England

Tina/Ken
Stonehenge

Bath - Cathedral
Bath - Roman Baths

London - Tower Bridge
London - Tower of London
London - Dungeons

Tina and Ken flew out to visit us in June. We were so excited. It was nice to have some visitors and especially Tina and Ken. We met them at London's Heathrow airport and made them a sign so they could find us :)

Their first full day here, we drive to Stonehenge, Salisbury (for some reason I did not take any photos, be we had been there before), and Bath. We had a good time and nice weather the entire time. They stayed at our flat for a couple of nights before we left for 5 nights in Paris France. (The Paris pages are seperate)

When we returned from Paris, we had one full day left and took the train to London from Windsor. We visited the Tower Bridge, Tower of London and the London Dungeons.

Tina and Ken: Waiting for Tina and Ken at Heathrow airport in London.

Stonehenge: The next day we drive to Stonehenge from Windsor, about a 1 and 1/2 hour drive. We had nice weather compared to the first time Chris and I came here and the temperature was -4 C.

Bath Cathedral: From Stonehenge, we drove to Bath. This is the Bath cathedral.

Bath - Roman Baths: This is the Roman bath house.

London - Tower Bridge: When we returned from Paris, we had one last full day and we took the train from Windsor to London. This is Tower Bridge and one photos shows the bridge just closing after a large ship passed under.

London - Tower of London: This is Tower of London which we toured to see the Crown Jewels.

Tower Ravens

The birds are the tower ravens. It is not known when the ravens first came to the Tower of London, but their presence there is surrounded by myth and legend. Unusually for birds of ill omen, the future of both Country and Kingdom relies upon their continued residence, for according to legend, at least six ravens must remain lest both Tower and Monarchy fall.

The first Royal Observatory was housed in the north eastern turret of the White Tower. Legend has it that John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719), the 'astronomical observator' complained to King Charles II that the birds were interfering with his observations. The King therefore ordered their destruction only to be told that if the ravens left the Tower, the White Tower would fall and a great disaster befall the Kingdom. Sensibly the King changed his mind and decreed that at least six ravens should be kept at the Tower at all times to prevent disaster. There are seven ravens at the Tower today, they required six plus one spare!

Beefeaters

The guards at the Tower are called Yoeman Warders or Beefeaters. The name Beefeaters is thought to come from the French word - buffetier. Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food.

Crown Jewels

Photos are not allowed of the Crown Jewels, so I found one on the Internet which I have placed below. This just shows a few of the many beautiful crows and other items.

London - Dungeons: We also visited the London Dungeons. This was a lot of fun and it takes about an hour to make it through. It is actually quite interesting. The dungeons are a series of rooms where live actors explain the history of London with respect to the Black Plague, Medieval Times, The Great London Fire, Torture and Jack the Ripper.

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