Santa Monica – you were amazing!

Visit Santa Monica?

…yes please, I don’t mind if I do!  When presented with an opportunity to visit a place not normally on our radar, we leapt at the chance.  Santa Monica here we come.

Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica Boulevard

A short break

Just four days – a mere snapshot in time – Santa Monica, a place of iconic signs, dreams and sunshine.  And we crammed it all in.  On a visit to family in New Jersey, USA we organised an internal flight from Newark EWR to Los Angeles LAX, it took five and a half hours but it was worth it.  An economy flight with United Airlines got us there.  We arrived in LA at 1.30pm  and hit the ground running.

The climate is warm and sunny almost all the time.   It is difficult not to fall in love with this place

Sunshade, palm trees and blue skies in Santa Monica

Use the bus

The bags were stashed in the hotel lobby and we caught the Big Blue Bus https://www.bigbluebus.com/ down ‘Santa Monica Boulevard’.  Now you’ve heard that name you know you really want to sing the Sheryl Crow song:

‘All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feelin’ I’m not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard’

Ocean Park Beach, Santa Monica
Ocean Park Beach

We arrived at the beach on Ocean Avenue.  Breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and shoreline – and life on the beach.  A couple of miles walk in the glorious sunshine and it’s time to turn around.  I know it’s not really appropriate but we had heard that the ‘British Pub’ was a good place to go http://www.yeoldekingshead.com/ So we did!  The Olde Kings Head was the perfect place to go for great value for money.  Good quality food and drink, especially during ‘happy hour’. We returned a further couple of times for the Californian wine.

Pacific Park Pier

Pacific Park Pier is the end of Route 66.  A constant stream of visitors take selfies on this spot.  Here too are souvenirs and local delicacies such as funnel cake and shrimp.  There is all the fun of the fair with the rollercoaster and ‘ferris’ wheel too.  Live music,  buskers, fishing and ‘illusionists’ add the addictive vibrancy and colour.

Route 66, Santa Monica
The end of Route 66 is on Pier Park, Santa Monica

Hooray for Hollywood!

Hollywood sightseeing tours run from the Pier too.  All those iconic sites and signs can be bagged in half a day.  Worth it too, it’s the only way to tick everything off in a such a short period of time.

Walk of fame, Hollywood
Avenue of the stars

At the end of the day

There is no finer way to end the day than watch the sun go down over Santa Monica Pier.  California Dreamin’ will keep me warm though the British Winter.

 

Santa Monica Sunset
The sun sets over Pier Park, Santa Monica, Los Angeles

Thank you Santa Monica, you really were amazing.

A visit to the Houses of Parliament

A surprise invitation

I was intrigued when I received a letter bearing the portcullis logo.  I have no real political affiliation, I just know that I must vote whenever there is an election.  So, it was a surprise to discover that I had been invited  by John Mann MP http://www.mann4bassetlaw.com/ to visit the Houses of Parliament.

An opportunity not to be missed

It was an exciting prospect, especially as I would be in London the day before.  (We had tickets for the Paul Simon and James Taylor concert in Hyde Park. But that’s a story for another day.)  Of course I wanted to go, this was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Bassetlaw Women

I arrived at the appointed place with enough to time to clear security which, as you can guess, is rigorous.   A group of women from Bassetlaw in North Nottinghamshire began to gather in Westminster Hall.  The vast, cathedral-style space dated back to the very beginning of our demoncracy.

Westminster Hall
Westminster Hall

Votes for Women

Within the Great Hall was an area set aside for a special exhibition https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/vote-100/. The story of the suffragists and the first women in Parliament was completely absorbing.  I could have spent a lot more time here but we were on a tight schedule.

Whistlestop Tour

We divided into groups and a tour guide took us, at speed, first to the House of Lords.  Our guide was a bit of a character with a lilting Scottish dialect who explained that when seen on TV, the lords were not really asleep but in fact, ‘listening very intently’.  From there we moved swiftly to the House of Commons.   It was quite busy by now and I saw a few familiar faces in the crowds: Dame Tanni Grey Thompson, Iain Duncan Smith, Dennis Skinner and Diane Abbott.

Full Circle

Before very long we were back in the Great Hall and were taken to the Speaker’s House.  This is a great privilege – not afforded to many.  Canapés were served and the fizz flowed freely.

Speaker of the House
John Bercow

The Speaker’s Bedroom

It was a delight to see John Bercow enter the room.  He addressed the group and amongst several anecdotes, he invited us to visit the Speaker’s Bedroom which although unused, housed a huge four-poster bed.

Eminent Women

Rev Kate Bottley
The Reverend Kate

Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin, (Chaplain to the Queen) Laura Keunssberg,(Political Editor of the BBC) Yvette Cooper (Labour MP), and Rev Kate Bottley from Bassetlaw, all addressed the group with some inspirational words on the role of women in today’s world.

Laura Keunssberg, Political Editor Of the BBC
Laura Keunssberg Political Editor Of the BBC

And finally…

With just enough time to spare, John Mann gave me his last ‘entry to the House’ form.  I was in awe.  As I sat in the public gallery I saw the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, stand in for the Prime Minister.  It was our democracy in action and an absolute privilege to be there, I enjoyed every second… and it all went by too quickly.  To cap it all I was caught on camera which was shown in BBC Look North that evening.

It was fantastic!