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Death to the commuter, or is that computer?
It may not have been the fault of the London Underground that the Piccadilly line between Kings Cross Station and Hyde Park was closed due to a passenger being wedged under a train, but that would be about the only time. We blame Tory mayor Boris Johnson for the demise of a formerly almost brilliant tube service, never before have we struck so many disruptions: two strikes, weekend line maintenance, station closures and plain old breakdowns, this is about as unreliable and inefficient as a London shop assistant. The worst part is the inaccurate information that often accompanies these disruptions, the other day, for instance, when on our way to St Pancras Station and lugging heavy cases, it was only after we had got off the Central line, and towed our bags several hundred yards through rush hour congestion and up about three short flights of stairs did we find that the Victoria line was closed for maintenance and that we had to backtrack, go two further stops on the Central line and get the Piccadilly line. It seemed reasonable to think that they could have provided early advice.
Despite those impediments, the tube delivered us without holdup or disruption yesterday to the House of Commons, probably as an antidote for the threatened delays once we got there. It may be a tactic to discourage visitors, but the gate-keeper told us that there would be an hour and forty-five minute wait to get in. Once through security, however, where Kaelene was again detained, we found our way to the debating chamber with only the minimum of waiting time. Perhaps twenty minutes. Unashamedly, we were voyeurs looking for a stoush given the disclosure that day of all expenses claims submitted by members of parliament. But instead of gibing and taunting over such things as the claiming of 1 pence for a phone call or the now infamous moat cleaning, all we got was a dissertation on Food, Farming and the Environment from Hillary Benn, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to an audience of variously between nine and thirteen MPs and a classload of children from Wales in the gallery. Scintillating stuff, such as the question from Mr Roger Williams, the Liberal Democratic member for Brecon and Radnorshire, who asked whether the secretary had any estimate of the percentage of stock that had been vaccinated against bluetongue in England this year. It was, assured Mr James Palce, the Conservative member for South-East Cambridgeshire, a serious question and we were glued to our seats.
It was remarkable that so few MPs were present, particularly given the seriousness of another debate called Preparing Britain's Economy for the Future and a later one we unfortunately missed, examining lessons to be learned from Britain's involvement in the Iraq war. But in another way it was not surprising. The house has seating for only 437 of its 646 members and we supposed that most MPs feared they would miss out on seats that day and stayed away. They could have joined us in the public gallery because, despite the artificial delays in getting in, the gallery is only ever about a quarter full.
There has been something of a tragedy and it may compromise this diary. Marty's netbook computer has hemorrhaged and now not only refuses to work but also even to get up in the morning. With that, our collection of photographs and a host of other work stands to be lost forever perhaps our own fault because, consistent with our relaxed transient-lifestyle, none of it was backed up. While the computer is booked in for open heart surgery next week, we are heading to Ireland to ask the head of the Roman Catholic Church to pray for its full recovery. We ask that also of you.