Central Hall Westminster and Supreme Court
Thursday 6th February
 Our
trip to Central Hall Westminster and the Supreme Court last year was
so popular that we arranged it again for this year and so on Thursday
6th February
29 of our members travelled to London to visit both of these iconic
buildings. both of which are located near or in Parliament Square.
First
we had a tour round Central Hall which is part Methodist Church and
part events venue. The hall comprises 23 varied rooms that can
accommodate up to 60 people in the smaller, more intimate function
rooms, to over 2000 people in the main hall. All
of these
can be hired for events.
The
Grand Hall has a magnificent organ and the stage is in different
parts which can be raised and lowered  according to the production
requirements.
We
also went out on a balcony on the 4th floor
that looked directly over the main entrance to Westminster Abbey;
this is where the BBC film any major royal event at the Abbey.
At
the end of the 19th / beginning of the 20th century
there was a successful attempt to raise one million guineas; people
would donate one guinea each and everyone who donated were recorded
in one of over 45 volumes, we were shown one of the volumes.
All
around the place there were paintings and statues many of which were
of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement.
They
have a very nice cafe there where many of us had lunch.
After
lunch we walked around the corner to the Supreme Court, the highest
court in the land, where we had our second guided tour of the day.
 The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was only established in 2009 and
is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil
cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom's highest appellate court for
these matters, it hears cases of the greatest public or
constitutional importance affecting the whole population. Criminal or
civil cases must have gone through at least two appeals before they
can be referred to the Supreme court which only deals with
points of law that need clarifying, they do not get involved with the
facts of the case.
 A
very fascinating and informative tour. We started by sitting in court
1 followed by court 2 and in each court the guide explained how the
Supreme court works. As a case was being heard in court 3 we could
not go in as a group but after the tour some of us sat in for a few
minutes to hear what was going on. After the court rooms we were
shown the large library full of legal books and case books.
There
were enough of us to arrange a tour just for us, you can do this from
Monday to Thursday. But it
A
really good day out enjoyed by all.
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On
Wednesday 22nd January 12 of our members went to see a comedy/farce
called "Dial M for Mayhem at the Theatre Royal in Windsor.