On the move

If you could move to any location on the planet, where would you go and why?

I spent a good number of years dreaming of retiring to the Cotswolds town of Morton-in-Marsh. If I could move anywhere that would still be high on my list of choices. However if money is no object I might consider a location in central London within view of one of the beautiful parks. If I did so I would enjoy the lovely flower gardens without having to labor, I would visit museums, attend concerts and theatre. And when I needed an escape from the urban hustle and bustle I would take a train out to the countryside.

Travel Tuesday – Longing for London

For a 10 year plus period, starting in 1998,  I was lucky enough to fly into Heathrow once or twice a year spending some time in London and other parts of England or Scotland.   Watching the Olympic coverage is making me miss my favorite destination, so I am sharing some more London scrap-book pages.    These snap shots  were taken on Christmas Day 2005 during a lunch cruise on the Thames.

 

Travel Tuesday # 28 – Peterborough Market & Cathedral

August 8, 2005 was a beautiful today to be in Peterborough England. 

                        

We spent most our time inside the “Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew Peterborough” — that is a mouth full.   However, as I look back it is these outside photos that remind me of how nice the day was.

If you click the link above you will see a list of the 10 things of note at the cathedral.  For me, as a reader of historical novels since my late teens, Katherine of Aragon’s grave & Mary Queen of Scots’ former resting place were the spots I headed for first.

 

Travel Tuesday # 26 – Balloon Festival Bristol England

I have never gone up in a hot air balloon but when I was growing up a few landed in my uncle’s field.  While we used Bristol England as a  base for day trips by rail in August 2005 we were able to view many beautiful balloons floating through the sky.  It turns out that Bristol  hosts an International Balloon Fiesta each August.  2012 is their 34th year.

  

Travel Tuesday # 25 – Watching a Vintage Steam Train

One morning during our August 2005 trip to England while of walking into the Bristol Temple Station to board an ordinary train we noticed a vintage steam train readying to depart on an excursion.  My husband, the train fan, decided  we should hang around and watch the old-timer take off.

   

 

 

pt B Music Monday # 24 – The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney, and the Queen

(Technical issues appear to be keeping me from including comments along with the video on this topic.)

Sir Paul McCartney performed last week in front of Buckingham Palace as part of the Diamond Jubilee giant pop concert for the Queen.  The connection between Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Beatles dates back to 1964 when the band burst on to the world music scene.  That year the Queen ordered the Beatles to her birthday party, and they attended.  In 1965 the Beatles received MBE (Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) awards from the Queen.  Their names were put forward for the honor by the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Travel Tuesday # 23 – Bishop’s Palace & Gardens, Wells England

If there is any place where the pictures in my scrapbook fail to do justice to my memory of its beauty  Wells Bishop’s Palace & Gardens is it.  I also believe there have been a lot of improvements made to this attraction since my August 2005 visit.  
The first time we went to Wells to visit the Cathedral we were unaware that the Bishop’s Palace & Gardens were there just around the corner.  Luckily we found out about them on made a return trip to visit both.  And my husband and I need to get back to Wells England again as we have yet to catch a service and hear their choir live.

Music Monday # 23 — Elgar and Royal Pomp

Yesterday I set my DVR to record the BBC America coverage of the Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant.   I watched the program just before calling it a day last night. The final music barge carried members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir, directed by Thomas Blunt,.  It stopped next to the royal barge for a short performance including Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory.    I have included a BBC clip of yesterday’s performance, which may or not be active when you view this post:  (BBC – Musical Finale of Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant .   I am not finding any video that I find to be an adequate replacement if the link above fails, although you can go to YouTube for versions from “The Last Night of the Proms” concerts.  And the LPO does have a recording on sale at http://www.lpo.org.uk/jubilee/

A little history–     Edward Elgar wrote two Pomp and Circumstance Marches in 1901.  “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D Major” was so admired by Queen Victoria’s son, Edward VII, that he commissioned Elgar to compose a work for his coronation.  The song “Land of Hope and Glory” was the result of Elgar reworking that 1^st march and adding words written by Arthur C. Benson  to the trio section of the march.  It was part of the commissioned ‘Coronation Ode” that earned Elgar a knighthood, and the title Sir, in 1904.

Travel Tuesday # 22 – Vale of Evesham

Time to share another scrapbook page.  I pulled a red binder off my shelf and found memories of an August 2005 trip to England.  My husband was on a mission to see a number of cathedrals and while there are tons of pictures of them I enjoyed taking shots of the landscape while we traveled mile after mile on trains.  These photos include some crops being harvested.  I could not figure out what the crop was.  If you know, or have an educated guess I am interested in learning.

I’ll be posting more pages from this particular trip in the weeks to come.  Until then…

Travel Tuesday # 20 – Bury St. Edmunds

Here are two scrapbook pages from an October 2009 day in Bury St. Edmunds:

After arriving by train we spent some time inside the St Edmundsbury Cathedral followed by a pleasant stroll around the Abbey Gardens.