TWENTY members and friends of the Salisbury-Xanten Twinning Association (SXTA) visited the Houses of Parliament. They learned the building, built in 1097, is almost the only part of the Palace of Westminster surviving in near original form. High-profile trials have been held here: in 1605 Guy Fawkes was tried following his foiled plot to blow up the old House of Lords, and in 1649 Charles I was condemned to death following his defeat by Oliver Cromwell in the Civil War.

Westminster Hall is currently used for important ceremonies, for example the lying-in-state of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and more recently Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002.

They also learned that, mysteriously, during restoration work, tennis balls had been found in the rafters.

After lunch in the visitors’ canteen, they met Salisbury MP John Glen who heard their views on issues such as the most recent plans for an underpass at Stonehenge, local education developments and support for town twinning initiatives.