneath the clockroom. It is 3.9m long, weights 300 kg and beats every 2 seconds. The clockwork mechanism in this room weighs 5 tons. On top of the pendulum is a small stack of old penny coins (which we were able to see); these are to adjust the time of the clock. The entire tour lasted around an hour and a half and it was quite an enjoyable time. It was truly an amazing experience to get the chance to visit what is quite possibly the most famous and well-known landmark in London.

After a long day at work, my office and I went to dinner along The Strand at Pizza Express. It was so nice to socialize and be together away from Parliament. I am really going to miss each one of them so much. After dinner I returned home for a short while and then we all went to our last Monday night out at O’Neill’s. Going to miss it there a lot; the people, the music, everything.

Tuesday 

Members of the press were swarming Westminster on Tuesday. The Home Affairs Committee was holding a meeting on illegal use and misconduct of mobile and other technological hacking. I had attended multiple Home Affairs Committee meetings that I had found interesting, however I knew this one was going to be an attention grabbing one. Rt Hon Keith Vaz is the elected Chair of the Home Affairs Committee. I could not help but think that since his appointment on 9 June 2010, this has to be the most imperative and controversial meeting he has experienced as chair thus far. 

At this select committee meeting, multiple senior police officers that investigated the phone hacking scandal were questioned, or actually grilled. Four witnesses appeared: John Yates (Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police), Peter Clarke (Former Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner), Andy Hayman (Former Assistant Commissioner), and Sue Akers (Deputy Assistant Commissioner).  

The MPs were investigating the police’s response to the hacking affair by deriding evidence from John Yates, one of Scotland Yard’s most senior officers. As a matter of fact this was fueling calls from his resignation. Yates faced 50 minutes of hostile questions before the committee over the force’s faults in the initial investigation into the hacking at the News of the World. Keith Vaz told Yates that his evidence was “unconvincing” after he said he did not plan to resign over the handling of the inquiry. Yates did express regret at his decision back in 2009 that there was no need to reopen the phone-hacking investigation but insisted he had always told the truth to the committee. He suggested that News of the World “failed to co-operate” with police until the start of this year. He said he had “never, ever, ever” received payment from journalists for information but admitted it was “highly probable” some of his officers did.

Back in September of last year, Yates had told the Home Affairs Committee that police had ensured that mobile phones companies had warned all customer who has been identified as victims of hacking. In May of this year, witnesses from the phone companies confirmed to the committee that in fact none of them had been told to warn victims among their customers. All but one had followed normal protocol and kept their findings confidential because of the police inquires. Yates responded to the discussion of this instance with, “there was a range of correspondence” between police and the phone companies and “in retrospect, it may not have been followed through in the way that it should have been.”

Andy Hayman, who was in ultimate charge of the 2006 phone hacking investigation later went on to become a columnist at The Times. At the meeting he rejected suggestions that he was in the “back pocket” of The Times, a News International Paper. Hayman said that as far as he could recall he did not raise the issues of News International’s failure to co-operate with detectives because he was not aware of it at that time. Keith Vaz told him that his approach appeared to be “like Clouseau rather than Columbo”.

Peter Clarke admitted that his strategy did not work and said it was “utterly regrettable” that crime victims whose phones were hacked did not receive the support they needed sooner. When he and his officers went to the News of the World on the day the paper’s then-Royal editor Clive Goodman was arrested in August 2006, he said that they were met with “hostility and obstruction”. He added, “If at any time News International had offered some meaningful cooperation instead of prevarication and what we know now to be lies, we would not be here today.” Sue Akers who is leading the new hacking inquiry said, "There is an awful lot to do" after revealing police had compiled a list of more than 12,000 names and numbers.

Tuesday night I went to Sports to just dicompress after a long day. Before I met up with my friends Josh and Tom, I sat down on the comfy benches and started a conversation with these two ladies, Helen and Lisa. Both work with the Association of Colleges. The three of us bonded over our belief in promoting higher education and provinding individuals with the resources they need to succeed. AoC exists to promote the interests of colleges and provide members with guidance, advice and other support services. I asked them what inquiries are out right now concerning education. Helen stressed to be the Information Advice and Guidance Policy. IAG assists learners to think about what training or learning they might be interested in. It helps them think about how they can make the most of the skills. Also it helps them identify and overcome barriers which may stop them from achieving their full potential. Career development is a major focus; IAG works to support and motivate individuals to manage their career development. I really enjoyed talking to the ladies especially because I could sense their passion for promoting education in our discussion. As it turns out, when I mentioned the details of my program here in Parliament (internship and seminar with LC), Helen told me that she is related to Lord Cormack (he is her grandfather's cousin). I ended up staying around for a while after talking with Helen and Lisa. I met up with Josh and Tom for a litte bit. Later, Alice spotted me and asked me join her and the others. I went on to having a lovely time first in Sports and then on the Terrace with Beriah, Alice, Amy, Adrian, Chris, Raquela with Gavin Williamson MP. He is Beriah and Alice's MP. A night that I had nothing planned, ended up being a wonderful one with great discussions and laughs.

Wednesday morning we joined Lord Cormack at The Athenaeum Club, a notable London Club located between Green Park and Piccadilly Circus. The club charmed us all with its large libraries, beautiful carpeting, a grand staircase and imperial embellishments. The exterior of the club house is decorated with a bas-relief frieze. Members of the club include Cabinet Ministers, senior civil servants, Lords (referred to as Peers of the Realm) and senior bishops. For many years the club was widely seen to represent the peak of London's clubland for the public intellectual with most members of the Athenaeum being men of inherited wealth and status. Then under Rule II it came to be that the club additionally admitted men "of distinguished eminence in Science, Literature, the Arts or for Public Service." It was not until 2002, that members voted to admit women. I felt honored that Lord Cormack booked a room to host us at his club for our seminar. It was mainly a wrap-up seminar where LC the Parliamentary political system, political parties, and committees further. Yet we also discussed the latest news regarding Rupert Murdoch, Scotland Yard, and News International. Of course we requested to take a picture with Lord Cormack after our seminar, too bad he doesn't have a Facebook for me to tag him.

We walked back to Parliament from the Athenaeum Club through St James Park. The park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St James' Palace to the North and Horse Guards to the east. So while I was walking through the park not only did it offer me an abundant peacefulness, it also treated me to stunning views of some of London's most iconic attractions. As I was walking through the Park, I thought a lot about my time here. I am really going to miss London as this experience has been one that I will truly never forget. It has made me more eager to travel and pursue more enlightening experiences. I've learned a lot about myself over here. I feel that I have a better appreciation for myself (not to sound boastful I promise) and know that I am capable of so much. As the door on London is coming to a close soon, I am eager to see what the next door that opens offers me.

Life is like a library owned by the author.

In it are a few books he wrote himself,

But most of them were written for him.

Harry Emerson Fosdick