Day 11: Houses of Parliament and Jack the Ripper

Our busy, busy day began at 9:30 this morning with an interesting ride on the tube! Nadia and I looked over one of the major British newspapers and were able to read an article about the British Petroleum oil spill. It was unique to be able to read it in a British newspaper because the article seemed to include a sense of embarrassment, in a way. They were reporting on the appearance of oil on the Texas shores and the journalist presented the facts and news in a clearly disappointed tone.

Also, today was a huge day in recent English history as July 7th, 2005 marks the day of the London bombings. Most commonly known as 7/7, this was a series of coordinated suicide attacks on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. The bombings were carried out by four Muslim men, three of British Pakistani and one of British Jamaican descent, who were motivated by Britain's involvement in the Iraq War.

At 8:50 in the morning, three bombs exploded within fifty seconds of each other on three London Underground trains. A fourth exploded an hour later at 9:47 on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. The explosive substances were detonated by the bombers themselves, all four of whom died. Sadly, 52 other people were killed and around 700 were injured.

Before this trip to London, I wasn't completely aware of the details of these bombings. It was an interesting experience to share with other Londoners as this was similar to a 9/11 attack to them. Although the 7/7 bombings brought devastation on a much smaller scale, I can imagine how the feelings associated with both events would be very similar.

We finally got the chance to meet Laura McCaffrey, the Fulbright Special Programmes Coordinator, today with whom we've been in contact with for most of the things regarding our trip! She is the second from the right. It was great to meet her :)


Anyways, today we visited the Houses of Parliament. Before we entered, though, we checked out "Democracy Village," which is located just across the street from the Houses of Parliament. Basically, Democracy Village includes a whole community people that actually live on a small public park square and who are obviously upset about the governmental actions and don't feel like their needs are being met. We thought this would be an opportune time to utilize the atmosphere to gain more insights for our video project. We were able to interview a woman who shared many of her expectations as a citizen of England and explained how those expectations were not being met for her. It was an awakening experience!


Afterward, we headed into the Houses of Parliament where we first visited and waited in a room called Westminster Hall.

In this room, we got more information about the differences between Parliament and government. Basically, the government runs the country and has the responsibility for developing and implementing policy and for drafting laws. On the other hand, Parliament is the law making authority in the UK. Parliament is responsible for examining, debating, and approving new laws; checking the work of the government; and enabling the government to raise taxes.

Furthermore, Parliament consists of three elements -- the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Crown.

In the House of Commons, over 600 democratically-elected Members of Parliament (MPs) meet to debate and make laws. Each MP represents a particular area of the UK known as a constituency and becomes an MP by gaining more votes from people in that constituency than anyone else. Interestingly enough, after a General Election, the leader of the party with the most MPs is asked by the Queen to become the Prime Minister who then forms a government to manage the country. The next largest party forms the Official Opposition with a mandate to provide voters with an alternative viewpoint to the government.

We were able to see a debate about jobs and unemployment going on in the House of Commons. It was interesting to watch all of the traditions and customs that they still practice today. For example, when arguing the opposite of someone's point, it was required for them to acknowledge that other person and be very polite... they would say something along the lines of "I heard the Honorable Lady's point, and this is what I think." It created a sometimes ironic environment since they clearly didn't want to be polite with one another at that point.

The second piece of Parliament is the House of Lords, which plays an important part in revising and initiating legislation; scrutinizing the activities of the government; and providing a forum for independent expertise. Unlike MPs, Members of the Lords are unpaid and unelected.

Finally, it was interesting to learn about the third dynamic: the Crown. Basically, members of both Houses get the chance to scrutinize a bill, consider its implications, debate its merits, and propose and vote on any amendments. Only once there is agreement in both Houses can a bill become a law. The Queen must give her Royal Assent to the final text before it formally becomes an Act of Parliament. Interestingly enough, this is largely symbolic, as Royal Assent has been given without question for over 300 years now.


From Parliament, we headed to the London City Hall, which is the home of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and is the base for London mayor Boris Johnson. There wasn't much to visit in City Hall, except for an exhibit that showcased some of the fascinating architecture in London. As we were visiting the exhibit, we witnessed an apparent photo shoot of the mayor, in which we saw some bizarre shots! At one point, the mayor even began to ride around on a bicycle for whatever reason. Although no photos were allowed in City Hall, I was able to snap this one... It was just too hilarious and random!


After a yummy dinner at Giraffe restaurant, we had to really rush in order to get to the Jack the Ripper tour that began at 7! I didn't know much of anything about Jack the Ripper before the tour, so it was definitely an eye-opener! Basically, Jack the Ripper is an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. On the tour, the guide told us the stories of the five known victims and actually told us those particular stories as we stood in the areas in which the murders occurred. It was definitely spooky! But thankfully, since it has been so long, I'm thinking Jack the Ripper is long gone by now ;)... So I wasn't toooooo scared!


After a long 13 hour day, we finally headed back to Bede, where the intensity of the day apparently didn't stop! As I came in my door, the main light bulb in my room burnt out. Jason, being kind and helpful, offered to help change out the old light bulb. As he did, he noticed that the bulb as well as the chair underneath the light was entirely wet! Maybe it was due to our brains being fried, but we both started freaking out that we were going to get mercury poisoning! Alex was kind enough to help us through the frantic situation... and in the mean time we learned that the UK doesn't have a poison control center. Instead, you just have to use the NHS services and they refer you from there. Anyway, three Roehampton security officers showed up and determined that it was simply a water leak and that there was nothing to be worried about. It was definitely an intense, albeit unnecessary experience!