No ghosts. No echoes.

It seemed an appropriate place for me to be to mark this significant moment in the life-cycle of buildings that have become so intimately linked to my working life.

I heard no ghosts. No echoes. There was no murmur of satisfaction at a job well done. No echoes of ‘hear hear’ or polite laughter at the Minister’s speech. I did not hear the scrape of chairs on a wooden floor as a lone ‘elderly’ suffragette stood up to interrupt proceedings nor the resulting derisive jeers from the gathered dignitaries and guests. Nor did I hear ‘God Save the King’ fill the hall to close the proceedings.

There was no pomp to mark the moment, no circumstance or fuss. There was only a solemn stillness, a counterpoint to the loud speeches, brass bands and high tea of a century ago.