Trip to the House's of Parliament

Big Red's BIG chin ruining my shot of Big Ben

Today was the Parliamentary Boat Race; the event was supported by Siemens - who sponsor the GB Rowing Team.  A few of us were asked to go along and represent the team (Marcus, Rich, Rob, Hester and myself).  It was the first time I had been into Parliament.  Inside was different to what I expected, to be honest it wasn't as good as I imagined - some bits were very good, others not.  Just past the main lobby there is a small holding area where you can head off to function rooms etc; there is seating by a fire place, well I call it a fire place but it was a plastic facade with a 60 watt bulb behind it - pretty tacky.  We were then led out to the Pavilion (function rooms and bar along by the riverside, by accident I went in the House of Lords area.  The first thing I saw was a fat security guard smoking, learning at a heavy angle against the side of the gazebo.  None of the Lords seemed to stick to smoking or non-smoking areas, and most seemed to be smoking - I found this pretty shocking as any pub or restaurant in the country would have their licence revoked if they operated like that.  Thankfully the event I attended was well run and there were plenty of interesting people to talk to.  Things sorts of events can be a little sterile but everyone seemed pretty open and they was definitely a lot of schmoozing going on.

Siemens are great supporters of the GB Rowing Team and have now had a long standing relationship with the team, this is led with enthusiasm from the CEO Andreas.  With the support of Siemens GB Rowing is able to run programmes and offer support at levels that our [generous] Lottery Funding would not be able to afford on it's own.

It was great to get the invite today and thanks again to all those at Siemens.