Westminster Abbey will never be the same – a trip to the new galleries is the best £5 you’ll spend this year

​THE MONARCHS: RICHARD II – THE TRAGIC BOY KING

Portrait at Westminster Abbey, mid-1390s

If you click on the underlined topic (Richard II) you’ll find a brief illustrated article on this boy whose father died too soon and who inherited all of England from his Grandfather.  It goes on to include movies and TV documentaries on the king as well as site to visit in relationship to his life and death, which gives you lots of Lock Down entertainment as well as the possible beginning of a new vacation plan. You’ll notice Westminster Abbey as where he was buried—probably where he was crowned—Churches in Europe hold more famous people than you’ll find out and about most days—Westminster for instance has so many Check out this book–BHO (British History Online) from the late 1880s that give you a detailed account of the burials in Westminster Abbey–at least up till then: Westminster Abbey: Chapels and royal tombs Over the long years many of those monarch’s original resting place lost teo memory and location: some are much more bazaar—this story of a head of state—who’s head became a collector’s time:   Admittedly not a king, but Cromwell was certainly a head of state. And most of him has no grave. After leading the Parliamentarian forces to victory in the civil war against Charles I, Cromwell took the reins of power until his death in 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. When Charles II came to the throne in 1660, his supporters decided to enact a peculiarly spiteful form of vengeance, exhuming Cromwell’s body and hanging it on the scaffold at Tyburn near modern day Marble Arch. John Goldsmith, curator of the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, said: “It was then cut down and beheaded. Despite various stories about it being spirited away, his body was almost certainly dumped in a nearby pit. “His embalmed head was later removed from a spike and went from owner to owner – including being an attraction in a travelling show – until eventually being reburied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1960.” Find more interesting items along this line—where I got this story (from the BBC) at: Missing monarchs: The kings who did not rest in peace   Oh and check out that bit about Cromwell and how many places were found for you to see and visit with just a few articles we went thru  which might put you ahead (sorry couldn’t resist) on your vacation plans.   This bit on revisiting the deceased monarch and the items taken from them in some cases:   The corpses of 10 Kings and Queens of England exhumed centuries after death

Another great place to look are State sites

  Outdoor activities that naturally incorporate social distancing

This one is from West Virginia  which offers you general ideas and has lots of sites from canoeing to hiking and more in the state of West VA.

YORK has a Minster and much more—–Let’s check it out

First of all find out what a Minster is

York Minster Facts and Figures

How historic well the first Archbishop Egbert 

who made the cathedral school and library of York Minster the envy off Europe did so in the 8th century.  The original church burned down in 741 AD and was replaced with one with about 30 altars.

The current abbey is

York Minster

Human remains believed to date back to the 12th century discovered inside York Minster during rare excavation

and you can search for all manner of things:

Filming Location Matching “York Minster, York, North Yorkshire, England, UK” (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)

But York was not to remain under the Anglo-Saxons for too much longer for by he 9th century the Danes—-better known as Vikings showed up.

IVAN the Boneless was the invader in 866—and won against the disadvantaged Saxons (who had taken over the country from the Celts after the Romans had left) who were already involved in internal conflict

Top 10 books about the Vikings

Viking Place Names

and don’t forget Jorvik— 

you might think it’s just an attraction as it’s stylish and has a ride—but the villages you see are exact based on digs and other information—the people are real—faces and size based on skeltons found in digs done in the same area as Jorvik sets.  It is a must when going to York.

If you’re into Vikings there are all manner of things to see and do:

The Top 10 Places to Visit in the UK if You’re Fascinated by the Vikings

New ruins of Viking village near the Hudson River seriously question where were the borders of the legendary Vinland 

Retracing Ragnar: Scandinavia’s Top Viking Sites

The best Viking sites for travellers

and you can continue on and on—depending what you–your friends or family you’re traveling with.

Virtually

Overview tour/Westminster Abbey

New River Gorge Bridge Walk Fayetteville West Virginia …

Virtual York Minster

 

The Genius of ANDY KAUFMAN

Well he’s at

Beth David Cemetery

on Long Island—and You live and/     or are visiting there or maybe nearby

So you check out the cemetery and find that:

there are several:

Notable interments

• Eduard Bloch (1872–1945), personal physician to the family of Adolf Hitler
• Rube Bloom (1902–1976), musician
• Joyce Brothers (1927–2013), psychologist^[3]
• Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975), composer
• Sol Kaplan (1919–1990), composer
• Andy Kaufman (1949–1984), comedian and actor^[4]
• Martin Landau (1928–2017), actor^[5]
• Sam Levenson (1911–1980), humorist
• Chuck Low (1928–2017), actor^[6]
•                                                  Sidney Lumet (1924–2011), film director                                                                           Jack Newfield (1938–2004), journalist^[7]
• Doc Pomus (1925–1991), musician                                                                                                                   Saul Rogovin (1923–1995), baseball player

• Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal (1923–1983), politician
• Walt Singer (1911–1992), football player
• Harry Strauss (1909–1941), mobster
• Herbert Tenzer (1905–1993), politician
• Abe Vigoda (1921–2016), actor^[8]
• Herman Wouk (1915–2019), author

so You can visit the final resting place of several others of note

Now what else would you like  or do you to know about the area

Directions of course—BUT

How about a restaurant

Elmont Restaurants – Long Island New York Restaurants, NY

and how about making a day of it

So let’s  look for

Things to do on Long Island while you’re there?

with

43 Fun Things To Do With Your Kids On Long Island

or Without the small fries

Area Attractions

You can also look for hotels–B&B’s and that—-what ever you’re interested in just google  it—you’ve got the idea.

check out the without section to see where the picture below is of

Discover Long Island NY Virtually--lots of selections

Andy Kaufman on Letterman (October 15th 1980)

Andy Kaufman – BEST PERFORMANCE EVER

Viking Movies

The 13th Warrior (1999)

Beowulf (2007)

The Last Kingdom (2015)

Valhalla (2019)

Documentaries

1000 AD: A Tour of the Viking World // Vikings Documentary

Who were the Vikings? – Full BBC History Documentary

Viking Voyages: Wings of A Dragon (Viking Documentary) | Timeline