Iron bars..

Richard Lovelace was a poet - born in 1618. He found himself with his fingers a bit burned politically at the start of the English Civil War - and got thrown into jail. His time wasn't entirely wasted though, because he wrote some of his best work there.

To Althea, From Prison:

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage

andTo Lucasta. Going to the Warres:

I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.

The Edwardian builders of our house must have been as concerned about security as we are today! In fact, I believe crime figures were sky high.

I may feel a little barred in for the next three days - off to the Royal College of Surgeons to examine 120 young doctors who each have 9 minutes to prove they can communicate!