Words Taken Down (Take Down the Words).

 A Member may demand that the words of another Member be taken down. This typically takes place during debate when one Member believes another Member has violated the rules of decorum in the House. The request requires that the Member’s remarks be read to the House so that the Speaker may determine whether they are offensive or otherwise violate the rules of the House. If the Speaker determines that the words are out of order, the violator is customarily given a chance to withdraw or amend them, and the Member may ask the House for unanimous consent to strike the words from the Congressional Record. If there is objection, a motion may be offered to strike the words from the debate. Upon the demand, the alleged violator must immediately sit down and await the Speaker’s decision. A Member whose words have been ruled out of order may not speak again on the same day without the House’s permission, but the Member can vote.

A Member would say: Mr. Speaker, I rise to a point of order, and ask that the gentleman’s (or gentlelady’s) words be taken down.

(from CRS 'Commonly Used Motions and Requests in the House of Representatives')

This weekend in Milton Keynes

This long holiday weekend is also the Milton Keynes Walking Festival. A chance to get out in the fresh and exercise the legs and the lungs - and see what a beautiful city surrounds us. The programme can be found here.


This morning we joined Walk 1 - from Great Linford Manor Park to Newport Pagnell and back - via the canal; Giffard Park; Blakelands; Tongwell Lake; across the Motorway (on a Bridge!); alongside Tongwell Brook and the River Ouzel. We enjoyed a coffee and egg & bacon baguette at the Picture House Cafe in Newport Pagnell - then returned via the Railway Walk.

After a quick lunch at home we joined Walk Five from the carpark by the Furzton carpark off watling Street. Neither my wife nor I had been to Howe Park Wood before - it is beautiful - loads of bluebells are still out. Our journey took us along the Loughton Valley through Furzton and Emerson Valley - then we walked to and from the wood.

There are lots more walks this weekend - and we'll be joining a few. Book now (most are free - some have a £3 fee - email mailto:events@theparkstrust.com

English Heroes - Some Book Recommendations

The Victorians were fond of imposing their version of history. The classic example of this occured in the village of Naseby. I have used in previous posts the picture of the monument commemorating the Battle of the same name. However the village has a second Victorian monument - in the wrong place. It is ridiculously pro-monarchist. If you get a chance to visit the village - have a read,  it can be found on the east side of Clipston Rd, outside the village.

My recommendations are

English Heroes - Oliver Cromwell

Sadly Oliver Cromwell's reputation is tarnished because of his activities in Ireland. There are many who would deny that he deserves that reputation - The Cromwell Association website states - "Biographers of Cromwell have differed on this subject and the truth of what happened is often obscured by myth and legend. It served the interests of both sides at the time to exaggerate the outcomes of Cromwell’s Irish Campaign, and the axiom that truth is the first casualty of war was as applicable in the 17th century as in the 21st."

Whatever the truth about Ireland, He was a key player in the struggle against Charles I's attempts to move England into being an absolute monarchy - as was the 'model' in other European countries. As Professor John Morrill has written - “Cromwell was a man deeply committed to religious liberty and who tried hard to make government accountable to the people. However, like all rulers, he had to deal with real threats, which often resulted in tough action. If Cromwell had held free elections, as groups such as the Levellers desired, the majority of people would have voted for the restoration of the monarchy. Cromwell wanted to teach people the responsibilities of liberty so that they could then be trusted to exercise it properly.”

My recent post on Cromwell - with links to books can be found here
There is a further Washminster post - Oliver Cromwell

English Heroes - John Hampden

Another English hero associated with Aylesbury is John Hampden. He was a leader of the anti-Crown parliamentarians in the House of Commons. It was he who was taken to court over his refusal to pay the Ship Money (on his land in Stoke Mandeville, now part of the town of Aylesbury). The photograph is one I took of his statue in the centre of Aylesbury.

Previous Washminster posts on Hampden can be read via the links below

Who's honoured at Westminster
Constitutional Meat
The Ship Money Case

Hampden is commemorated in America by the naming of the towns of Hampden in Maryland, Connecticut and Maine - and the County of hampden in Massachusetts.