Unknown people

The House of Commons’ Speaker has an ‘Advisory Committee on Works of Art’ and this committee organises an annual International Women’s Day Lecture. I would know nothing of such things if it weren’t for the fact this this year’s speaker was my friend Paula, talking about the first woman Labour MP, Ellen Wilkinson, in the wake of the book she’s just had published.

The event was held in Portcullis House, the lavish and controversial suite of MPs’ offices and meeting rooms opened in 2001, right above stark and controversial Westminster tube station (my blip), simultaneously the ugliest and most attractive of London underground stations.

I arrived politely early but hadn’t banked on the mammoth security involved in getting into a government building. After queuing for half an hour I reached the door less than a minute before the talk was due to start only to see the notice that no cameras were allowed and no-one should attempt to bring them in. Oops. I buried my compact in the middle of my bag and fortunately it turned out not to be impressive enough to upset the scanners. The security people couldn’t quite believe that all I had in my boots was my legs, so they got a going over, but that done I was allowed to retrieve my bag and run upstairs. I saw a very smart woman coming out of the room where the talk was to be and asked her whether I had time to go to the loo. ‘Well, that’s where I’m going and I’m chairing the meeting and it can’t start without me.’ The first time I’ve knowingly been to the loo with an MP.

It’s strange seeing friends perform a different role. Paula’s my mate and we’ve been getting together to chat and swap news and politics over food and drink for many years. This evening I saw her as a hugely impressive public speaker: confident, fluent, witty, engaging. I had no idea I moved in such circles.