Crown

The thing I love best about England is that the old things are in use--not everything is roped off. A person can eat in pubs that are hundreds of years old. And even the crown jewels are actually used in coronations. I like this history of the ruby and the diamond in the crown.

The ruby which adorns the centre of the Crown of State has a rich and dramatic history. It once belonged to a King of Granada, who was murdered by Pedro the Cruel, King of Castille. He presented it to Edward, the Black Prince, in gratitude for his military assistance at the Battle of Navaretto in 1367. It was inherited by Edward's son, Richard II. Richard had it in his possession when he surrendered to his cousin, the future Henry IV, at Flint, Wales in 1399. Henry later usurped the throne and Richard was murdered. Henry's son, Henry V, wore this ruby in the crown he wore around his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt, a bejewelled gold fleuron was struck off this same crown during the battle and lost. The ruby was similarly worn in the crown of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. When Richard was killed during the fighting it famously rolled under a hawthorn bush to be retrieved by Lord Stanley and placed on the head of the victorious Henry Tudor. The Imperial Crown of State also contains pearls worn as earrings by Elizabeth I, these are suspended from the arches of the crown. Within the wide jewel encrusted band that forms the base of the Crown of State is mounted an enormous diamond, named the Second Star of Africa. This was cut from the famous Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever mined, it was given to Edward VII, who had it set in the crown. This priceless crown contains in all 2,783 diamonds, 17 sapphires , 277 pearls, 11, emeralds and 5 rubies.

The Ravens

Legend says that the kingdom and the Tower will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. It was Charles II, according to the stories, who first insisted that the ravens of the Tower should be protected. This was against the wishes of his astronomer, John Flamsteed, who complained that the ravens impeded the business of his observatory in the White Tower. Despite their having one wing clipped, some ravens do in fact go absent without leave and others have had to be sacked. Raven George was dismissed for eating television aerials, and Raven Grog was last seen outside an East End pub.

Westminster Abbey

I figured out that the Abbey is right near Westminster Palace. Makes sense. This picture is of the famous Lady Chapel where Henry VII is buried. I don't know how it's decided who gets to be buried at Westminster, but there is an impressive list of people who made the cut including, but not limited to--Charles Darwin, Edward the Confessor, David Livingston, Isaac Newton, Robert Browning, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, George Frederick Handel and Alfred Tennyson.

Not buried here, but one who certainly deserves to be, is my Mom. This picture was painted by a neigbhor when she was 18. None of us has a house that is worthy of the painting, but Westminster Abbey might do for Mom.

Dr. Who

My family will disown me if I don't put in a good word for Dr. Who on this site. Because I'm married to Dave, I have been brainwashed into thinking Dr. Who is the ultimate. In my opinion though, it's worth watching the entire series just to appreciate the Dalek Relaxation tape. I'm posting the link below, but if it doesn't work someday, try going to youtube and type in Dalek Relaxation. For those of you who are as yet unitiated, the Daleks are major villans on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e59guruVL4o

The Peter Pan Cup

I was checking to see if London's Hyde park was as wonderful as New York's Central Park (oh yeah) and I found this wonderful crazy tradition. The serpentine river flows through the park and every year since 1864 there has been a race on Christmas Day in the river. London gets plenty cold in winter and the river is about 4 degrees centigrade. That's cold enough that only club members are allowed to participate in the race for fear that people who are not used to the cold will die. The race is only 100 yards but I bet it feels like 1000. The reason it's called the Peter Pan Cup is because JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan, awarded the trophy in 1904 and it's been the Peter Pan Cup ever since.

Speaking of crazy. I enjoy reading Ripley's believe it or not books, and I've noticed that a disporportionate number of people in those books are from England.

TEA

Oh dear. I'm afraid this whole blog reveals that I am a conventionally-minded stereotype prone person. So be it. In England I want tea. Specifically, this tea.

I learned what a cream tea is. It's nothing to do with the creaminess of the actual tea (Dave actually had tea once with cream in it and said it was awful). No, a cream tea is tea served with creamy things on the side such as strawberries and cream, scones with cream and jam etc etc. Works for me.

Cotswolds

The picture above is Bilbury. I want to live in the Cotswolds! And I want Miss Marple to be my neighbor. The occasional murder in the library would provide excitement and Miss Marple would keep me safe.

Almost as good as the amazing beauty are the names of these towns--they're Anglo-Saxon and have wonderful histories. Listen to these names: Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Norton, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Nailsworth, Wolton-under-Edge.