Page 50 - The Gazette Autumn 2023

50 The Gazette QARANC Association
JHG (N) at Parliament:
A chance to see democracy in action
Maj Hywel James of Joint Hospital Group (North) reports on an eye-opening trip to the Palace of Westminster which was made possible by a donation from the QARANC Association.
Following a busy week with the King’s Coronation and Exercise Northern Challenge, nine keen volunteers from JHG (N) had the opportunity to see democracy in action during a three-day trip to London.
We set off early from Darlington Station and let out a collective wince as the suit bags containing our freshly pressed No.2 dress were squeezed into the overhead luggage compartment, realising our previous evening of preparation was about to be wasted.
Our busy itinerary would see us travelling to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Palace. To prepare us for our guided tour of Westminster we had been tasked researching and then presenting about the United Kingdom and its system of democracy. We spent the train journey fine tuning and fact checking our presentations, so
We spent the train journey fine tuning and fact checking our presentations
that they would be ready to deliver once we arrived. The spectacular weather gave us the opportunity to present with the dramatic backdrop of Westminster itself. We started with a PowerPoint presentation by the Thames ended with a Kahoot Quiz in Westminster
Square, all going off without a hitch.
Day two saw us joining rush hour commuters to
get across London to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. We were greeted by Peter and Ken, both current Chelsea Pensioners, who gave us a tour of the facilities and an insight into their world. Though ‘hospital’ is in the name, the buildings and landscape were far from what we as nurses and healthcare assistants would recognise as a hospital. No tight corridors echoing with buzzers or beeping, instead acres of land with plentiful space for birds to nest and sing their tunes.
Peter and Ken were fountains of knowledge, sharing the history of the Royal Hospital from its