On Thursday 16th June members of the Somerville City and Lawyers groups and invited guests enjoyed privileged access to the Houses of Parliament courtesy of our kind host and fellow Somervillian, Sam Gyimah MP.
This was a difficult day for Sam and his colleagues in the aftermath of the shocking murder of Jo Cox and a two minute silence was observed before guests took their places for dinner in the Members’ Dining Room. Charles Moore referenced the second volume of his biography of Lady Thatcher during his fascinating and entertaining talk after dinner, A Week in the Life of Margaret Thatcher. Guests enjoyed hearing an insider’s description of Margaret Thatcher’s punishing schedule as Prime Minister during a week in December 1984; this was the week that witnessed her first meeting with Gorbachev at Chequers, a flying visit to Peking to sign the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong and ended in talks with Reagan at Camp David after a long flight. There was an opportunity to make voluntary donations to the Annual Fund on the evening and alumni were characteristically generous in their support.
