The Iron Lady Back in Number 10

Margaret Thatcher goes to tea at 10 Downing Street Thursday!

Lady Thatcher is the last great lion of the 20th Century still living. And it was a pleasant surprise to see the now frail Iron Lady come to tea with new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah on Thursday.

From 1979 to 1990 she "lived above the shop" at Number 10, the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister. On her return she took a tour of the changes to the residence and offices before taking tea in the "flat" she shared with her husband Denis.

Thatcher fans will enjoy this comprehensive web site dedicated to her life and maintained by the Thatcher Foundation. In the online archives you can walk through history with Mrs. Thatcher and read the correspondance she shared with world leaders, such as this first handwritten letter with then Governor Reagan.

If you're interested in a "virtual tour" of Number 10 Downing Street, the official 10 Downing Street website has a photo tour.
I won't forget my own Thatcher experiences. Her appearance on the White House Lawn with President Reagan at her last State Visit in November 1988 was a thrill. I described that experience in a post here, but the photo at left, which I took that day captures it best.

The admiration shown by President Reagan for his ideological soulmate and trailblazer for conservativism is clear.

Later, while walking through Belgrave Square in London I was treated to another thrill as Lady Thatcher's motorcade pulled up to her townhouse and out she popped from a green Jaguar and bolted up the stairs with husband Denis close behind.

Margaret Thatcher's record and her success as a politician with conviction and principle stands strong as an example for would be leaders today.