Category Archives: Thing 76

Day 5: Works in progress 4, 76, 78. Ceremony of the Keys, PMQs and Big Ben

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Fresh from this week’s successes and letter-writing, Day 5 presented itself with a bounty of communication.  Avid readers will remember the paper missives I sent to my MP, Mary MacLeod, and to the good people at the Historic Royal Palaces.  Those who are late to the party, or forgetful, can check the details here.

Best news first: an ‘Invitation to witness The Ceremony of the Keys’ (Thing 4) arrived by Royal Mail this morning.  The good people Jen, Martin, Charlie will join me to witness this fine, 700-year-old, tradition.  From the excitement-inducing covering note from Resident Governor Major General Keith Cima CB:

Set amidst the mighty battlements of this ancient historic fortress, the Ceremony of the Keys is one of the oldest and most colourful surviving ceremonies of its kind, having been enacted every night without fail for approximately seven hundred years, in much the same form as we know it today.

The exact origin of the Ceremony is somewhat obscure, though it probably dates from the time of the White Tower – the great Norman fortress commenced by William the Conqueror and completed by 1100.

We’ll be going on Tuesday, 14th September.  It’d be lovely to see you there and possibly enjoy a drink afterwards; you can apply for tickets by writing to the Tower of London.
More mixed news came in the form of a very pleasant e-mail from Ms. MacLeod’s office.  The good news, subject to me not being considered a miscreant or general ne’er-do-well, is that a tour of St. Stephen’s Tower (Thing 78) is very much available.  I say good news through only partially jangled nerves; there’s 334 steps to ascend.  Whether I’ll be able to appreciate the campanological delights at the top, or simply slouch and gasp for air, will be seen later in the year.  Slightly disappointingly, though, there’s no tickets left for PMQs (Thing 76) — although I’m welcome to be a guest in the public gallery at any other time.

Does anyone know of alternative avenues to witnessing Prime Minister’s Questions?  Get in touch; leave a comment below or hit me up on twitter (@nickjeffery)
A day of good progress.

Day 2: Plan 4, 76, 78. Changing of The Keys, PMQs, Clock Tower.

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An unfortunately timed driving lesson scuppered the opportunity to do anything big on the first full day of Things. Add to that the closure of two local attractions, the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising (Thing 28) and Hogarth’s House (Thing 21) , and the back burner looked to be well and truly lit.  However…

A number of Things require a bit of planning, be that writing a letter, reading the In The Courts column of the Times newspaper, or embarking upon a complicated mathematical problem (Thing 36).  Not having a copy of The Times to hand, nor feeling particularly adept at solving the travelling salesman problem single-handedly, I embarked upon something of a letter-writing session.

Armed with Google Docs, I wrote a couple of champion letters.  One to my MP, Mary MacLeod, the other to the good people at the Historic Royal Palaces.  After a couple of revisions, things looked good.  So good, in fact, that I’d forgotten I don’t actually have a printer.  At least, not one that works with my computer.  After some dismay, and a ham and cheese sandwich, I happened upon the idea of writing the letters out by hand.  After all, it’s cheaper than a new printer (and quicker than going to get one) and some would consider it to be a tried-and-tested method of communication.

Mary MacLeod MP will hopefully help me achieve two Things: 76 (watch PMQs from the public gallery) and 78 (have a tour of the Clock Tower).  Here’s a picture of the polite prose her researcher will receive in the next day or two:

A letter to my MP

I’m sure my handwriting used to be much neater than that, but not to worry.  Was probably just a naff pen.

Not wanting to suffer from clasping-related fatigue, it was time to tout for interest in Thing 4. Thing 4, you’ll no doubt recall, is to visit the Tower of London to witness the Ceremony of The Keys. A cup of tea later, and Charlie and Jen had registered their interest on Facebook. Back to the Pukka Pad in order to transcribe another letter, then:

A letter to the Tower of London

Splendid?  Almost.  Just as I’d sealed everything inside the envelope, Martin declared he’d like to come as well.  It would seem unfair to exclude him, particularly as he asked so nicely.  Just hope they don’t mind crossings out:

A last-minute edit...

Don’t know about you, but I’m already looking forward to the responses.  Let’s hope pen and paper gets results!