Royal Geographical Society
26/10/07 18:27
The great "official" launch of the expedition was on
Wednesday 24th October. We started the day with a
tour of the House of Commons. I met up with Chris
Henstock, one of the Trustees, outside the Houses of
Parliament. After gradually gathering the rest of the
party (with some extra excitement from Amy and Dave!)
we had a brilliant tour with a very entertaining
guide. Perhaps it was her background as a Swedish
National which made her view on our own political
history so sardonic and amusing? We had some splendid
stories and it was a great experience. Everyone was
getting geared up for the official state-opening of
Parliament, so there was a lot of activity.
I was totally stunned by Westminster Hall. What an incredible history this single room has had. The awesome Hammer Beam Roof took my breath away. Tom Levitt, our sponsoring MP was charming and the place was heaving with activity. The only shame was that the House of Commons was sitting so we did not get to see it. However, we did get to see the ceremony that goes with the start of business, with the procession of the Speaker and his party through the central octagon. (The bit you often see on TV).
After lunch with my family just off Oxford Street, I set off back to the Houses of Parliament for the second round. This was a meeting with Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, and a photo opportunity for all in Westminster Hall again. Everyone in the party was there, including Richard Wyllie and his "minder" Rob Collister. This was my first time meeting Rob and it was the first time that we have all been gathered together since Norway.
In the evening we had the reception at the Royal Geographical Society. A nice introduction from Tom Heap was followed by a fascinating outline of the TransAntarctic Expedition itself from Peter Fuchs. Lloyd Peck then gave a terrific (and very funny) outline of the Science going on in Antarctica now; liberally peppering the story with brilliant references to one of my all-time-favourite movies from 1951: "The Thing"!
We were all called up on stage and promptly put on the spot by Tom Heap with a few questions. I wish that I had known it was coming, but I did what I could.
The reception was very busy with a constant flow of people keen to talk. It was wonderful to speak to so many friendly and enthusiastic people and some, of course, had great stories to tell themselves. It was a long late journey back to Royston but a very successful evening.
I was totally stunned by Westminster Hall. What an incredible history this single room has had. The awesome Hammer Beam Roof took my breath away. Tom Levitt, our sponsoring MP was charming and the place was heaving with activity. The only shame was that the House of Commons was sitting so we did not get to see it. However, we did get to see the ceremony that goes with the start of business, with the procession of the Speaker and his party through the central octagon. (The bit you often see on TV).
After lunch with my family just off Oxford Street, I set off back to the Houses of Parliament for the second round. This was a meeting with Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, and a photo opportunity for all in Westminster Hall again. Everyone in the party was there, including Richard Wyllie and his "minder" Rob Collister. This was my first time meeting Rob and it was the first time that we have all been gathered together since Norway.
In the evening we had the reception at the Royal Geographical Society. A nice introduction from Tom Heap was followed by a fascinating outline of the TransAntarctic Expedition itself from Peter Fuchs. Lloyd Peck then gave a terrific (and very funny) outline of the Science going on in Antarctica now; liberally peppering the story with brilliant references to one of my all-time-favourite movies from 1951: "The Thing"!
We were all called up on stage and promptly put on the spot by Tom Heap with a few questions. I wish that I had known it was coming, but I did what I could.
The reception was very busy with a constant flow of people keen to talk. It was wonderful to speak to so many friendly and enthusiastic people and some, of course, had great stories to tell themselves. It was a long late journey back to Royston but a very successful evening.