Halls of Power

The ancient walls of the Tower of London where many were locked up at the whim of the reigning monarch sits on one side of the river, while directly opposite on the other side of the river sits the oddly shaped City Hall where a modern form of power is wielded.

A Touch of Royalty

Adding a weeny bit of colour to Open House Day, the Elizabeths were at Temple for the occasion.

No Fuss

Yesterday the queen became the longest reigning monarch, overtaking that of her great great grannie Victoria.  "I don't want a fuss" she said.  The occasion couldn't go by unnoticed so a wee flotilla was organised travelling from Tower Bridge to Westminster.  I counted four boats, so not much of a fuss Liz.  She herself popped up to Scotland to open the Scottish borders railways.

Graciously she thanked everyone for their well wishes and added it was not a record she aspired to.        I guess she would rather have a pension and put her feet up.

Baby Fever

The media frenzy outside the hospital waiting for the announcement of the new baby.

Housing a Royal Collection

A painter to royalty, a Frenchman, a Swiss friend and a Polish king are all part of the history and creation of the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Francis Bourgeios British born of Swiss ancestry was a court painter to King George III.  Not only did he paint but was also a great collector and dealer of art.  Bourgeios and his friend Noel Desenfans (a French writer who came to Britian in 1769) were commissioned by King Augustus of Poland to create a royal collection of art from scratch.  Following the King's abdication the pair were left with the collection.  Among those they tried selling the work to, were the Tsar of Russia and the British government.   It became clear that they were not going to be able to sell the collection in its entirety, so the pair determined the work should be bequeathed to an organisation that would ensure the collection remained intact.  The British Museum was the prime candidate, but Bourgeios found them too difficult to work with.

It was important to the two men that the collection be available for viewing by the general public.  Desenfans died in 1807 leaving the collection to Bourgeios, who in turn bequeathed the collection along with £10,000 to the Dulwich College to build a public gallery.

Queen Alexandra

The grand art nouveau memorial to Queen Alexandra sits in the wall of Marlborough House.  On the plinth on are the words "faith, hope, love.  The guiding virtues of Queen Alexandra."

Married to King Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria) the couple were Prince and Princess of Wales for nearly forty years and King and Queen for just nine years 1901-1910.  After waiting for his chance to rule all through Victoria's long reign, Edward had the throne for only nine years before he died. 

A Garden Tour

The weekend of 14-15 June was open garden squares.  Now in its 20th year this is a chance to see many garden squares not open to the general public.

I thought Sharon of Phoenix Daily Photo would enjoy seeing many of these gardens, so Sharon over the next few days I am taking you on a tour that I know you would love.

The first garden we are visiting is Marlborough House.  Built by Christopher Wren 1709-1711 for the first Duke of Marlborough John Churchill and his wife Sarah, Queen Anne's favourite courtier.  After the death of the fourth Duke of Marlborough in 1817 the mansion purchased by the crown for Princess Charlotte, sole heir of the future King George IV.  However Charlotte didn't get to live here as she died following childbirth.   As succession to the throne changed so did those who were to live or did live in the house.   It was not until 1863 when the Prince of Wales and his new Danish bride came to live in the house that anyone since the original owners made an impression on Marlborough House.  Bertie and Alix used this as their London home for nearly 40 years until Bertie succeeded to the throne in 1901 as Edward VII.

The last royal to live here was Queen Mary after the death of King George V.

In 1959 the current Queen Elizabeth gave use of the house to the government as a Commonwealth Centre.  It now houses the Commonwealth Secretariat and Foundation.

One of the corners of the garden that caught my eye was the pet cemetery with 8 tombstones.

Paparazzi

Who was arousing this much interest I hear you ask.  Why the Queen of course.  The paparazzi fixed on the palace for that shot when the Royals stand on the balcony and watch the red arrows fly over.

For overseas readers who may not understand what this all means, last Saturday was the day the nation celebrated the Queen's birthday.  It is not her real birthday, as that is in April, and we throw a party for her then as well.  However, as the weather isn't great at that time of the year we throw yet another party, a much bigger one, in June when in theory it should be summer.  It rained this year and last year as I recall, but I digress.

On her official birthday there is a procession "Trooping the Colours". The Foot Guards and the Household Calvary put on their finery and wear their colours (so the ranks can recognise their battalion), then they march from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards, (about a mile down the road). The Queen follows them in a golden carriage.  Once there she inspects them all and they salute her.  Then everyone returns to the palace for a cup of tea while a twenty one gun salute is fired from canons.  This is followed by a "flyover" by old fashioned planes. The highlight is the Red Arrows that create a trail of red, white, and blue smoke as they fly down the Mall before passing over the palace.

The Queen's Speech

The age old ritual of the opening of parliament took place yesterday.  On the first day of a new parliament session (or shortly after a new election) the queen will travel from Buckingham palace to the houses of parliament (Westminster) where her speech will outline the governments agenda for the coming year.

We are used to all this pomp and ceremony here however yesterday had even greater excitement for those who lined the streets to watch the parade.  This was the unveiling of the queen's new coach.

She doesn't get many new coaches, in fact this is only the second in her lifetime and this one was built by an Aussie!  It is a true labour of love by Jim Frecklington that took him 10 years to build.  He even mortgaged his house to help fund it.
The coach features wood from Nelson's ship, hand rails from the Royal ship Britannia and 400 books of gold leaf.  What makes it truly unique is that it is a thoroughly modern coach with hydraulic suspension (much more comfortable than those medieval ones), aluminium wheels, electric windows and heaters.  (she can leave the cashmere rugs at home).

She saw I was getting wet and offered me a ride but I declined, a bit too public for me, but I told her she looked lovely and admired her jewels, particularly the tiara.

Princely Robes

A visit to the Globe Theatre is more exciting than most other theatres.  Not only is there the experience of a theatre just as it would have been in Shakespearean times but you can also learn a lot more about London life during those times.  Among the exhibits are manequins showing off clothing worn in various productions.  As with everything at the Globe care is taken to reproduce everything as close as possible to originals of the period.
This costume worn in Henry IV is made of purple silk velvet, trimmed with lace and adorned with brass buttons.  If it looks a little plain, that is because it was complying with the new laws passed during the 15th and 16th centuries to reduce the excesses of dress at court. 

Pearlies

The other royalty of London.  Dating from 1875 the costermongers sewed shiny buttons down the side of their trousers to stand out in the busy market streets.  A young orphan street sweeper named Henry Croft went one step further and sewed the buttons on his hat.  From there it grew until now the entire cloth of their garments are covered in buttons.  Don't be filled into thinking anyone can become a Pearly by donning a shining coat, no to be a real Pearly your title is handed down from generation to generation.  There are 28 distinguished Pearly families, one for each of the London boroughs.
Twenty first century Pearlies spend their time raising money for charities.

The Georgians

Bet you didn't expect this as a view of London. Well I guess it would be pretty odd to find a scene like this in London in the 21st century, but this is what we possibly would have seen around 400 years ago.  This is part of the Georgian exhibition at the British Library at present. (this is the free bit) but the paid bit is really worth the fee.  Made me wonder about the  next  Georgian period. (our new heir to the throne).  I guess by the time he is King it will be close to the next century.  

King Charles I was the only King of England to be executed. 
The strict religious views that he imposed on his subjects and his battles with parliament didn't make him terribly popular.
The Scots in particular weren't too happy about this, especially when he tried to force a new prayer book on the country. 
It all ended rather badly for Charles when he was executed in 1649 after a reign of twenty four years.

The English civil war society re-enact the period in his memory.  They laid a wreath outside Banqueting House, the spot where King Charles was executed.  This was followed by a sombre march down the Mall. 

Birthday Bash

Tomorrow being the official birthday of the Queen pomp and pageantry is the order of the day. The trooping of the colour and the firing of guns is how she celebrates. Beats party hats and poppers.
If you want to witness the event, the parade leaves Buckingham Palace around 10:00 am and travels to the Horse Guards. The troops wait for the Queen to arrive and inspect them at exactly 11:00am . This is followed by a 41 gun salute in Green Park and then a 62 gun salute from the Tower of London.

Jubilee Finale

Thousands lined the streets for the final parade for the jubilee weekend.
The news reports are full of how wonderful the event was. Around the outside was a different story. Barriers were in place to prevent thousands from getting in. Police corralled people sending them on long walks. Children were disappointed with many in tears. I witnessed a group of elderly people break through a set of barriers in sheer frustration as they saw large empty spaces on the inside of the barriers.
This young girl had her special day however when Mexican TV filmed her and interviewed her dad.

The Queen has more jubilee functions today. She must be worn out by the festivities. I've certainly reached jubilee overload and will be back to normal life from today.

Red Bus Standstill

Yesterday I was on a red bus going down Oxford St, something one should avoid if possible. Generally it is faster to walk, that is if you are up to shoulder to shoulder combat making your way through the crowds. We were left with no choice yesterday as the red buses became gridlocked the entire length of Oxford St.

What a sight. Passengers had abandoned every bus in favour of street combat, drivers were standing outside their buses scratching their heads in bewilderment and tourists were taking photos of the spectacle.

On a bright note, don't the flags look grand. London is dolling herself up for the Jubilee celebrations the first weekend of June.

For any visitor to my site who does not know what the jubilee celebrations are about, shame. Our queen has been on her throne for 60 years and not a whisper of early retirement.

Three Girls:
An update to yesterdays post. The three girls made good time to Dover. The wet and cold was manageable, the dodgy roads, dead squirrel and dead duck were minor hazards. Constantly starving and trying to satisfy the hunger a different matter.

The ferry ride to France was a welcome rest, but they hadn't counted on the hour long ride once they reached the other side at 10:00 pm.

Today they have a 75 mile ride ahead of them in the pouring rain and gusty winds.

Eleanor's Cross

King Edward was heart broken when his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile died in 1290 at Harby near Lincoln. During the next 5 years he had 12 crosses made and erected at each of the places they rested overnight when he brought her body back to London fro burial at Westminster.

Only three crosses remain. One of these is in front of Charing Cross Station. Although this was restored by the Victorians and is more lavish than the original. It has undergone a recent restoration with the scaffolding only being removed in the last month.

July Theme - Empty

The coffers are empty.
Here at Treasury the pot is more than empty. There is a shortfall of something like £17.5 billion.

No worries though Gordon (he's the unelected bloke in charge of the country at the moment) has got a few ideas to fix the problem. A big spend up next year, cos it's election year and to just print more of the stuff.

Meanwhile at the other end of this street lives Liz (she's the one who wears a crown every now and then), seems Gordon wont give her any of this printed stuff to fix up her house.

I figure that as we (that is you and I who pay a wee bit of the tax) seeing as we are in debt for the payout to the bankers of £19 each and Liz costs us a mere .69p each we should fix up her house. I also figured that if every tourist that visits her pad donated £3 each that would be enough to cover the amount she needs.

Otherwise it seems her purse is going to be empty in 2012.

That's my empty today. Visit all the other versions of empty here:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Trooping the Colour

Yesterday was the 'trooping of the colours', a parade to mark the Queen of England's official (as opposed to real) birthday. Originally this parade happened so the soldiers would be able to recognise the flag they would be fighting under.
These men form part of the Irish regiment, recognised by their blue plume. Christian Lacroix recently remodelled and updated their uniforms. True soldiers, they endure hours in 27 degree heat dressed in thick wool uniforms and bearskin hats. And, true to military form there is a rule to cope with mishaps in hot weather - if you sense you are going to faint, you must fall forwards, not backwards or sideways. Now... one of the statements I have made today is simply not true - can you guess which one.