No dignity yet

Just over a week ago to Parliament Square for a demonstration to mark the undignified death of the bill to allow assisted dying, killed off by a handful of obstructive peers. Probably not hereditary peers but certainly not elected either.

It remains something of a puzzle to me why, in a country where more than 550,000 people die every year, we make such a performance about allowing the couple of thousand or so who might want to speed up what can sometimes be a very unpleasant business, to get on with it. Our governing classes, the great and the good, make a great parade about allowing us to live our lives how we choose - but for some reason that eludes me, get terribly exercised about allowing us to die how we choose. This despite the population at large having been massively in favour for a long time. But see references 1 and 2 below for a more careful take on it all.

Fame also eluded me, hidden somewhere in the vicinity of Lloyd George, first statue on the left, in the snap above.

But to  start at the beginning, I woke up quite early and thought why bother? Lost cause for now. But an hour later, fortified by the morning cuppa, I was good to go. A quick breakfast, gathered up my 'Dignity in Dying' sun hat and my Stockholm folding chair and took the (BH) offered lift to the station. To be greeted on the shiny new Arterio trains by a stream of irritating announcements. When will someone with authority get through to them and get them turned off, or at least calmed down?

Two lots of railside laburnum, not quite the same as the arch at Hampton Court, but bright and cheerful in the early morning. Some hawthorn.

Out at Waterloo to walk across Westminster Bridge, it being a day of tube strikes, and while there probably were tubes running, no idea up top how many and it was a long way down. Plus, as it turned out, the Jubilee Gardens were looking very well, even if there were no starlings on this occasion.

Ukrainian flag at something close to half mast over the Inland Revenue (formerly HM Treasury) entrance to GOGGS in Parliament Street. Flagpole visible right in the snap above, lifted from Wikipedia at reference 3.

Demonstration a bit half mast too, despite the Dignity in Dying people putting a good face on it. Maybe a couple of hundred of us. The good news is that the issue is not going away and we will be back for another round. Maybe even persuade the Government to invoke the Parliament Act - invented in 1911 to bash obstructive Tory Lords into line. I might add that Dignity in Dying is much more a party matter than I had realised, with Labour and Liberals strongly for and Conservatives strongly against, free vote notwithstanding.

We had photography and speeches to keep us busy, with some of these last being quite moving. A stirring reminder, from the coal face as it were, of why we were there.

Apart from my Stockholm chair, quite a lot of sticks and wheelchairs were to be seen. Some fags and some dogs. Once again, rather more ladies than gents.

Having arrived at 09:00 on the dot, all done by noon. I got the impression that there was a booking system in operation, with the next demonstration starting up as ours wound down.

Along the way I was reminded of the demise of the fine cafeteria and cloakroom which used to be run in the basement of Central Hall, with the public now being restricted to a very inferior facility in a corner of the building. I dare say the old facilities are still there, but only for paying guests. No more public service, even from the Methodists - who seem to have vanished from reference 4, but who live on at reference 5.

Serious security at the entrance to St. James's Park.

But I am pleased to be able to report that the public house and the Bullingdon stand in Storey's Gate were still alive and well, both facilities having served from time to time in the past, even if the former now only opened at noon. Hardly a proper pub at all. But, hopefully, I will be back on the Bullingdons before too long; perhaps not on a strike day, which rather strains the system.

Strolled back over Westminster Bridge, not getting free of the crowds until I was more or less across, and on into Lower Marsh, below Waterloo Station, pinpointed on the snap above.

I had thought to take lunch at the noodlarium, last noticed just over a year ago at reference 6, but sadly, both it and its grander parent were closed down and boarded up. The street market of old was reduced to a few fast food stalls and it all seemed a bit run down.

Settled for the Duke of Sussex, last noticed in connection with Sir Thomas Buxton, but noticed and visited at reference 7, just over two years ago. House now part of the Stonegate empire, also noticed in these pages from time to time. 

Been made over since I was last there, now more for eating than drinking, but the layout of the public bar had been retained. On the other hand, the pool room, through the door left, had been turned into a dining room. The splendid hundred year old sanitary facilities had vanished and one now had to climb upstairs, most of which was flats rather than the hotel rooms of the Wellington, on the other side of the station.

Furthermore, some of the customers appeared to be off the booze, at least at lunchtime. I think I heard something about Guinness Zero,

Perfectly respectable burger, if a little dry, with sauce on the side, as requested. Taken with a spot of Proper Job, another bitter from the far west which has a serious presence in the Home Counties. See reference 9.

And so home to Epsom. Through train, so no RPPL.

Home to admire my ancient copy of the Buxton memoirs, getting on for two hundred  years old, as previously noticed and to which I shall return in dur course.

References

Reference 1: https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/.

Reference 2: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathregistrationsummarystatisticsenglandandwales/2024.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Offices_Great_George_Street.

Reference 4: https://www.c-h-w.com/.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Central_Hall,_Westminster. Our churches clearly had lots of money for big capital projects in the second half of the nineteenth century - and one could no doubt write an interesting paper on where all that money goes now. Half to care homes and half to animal charities? I believe that the RSPB has plenty of money with which to buy land.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/03/temple-of-law.html.

Reference 7: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-pub-crawl.html.

Reference 8: https://www.thechaptercollection.co.uk/duke-of-sussex-waterloo.

Reference 9: https://www.staustellbrewery.co.uk/our-beers/proper-job.