Saddened by reading on the BBC News website that hereditary peers are to be phased out. They are politically neutral, have inherited lots of land and property many of whom have given a lot to society over the years, and by being in the House of Lords I think instils a sense of having to give back. No doubt there are some who do not. But on the whole, they are a neutral counterbalance to the political House of Commons.
Enjoyed a lovely weekend away visiting my son. We helped with putting a fence up, supervised by some friendly robins. Lots of lovely British banter with and by passers-by such as ‘you’re getting there’, ‘cor, that looks good’, ‘is it a sculpture?’ (a stump needed taking out!), and ‘lovely weather for it’.
We travelled by train. Oh, it sounds so nice. But oh the horror of Cheltenham Spa station on race day. There were thousands of ‘em dressed like clones in estate agent trousers, with flat caps. It happened to be the weekend of Mothering Sunday and my son’s birthday, and was actually a postponed visit from a few weeks’ ago when my son had a bad cold.
And then there was the return journey. Ordeal by cattle truck as the aptly named Cross Country service contained four coaches to carry two trainloads of people. Thankfully, at Bristol I was able to grab a seat and shortly after, so did my husband, although he had the suitcase on his lap. Bad, yes, but not quite so bad as our journey a few years’ ago from Harrogate when he had to have a suitcase on his lap for the entire journey.
Karen Hedges 