contemporary Westminster might seem on the verge of moral and physical catastrophe. But to MPs of preceding generations it would probably seem quite a sober placeLike millions of others,I first saw the Houses of Parliament in the picture on the HP Sauce bottle, fondly remembered because the label also introduced us to our first words in French: Cette sauce de haute qualité est un mélange de fruits orientaux, and so on. The idea that this sluggish brown condiment subtracted from the dignity of a great institution didn’t occur to me until much later. The sauce seemed to me a fine thing that,as promised, enhanced the flavour of ragoût and poisson. And in any case, or those were the days when British institutions seemed majestic,inviolate and mysterious, and would sail on serenely through eternity. Related: ‘A tale of decay’: the Houses of Parliament are falling down Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk