Clever alliteration, no?
Plyometrics in the backyard, masala Chai, and off to London, determined to stay out most of the day. I was in full tourist mode with backpack, bottle of water, and 35mm around my neck. Don't worry no Hawaiian shirt or fanny pack...
The feature of the day as you can guess is the Tower of London. Despite having visited many times, I can't get enough of the 1,000's of years of history of this place. There is also something comically sad yet irresistible of all the be-headings, blood, torture, and human turmoil these stones have witnessed. We lined up or as the British say, queued, for a very informative tour with Beefeater Chris Skaife, yeoman. Chris very eloquently described the many hangings and be-headings of 75 high born lords, ladies, and queens at the Tower of London. That number seemed eerily low but I wasn't about to become part of another show so I kept silent.
Interestingly, Yeoman Chris is the raven keeper of the Tower which by the way was a neat little tidbit I didn't recall. King Charles II originally had the ravens released from the Tower only to realize later the monarchical superstition that without ravens in the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall and eventually, Britain. Needless to say they rushed in ravens -- six ravens are kept in cages with two in "reserve". The wings are also clipped to avoid flight. The actual history and myth of the ravens is a disputed historical item but interesting and fun nonetheless. Ravens have a special historical role in not only inspiring Edgar Allan Poe but pecking the eyes out of the heads spiked on London Bridge until the heads fell into the Thames. Not sure if there are any more heads in the Thames but the look and smell of it makes me wonder.
Here is Chris Skaife, Beefeater.
Below is a view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London grounds. This picture was taken very close to where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's other queens were be-headed. They do have Olympic rings hanging from the Tower Bridge but they are folded up in this shot since the bridge was being opened for a boat to pass through.
The depressing but again interesting close of the tour was in the Chapel of St Peter da Vincula in the Tower of London. Imagine the sadness of being killed and buried, with no friends at the funeral, no presence of a priest, and no tombstone to mark your place in history. In this little, deceptively peaceful, chapel they found over 1,500 bodies, many stacked up in the stone walls. Only the passing of time lightens the human turmoil and misery. Even this story was woven in a light-hearted and humorous manner -- with a plug for Twitter to boot. The Twitter craze has even cracked this historical site!
Chris, the raven keeper, has a Twitter feed -- follow him at @ravenmaster1! I smiled inwardly wondering what the prisoners in this Tower would have tweeted and what social media policies would be in play if the technology was around then. Tweets such as "#kingcharles sucks", "Enjoying the dungeon! #wheresthefood", "@colonelblood...enjoying the crown bling?" come to mind. You'll understand this last fictitious tweet in a moment...
We enjoyed seeing the crown jewels, viewing the torture contraptions (no evidence of water boarding), and touring the weaponry displayed in the White Tower. We were also treated to a reenactment of Colonel Thomas Blood's theft of the crown jewels in 1671. It was a humorous and historically accurate portrayal of the brazen scheme by the Irishman. Long story short, he befriended the Master of the Jewel House, Talbot Edwards and his wife, gagged them, stole the jewels, and got busted. Given that the last be-heading at the Tower of London would not be until 1745 and this period was the prime time of capital murder punishment, he did amazingly well by not only being released but given land in Ireland by King Charles II. Talk about the gift of gab! His release and grant of land happened after a supposed one hour conversation with King Charles and no one knows what was said! If only the stones retained sounds like they retain blood.
We topped off the day by strolling along the Thames and enjoying the river activities. Ice cream (made from Cornish dairy cream!) and Cadbury Flake sweetened the walk to the Underground. I took lots of landscape black and white pictures -- hopefully at least one will be good enough to enlarge into a poster and frame.
Bracing for a turn of the weather -- glad I packed an umbrella!
Plyometrics in the backyard, masala Chai, and off to London, determined to stay out most of the day. I was in full tourist mode with backpack, bottle of water, and 35mm around my neck. Don't worry no Hawaiian shirt or fanny pack...
The feature of the day as you can guess is the Tower of London. Despite having visited many times, I can't get enough of the 1,000's of years of history of this place. There is also something comically sad yet irresistible of all the be-headings, blood, torture, and human turmoil these stones have witnessed. We lined up or as the British say, queued, for a very informative tour with Beefeater Chris Skaife, yeoman. Chris very eloquently described the many hangings and be-headings of 75 high born lords, ladies, and queens at the Tower of London. That number seemed eerily low but I wasn't about to become part of another show so I kept silent.
Interestingly, Yeoman Chris is the raven keeper of the Tower which by the way was a neat little tidbit I didn't recall. King Charles II originally had the ravens released from the Tower only to realize later the monarchical superstition that without ravens in the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall and eventually, Britain. Needless to say they rushed in ravens -- six ravens are kept in cages with two in "reserve". The wings are also clipped to avoid flight. The actual history and myth of the ravens is a disputed historical item but interesting and fun nonetheless. Ravens have a special historical role in not only inspiring Edgar Allan Poe but pecking the eyes out of the heads spiked on London Bridge until the heads fell into the Thames. Not sure if there are any more heads in the Thames but the look and smell of it makes me wonder.
Here is Chris Skaife, Beefeater.
Below is a view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London grounds. This picture was taken very close to where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's other queens were be-headed. They do have Olympic rings hanging from the Tower Bridge but they are folded up in this shot since the bridge was being opened for a boat to pass through.
The depressing but again interesting close of the tour was in the Chapel of St Peter da Vincula in the Tower of London. Imagine the sadness of being killed and buried, with no friends at the funeral, no presence of a priest, and no tombstone to mark your place in history. In this little, deceptively peaceful, chapel they found over 1,500 bodies, many stacked up in the stone walls. Only the passing of time lightens the human turmoil and misery. Even this story was woven in a light-hearted and humorous manner -- with a plug for Twitter to boot. The Twitter craze has even cracked this historical site!
Chris, the raven keeper, has a Twitter feed -- follow him at @ravenmaster1! I smiled inwardly wondering what the prisoners in this Tower would have tweeted and what social media policies would be in play if the technology was around then. Tweets such as "#kingcharles sucks", "Enjoying the dungeon! #wheresthefood", "@colonelblood...enjoying the crown bling?" come to mind. You'll understand this last fictitious tweet in a moment...
We enjoyed seeing the crown jewels, viewing the torture contraptions (no evidence of water boarding), and touring the weaponry displayed in the White Tower. We were also treated to a reenactment of Colonel Thomas Blood's theft of the crown jewels in 1671. It was a humorous and historically accurate portrayal of the brazen scheme by the Irishman. Long story short, he befriended the Master of the Jewel House, Talbot Edwards and his wife, gagged them, stole the jewels, and got busted. Given that the last be-heading at the Tower of London would not be until 1745 and this period was the prime time of capital murder punishment, he did amazingly well by not only being released but given land in Ireland by King Charles II. Talk about the gift of gab! His release and grant of land happened after a supposed one hour conversation with King Charles and no one knows what was said! If only the stones retained sounds like they retain blood.
We topped off the day by strolling along the Thames and enjoying the river activities. Ice cream (made from Cornish dairy cream!) and Cadbury Flake sweetened the walk to the Underground. I took lots of landscape black and white pictures -- hopefully at least one will be good enough to enlarge into a poster and frame.
Bracing for a turn of the weather -- glad I packed an umbrella!
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