Mrrzy. Yes. The upper house, (a bit like the U.S. Senate but appointed) falls into The Lords Spiritual and The Lords Laity. The spiritual being the senior employees of The Anglican Church, of which The Queen is head. (Despite her being the boss, women have only been seen as equal in their hierarchy for the past few months.)

I like how Parliament tries to operate and I like unelected people scrutinising policy, even though ultimately they cannot stop it becoming law. But giving one superstition bums on seats and not the others, or even any at all in these more enlightened times is a stain on our "mother of parliaments."

To talk of historical precedents is irrelevant because they came from a time most people believed in an imaginary friend. Nowadays, the vast majority either ignore it or have a fondness for the tradition rather than the silly stuff.

Raggy. You won't be able to stop yourself prodding Keith with a stick to get a reaction. If he insists on embarrassing himself, at least by doing so, he becomes occasional entertainment.