DREW HENDRY: Many incredible people doing their bit quietly
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The morning following the news announcement that the Queen had passed away, I was glad to put on record the condolences of local communities in a speech to parliament.
Naturally, I also reflected on the deep admiration she and the new King have always displayed for the Highlands and spoke of the sincere affection extended to them by Highland communities in return.
The preparations for the late Queen’s arrival in the Palace of Westminster reminded me of a chat I had with one of the parliamentary estate doorkeepers when Prince Philip was very ill.
He explained that the extensive renovation work under way in Westminster Hall would have to be entirely removed within 24 hours to accommodate the plans for Prince Philip’s passing.
It is hard to describe how impossible that looked to me then. The works were so extensive, many years in the making, with scaffolding and areas boarded off at every turn.
The doorkeepers are parliamentary officials and highly trained security experts. They are responsible for running the complex operation that is the parliamentary estate.
They are also invaluable sources of knowledge of what is going on and what is likely to happen – so, naturally, I took him at his word, however impossible it seemed then.
With the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth, an even more extensive operation was deployed to prepare for the late Queen to be laid in state in the Palace of Westminster.
I have to say it was all carried out with pinpoint professionalism.
By the following Monday, Westminster Hall was transformed again for the Proclamations of Parliaments for the new King. Again, everything was impeccably arranged by the doorkeepers and staff. The impressive formalities passed with grace and elegance. Arrangements at Holyrood also seemed somehow effortless, hiding the hard work of those involved.
This time of reflection has served as a reminder to me of all those incredible people quietly doing their bit, like the doorkeepers in the UK parliament.
They never make the headlines but earnestly and faithfully work to ensure they provide the means to operate a parliamentary democracy.
So, to those who write the reports, the opposition critiques, keep the records, provide security, the cooks, the cleaners and all manner of others, thank you.
Drew Hendry is MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
