The Last Post

This is the last in the series, M&P - Mike and Pat in the UK

Enjoy some of the random photos, all with some sort of story.

Above and below. 

This is a must read and a must appreciate dedication. When they are finished, volunteers will have placed 888,246 ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during World War 1.

http://poppies.hrp.org.uk/about-the-installation/
 

There is also a story behind the Ravens of the Tower of London. All eight of them. Our visit to the Tower was extremely interesting, and we only scratched the surface with about 4 hours on the site. 

Below, the Yeoman Warder and Ravenmaster with one of his charges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravens_of_the_Tower_of_London/
 

Below, one of the many vehicles that were parked at the Dorchester Hotel. A hotel where the rich and famous hang out. Do you recognize the vehicle type? I am sure Michael Allore and some others do, but for those who don't know, this is a three wheel Morgan. Note the V-Twin air cooled engine. Very cool and I am sure, very interesting in the busy London Traffic as you can see below.

Can you imagine?

Well that is all. Pat and I hope you enjoyed the blog. Susie, did I get it right this time? You criticized me the last time...or was that constructive comments? 

We have plenty more photos, but we didn't think posting all 2000 plus pictures was going to be a good idea.

Next year, Badminton.

http://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/

Guess where this is?

Its like a walk in the park.

Same lake, different location. Quite beautiful we thought. How about you? 

There was some wild life in the lake, a Grey Heron I think.

Out of the forest and onto the lawn. There were Canadians on that lawn...Canadian Geese. The whole property is over 40 acres.

I turn and what do I see? Some buildings. From this angle, they may not look that familiar.

Up closer, but still at the back door, ... Still nothing?

Out front, I see something more familiar.

You guessed it. Queen Elizabeth's main office, Buckingham Palace. Pat, me and hundreds of our favourite friends were invited inside to visit the grounds, and the many state rooms of the palace that the Queen has to offer. No photography was allowed inside of course, so I am attaching a link so that you can get a glimse of what we saw. The art and sculpture collections was fantastic.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/what-to-see-and-do/the-picture-gallery/
 

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace/
 

Dinner and a Mystery

We had dinner in the Nottinghill Dirtrict last night, only to be met with a mystery man. While we sat inside with many empty tables, this dude came along and sat right outside our window with his back to us. I am also here to tell you that it was not that cold out. Actually, it was a bit warm. So what was this guy up to? Well, maybe he was someone famous? We are not actually sure and I did not bang on the window to find out. So, we like to think it was a prince, or a movie star. You be the judge.

Just a quick look at our mushroom soup and some really soft warm bread. Yum yum.

See what I mean, and remember, it wasn't that cold out. Not for a hoody anyway. He sat for no more than 30 minutes. His dinner came quick and he cobbled it down in less than 10 minutes including his glass of red wine.

This is him pulling away in his very expensive looking BMW. When I asked the waitress about him, she smiled and said that he was a regular and was always in a rush to get away. 

Well, what do you think?

The Colleges and Bridges of Cambridge - As seen from a Punt

Check these babies out...photos I mean. According to our Punt Master, the Colleges can be very competitive with each other. Their competitive natures have been passed down through the centuries..and I mean centuries. These colleges don't even remember why they don't like each other...they just know they don't. It is in their DNA.

Don't ask me which one is which...Google it and see if you can distinguish them apart. I have made an effort in some places, but cannot really be sure. Make your comments and guesses and read a little bit of history. Like who famous attended what college...you will be surprised how many, or not.

Oh, and I threw in a couple of bridges to boot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge/

 Katie and Mikey, I think this one above is King's College. It doesn't look like your King's College.

Above is the Library, one of many, noted for many things. It was noted by our Punting Guide that the lower floor is kept virtually empty of valuables in particular, in case of flooding. The upper windows is where all of the good stuff is kept. 

Above is the residence for St. John's College. We are told that this is the one that all of the other colleges despised and as I said, they don't even remember why.

Below, bridges, bridges and bridges....after all, it is Cam-Bridge...that is a Bridge over the Cam river. Funny what you see when you break things down like that.

Below, St. John's residence from another angle. If I have this wrong, please speak up someone.

Apparently they ran out of the good materials on this college, so they covered the back side with ivy, to mask the brick. The ivy was just starting to take on the colour of fall. Also of note, the students are asked to open their windows from time to time, to prevent them from being over-grown. Some fail to perform that simple duty and the expected results ... well, it resulted. 

Not sure what this is below...but it is part of a college. Pat says this is where the Law Master lives at Trinity College. She may be right.

Some of the buildings were right on the river.

Below, Cambridge Quayside Magdalene Bridge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Street/

Below, the Bridge of Sighs, St. John's College.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_Cambridge/

Below, this is Mathematical Bridge as it is called. It came with a BS story but I called our Master Punter on it

. He said he was going to tell us anyway....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_Bridge/

Last Night's Dinner at the Noorjahan 2

A quick glimpse at dinner last night. We did something "other than Pub food", just for a change.

Our first appetizer...yum yum.

Our second appetizer. Pat forgot to take a picture, so you will have to use your imagination. It was equally as yummy.

And finally, Pat's main course...mine came moments later...which had a wider variety of things which we shared. However, Pat would not let me take a picture because it was so yummy looking.

See ya later.

Casper - The Friendly Dachshund

Not to be forgotten, I thought he deserved his own personal blog post.

Meet Casper, our friendly co-host at Pembroke House while we stayed over in Peterborough.

Casper is a "Rescue and as all Rescues go, they will have a history most of which, non of us will ever know. While often uncertain of himself and those around him, Casper has made Pembroke House his home, and Joan his favourite person. Thanks to Joan, Casper is living a very wonderful life.

Thanks Casper for allowing us into your home, and sharing Joan for the week.

More Horse Trials

Some of my favourite Dressage shots.

Below, GBR's William Fox-Pitt on Bay My Hero. Today, William is 2nd behind the leader, Jonathan Paget.

Below, New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson on Avebury, fourth after dressage but only 1.67 points behind the leader. Man, this is close.

Andrew was the final winner. See his interview and get a better idea about what Horse Trials are all about.

http://www.burghley-horse.co.uk/

Below and from GBR, #2 Sarah Bullimore on Valentino V

They were the first rider on course...we watch her start and this is her finish over the last jump, the Land Rover Finale.

Below, GBR's #4, Piggy French on Westwood Mariner over jump 31. Piggy rode two horses today ending up with a score of 75 for both....now that is really weird.

I thought Murray Lamperd on Under the Clocks jumping Cottesmore Leap deserved another good look. A very exciting jump for riders and spectators. The horses? They can do it in their sleep....but you hope they aren't sleeping of course. It's a long way down.

Two of my favourite speed shots. 

Below, the American Alison Springer on Arthur, galloping up the hill from the jump the # 9 combination. Check out the determination on her face.

And here comes Andrew Hoy, that former grounds keeper turned eventing champion. He was racing away from #15, the Captain's Log. Andrew retired before the end of the course for unknown reasons.

It's PIMM'S O'Clock

I will take a regular please.

My choice was always the regular.

Mmmmm! Very refreshing after a long day of cross-country course walking. Cheers.

Cambridge - A Historic Town

I won't bother giving you all with of the history of what we learned today, mostly because it went in one ear and out the other. On the other hand, the history is very rich and very worthwhile reading about. Some of you may know it all and can simply enjoy the pictures. Others, well, get busy.

We made our way by car to St. Ives, and then hopped a bad ass bus to Cambridge. Very cool.

Ok, normal busses aren't that cool, but this one was....why? Check out the track in front of the bus. This is called the "guided bus" and it steers at most times by itself by little wheels on the side of the bus... they track inside the channeled road...and no, the bus driver did not guide us or give a guided tour...these low tech tracks guided the bus while the driver simply pressed on the gas pedal. Huh! I told you it was cool didn't I?

We made our way into Cambride and stopped for a quick lunch to prepare us for our tour of the Cam River.

Before getting underway, Neville felt it necessary to check out the operation before, and deciding which boat driver/punter and tour guide we should employ.

Needless to say, this young lady was Neville's first choice and I must say I concurred.

Helen and Pat of course won out with their preferred choice and reluctantly, the Neville and I capitulated as we usually do. :(

Katie, what do you think? University Grad...good prospects and he worked here through high school and University.

Random Duck.

So where is Pat? Well, she was showing showing the young man how to steer the boat.

We ran across some other Canadians, vacationing or studying here?

 Below, we are heading back to the bus for the ride home. As I write this... Helene and Neville just texted that they have arrived back home. Thanks to them both for such a wonderful day...and yes, that is blue sky up there...expect for the rest of the week.