LONDON TOUR | Walking around Piccadilly Circus, England

 

 

 

I took this picture at Piccadilly Circus (both of my pictures today were taken out and about Piccadilly).  This building is not a Goverment office space–but rather The County Fire Office was a fire insurance company, founded in 1807 with a focus on the counties and specialising in insuring country homes and farms.

They moved to the newly built 50 Regent Street in 1819 but also had a few other offices in the City of London as well as others throughout the UK.  The County Fire Office became a Limited Company in 1905 and the following year was bought by Alliance Assurance Company.  The current buildings dates from 1924-7, designed by Ernest Newton who didn’t stray too far from the original with the ground level arcades.

 

FORMER COUNTY FIRE OFFICE | LOOK UP IN PICCADILLY CIRCUS

 

 

‘Jerusalem: The Biography’ by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Knopf)

Notting Hill Official Trailer #1 – (1999) HD

 

 

Walking around the designer-label shops and friendly cafes of Notting Hill today, you would never suspect that as late as the 1950s this was one of London’s most impoverished areas nor would you immediately suspect that it is the centre for the city’s Afro-Carbbean culture.  The latter distinction is celebrated every August Bank Holiday weekend, with nights of colourful pageantry, dance music and street-fair fun.  When its gentrification began some years ago, Notting Hill became known as the home of Trustarians’ (trust fund Rastafarians).  These twenty and thirty-somethings who emerged from their privileged consicousness by a movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, Notting Hill represents a determined effort to preseve the air of arty-funky lifestyle.

StyleCity London

Thames & Hudson

 

 

 

Notting Hill & Portobello Road London Walking Tour

 

April’s full moon is called the Pink Moon

 

Benedictine monastery

 

 

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Of all the chuches I have visited in the UK none is quite as special to me as Westminster for it’s ancient beginnings (Taditionally some sources say that it’s original building was built in 616 AD, but historians apparently place the original building of it at  750 AD.)  It was given to the Benedictines by St. Dunstan, Archbishop off Cantebury 960-78.

 

 

Royal Residences and Historic Buildings

King Edward I (the Confessor) was responsible for the new church being built between 1045 – 1065.  The Abbey was consencrated in December 1065, but the king was too ill to attend the ceremony.   He died on January 5, 1066 and was buried in the cathedral at Edwards Chapel.

Dynasties of the Kings and Queens of England

 

That church was mostly demolished by Henry III and the present structure built to honor Edward  replaced it–Edward was cannonized by Pope Alexander III in Feburary 1161.  The Confessor’s body was transferred to a shrine in the new church in October, 1163.

 

 

Saint Edward the Confessor: Last of the Saxon Kings?

Starting with William the Conqueror (1066) Westminster became the traditional site for royal coronations and has continued so ever since.  The Abbey also is a site of the tombs of several of Britain’s monarchs.

 

 

Plantagenet Kings and Queens

Between 1245 and 1517 work on the cathedral added it’s current Gothic aspects.

 

 

Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey

 

 

 

And  I haven’t even mentioned the chapels—the most impressive for me is the Lady Chapel (1503 -1519) which is the final resting place of Henry VII and his bride Elizabeth of York,  a chapel which has the most wonderful ceiling.

 

 

Burial Places of the Tudors

And the Royals are vastly outnumbered by the not royal but terriably famous for all manner of things.  Even more such peope (like Jane Austin and Martin Luther King to name a few) though not actually buried, have memorials here at the abbey.

 

 

Famous people / organisations:  buried and others commemorated at Westminster Abbey,

Oh and this Abbey was disolved under Henry VIII’s marriage solutions in 1539 and at that time the control  of Westminster was brought under the crown rather than the church—a state of being that remains to this day.

 

 

Royal Weddings

 

 

Most walk-friendly cities in America 

The Walker: On Finding And Losing Yourself in the Modern City/Matthew Beaumont:  Walking in a modern city is not a way of getting from A to B, but of understanding who and where we are.  In a series of riveting intelledtual rambles Matthew Beaumont retraces episodes in the history of the walker since the mid-19th century. Pacing stride for stride along side literary amblers and thinkers like EdgarAllen Poe, Charles Dickens, Andre Breton, H.G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, and Ray Bradbury.  Baumont explores the relationship betwen the metropolis and its pedestrian life, pondering the smart phone, philosophy and the big toe.

 

 

Walking Tours in Europe and more

 

 

2022 Season

Orlando Philharmonic

 

 

Answer:  A.  $25,000 – $30,000

 

 Special Exhibitions

 

 

 

 

Apopka

 

 

Museum of the Apopkans:  Apopka, Fl.

The Museum of the Apopkans is located at 122 East Fifth Street, Apopka, Florida. It contains exhibits depicting the history of Apopka and Northwest Orange County, Pioneers of Apopka, Apopka Historical Society and Museum  and is run by the Apopka Historical Society.

Trader Maes Furniture & Decor Market

 

 

 

 

Shows and describes locations in England and Wales that are associated with the legend of King Arthur, and discusses the historical authenticity of each site

Longwood History

 

 

 

 

Orange and Seminole County’s First Railroad

 

 

 

 

This comprehensive guide features insider tips on places to eat, stay, and play that will help you get off the beaten path and into the little secret spots free of tourists.

 

 

 

Nikko Travel Guide – What to do in Nikko – Japan Guide

 

 

May in Japan

 

Nikko Toshogu Shrine Spring Grand Festival 2022

Nikko’s most important annual festival features horseback , archery on the first day and a 1,888 strong Costumed renactment of the delivery of Leyusu’s remains to Nikko on the Second.

Lonley Planet

10 Things to do in Nikko, Japan Travel Guide

 

The Book of Kells is a 9th-century devotional text. It contains the four Gospels of the New Testament…The text was copied onto calf vellum by trained scribes, probably on the Scottish island of Iona….the surrounding illumination—or intricate illustrations—are some of the most magnificent of the period. Known as Insular or Hiberno-Saxon illumination, this style was produced by confluences of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon culture in the British Isles and Ireland during what is often called the Dark Ages. It is characterized by intricate patterns and colorful images.   You Can Now Explore All of ‘The Book of Kells’ for Free Online 

 

 

 

Discover The Deep South USA on a Food Tour

 

 

 

 

 

The Best Southern Food Spot in Every State

 

 

www.wallflowe12.com

 

 

 

 

 

 www.omart.org

 

 

 

 

Top Louisiana Plantation Tours

 

 

Greenwood Plantation:  This handsome two-story mansion (reconstructed) is on of the loveliest plantation homes in the South.  Colonaded on all four side, the pristine Greek Revival structure stands on a slight rise, overlooking a rflction pool edged by azealas, wild flowers, and moss drapped live oaks.  Lavishly   furnished with Victorian antiques it is such a perfect looking Southern mansion that has been used as a setting for a motion picture and two television mini-series.

Louisiana

Reader’s Digest

Off the Beaten Path

 

 

 

Greenwood Plantation B&B

 

 

 

 

Mackinaw CIty, Michigan

Is a city that is located on the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It has a population of 795 and their main industries are tourism, Fudge—if you haven’t tried it, it’s worth a trip there just to do so and of course other candies.  

Colonial Fort Michilimackinac

 

 

Colonial Michilimackinac

A site to see is the Mackinac Bridge which connects Michigan’s two peninsulas.  It was started in 1954 and finished in 1957 all five miles of it. 

Mackinac Bridge Museum

Mama Mia’s Pizza

• Enjoy the Free Mackinac Bridge Museum Located above MaMa Mia’s Restaurant
• View items donated from Ironworkers from around the country, including a diving suit, documents, photographs, and  tools used during the construction of the Mackinac Bridge
• Award winning pizza
• Family owned and operated
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

 

 

LIVING HISTORY. MAKING HISTORY.

 

 

Historical  Pathway

This route features historical displays outlining the history of the city and the Straits area.

 

LENGTH:	1.6 mi
SURFACE:	100% Paved
ORGANIZATION:	Music in Mackinaw City Village of Mackinaw City
TERRAIN:	100% Flat
WEBSITE(S):	http://mackinawcity.org/

 

• Music in Mackinaw City

 

 

The pina silva or sacred pine groves that were attachd to pagan Roman temples also pre-figured the Christmas tree.  Once the night before a holy day, Roman priests called “tree-bearers” cut one of the sacred pines, decorated it and carried it into the temple.  In fact, the German word for Christmas tree is not Kristenbaum, or Christmas tree, but Tannenbaum, or sacred tree.

Yule Rituals

gttoL..www,tryskelion.com/yule7.htm

 

 

 

30 Most Magical Christmas Towns and Villages Across the World

 

 

 

 

https://christossanford.com/

 

 

http://thebestusedbooks.com/

Longwood

 

 

 

https://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

 

 

 

 

 

A Tour of Devil’s Millhopper

About a twenty minute ride from the University of Florida campus in  Gainesville, is a huge funnel shaped hole  in the ground, that is an astonishing 500 feet across the opening, and an 120′ deep.  There are a number of folklore stories about the strange geologic wonder, all of which have to do with the devil.  One story tells of an early Black family, in the 1800’s, on their way to town with a wagon load of cotton.  According to the yarn, the family was witness to the frightening formation of  a huge hole.  The ground began to rumble and a big hole opened swollering trees, rocks and at least one “likkered up sinner.”

The Devil’s Millhopper

Strange Florida

Charlie Carlson

Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual Lecture Series:
Upcoming Online Lectures

 

 

 

 

 

Key West LIVE Music at Captn Tonys 🏝 1080p HD

 

 

 

 

 

United Kingdom’s 10 Best Pubs