Farmer John

This cute man looks like he is working really hard!

Tony's Allotment

I had heard so much about Tony's gardening abilities/knowledge that I had to see his allotment. I'm jealous! He has a greenhouse here and in his backyard at home. Since we were there in February, we didn't get to see it at its best, but still interesting. Off to one side, there is a giant pile of horse manure (farmer's gold?). I mean giant. This guy doens't have anywhere to dispose of his manure from his ranch, so he brings it to the allotment to use as fertilizer.

The Garden Shed Gang

The exhibit we went to at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London was about Shaun Greenhalgh "the greatest master forger". He forged all kinds of art work including sculptures, paintings, silver reliefs, etc. His father and mother helped sell the art work. They were called the Garden Shed Gang because all the work Shaun did was done in the shed in their garden of the government housing they lived in (basically welfare housing).  They lived in Bolton where the Horrocks family grew up. They sold one sculpture to Bolton for 460,000 pounds and it was displayed as an original for years. One of his forgeries was sold to a gallery in Chicago. They were finally caught, investigated, and Shaun was sentenced to 4 years in prison.  He was released a few weeks before we arrived, and the Museum was able to display some of his work.  A detective that worked on the case was the speaker at the exhibit. The people of Bolton was kind of proud of Shaun, because he and his father were able to fool a lot of artsy, rich people, and of course, the artsy, rich people felt exactly the opposite.

Tower of London

(I had to put the cheesy tourist pic in here)

The original part of the Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. 1078!!!!! I read all about it on Wikipedia and now I can't remember what it's original use was, but since 1303 it has housed the Crown Jewels. It has also been used as a prison and has been the scene of lots of famous executions.  It is considered the most haunted building(s) in England.  Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason, has been seen at the chapel where she was buried, walking around carrying her head under her arm. The ghost of Henry VI and Lady Jane Grey have also been seen.  A guard (known as "Beefeaters") died of fright after seeing a ghost of a bear walking towards him. There is also 10 ravens kept at the Tower because legend has it that the Kingdom will fall if the ravens leave. Their wings are clipped so they can't fly away. During the bird flu scare a few years ago, the ravens were kept inside so they wouldnt catch it.

Big Ben and the House of Commons

We got to see Big Ben.  Only British citizens can tour Big Ben and you have to make an appointment with your local politician.  We also happened to be there as the clock was striking 5:00.

One of the most interesting things we did was go in to see the House of Commons in session.  It would be like seeing the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. They were debating a water issue which wasnt that interesting, but seeing how it all works was fascinating.  We had to go through a medal detector, have our mug shot taken and wear it around our neck on a lanyard.  We had to leave our purses and/or bags at a check station.  We were allowed to stay and listen as long as we wanted though.  And there was a glass barrier between the visitors gallery and the rest of the room apparently so we couldn't throw tomatoes or something at the politicians.

Trafalgar Square

This is Trafalgar Square.  The present square was completed in 1845. The National Gallery (more about that later) is in the background.  The square is the 4th most popular tourist attraction on Earth according to Wikipedia.  It has long been the site of public demonstrations.  The most recent include - a continuous anti-apartheid protest in the 1980's (I assume most of the decade), the announcement of the 2012 Olympics being held in London, and a mass moonwalk the day after Michael Jackson's death.  Of course, there is a ton more history relating to the square, but since I'm not a student of history, I can't get my head around it all.

There is really good information about it on Wikipedia, my most trusted source of info.

A funny thing happened...

We were fascinated by these guards.  Of course had to take pics.  As we were mingling around, John was standing in front of where the gate was, and we heard a LOUD voice.  "OUT MI WAY". John turned around and the guard (the one standing by the horse) was trying to get through to see the guard on the horse, and apparently John was standing in his way! He was holding a big sword! John almost jumped out of his skin, and I have never seen him move so quickly! It was quite funny. Of course it had to be my John that gets yelled at by authority. Unfortunately I can't remember what they were guarding, but I think they are also Life Guards.  I probably dont have that right, I apologize to my British readers if I am telling these stories incorrectly. 

The Life Guards

We looked for the Palace Guards that wear the big fuzzy hats, the ones you are supposed to make move, smile, laugh, something.  Anyway, the guards at the Palace were wearing normal uniforms. But across the street was the barracks for the guards.  These were apparently practicing.  We later found out, the fancy guards everyone wants their pic with, are only on duty during summer months.  The big fuzzy hats are actually made of real bear fur that gets very heavy during rain, so they dont wear them all the time.  It seems mostly for tourist sake.  These are actually called Life Guards. 

Buckingham Palace

Of course, you can't go to England and not see Buckingham Palace.  Amazing. Beautiful. Impressive.

FBI Sighting

Jack and a FB Pencil.

Bobbies

Here's a pic of real bobbies, and a pic of a dork.

St. Pancras, London

Julie and John took us to London for two days.  We took the Bullet Train (operated by Virgin Railways, you know Richard Branson) from Manchester to the St. Pancras Station and Hotel. The station was opened in 1868. It is located on Euston Rd, St. Pancras, London. It also houses the London Underground, King's Cross St. Pancras tube station. The style of architecture is Victorian Gothic.  Exterior shots are seen in the Harry Potter films. Pretty amazing, huh.  We stayed at a youth hostel one block away.

The Beatles Story

This is a replica of the Cavern Club where the Beatles played 292 times.  The album cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is fascinating.  They are all famous people, picked by the Beatles themselves.  Jesus, Ghandi, and Adolf Hitler was requested but not included.  You can see a list of the people on Wikipedia "List of images on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". 

(If I knew how to use the computer better, I could include links to Wikipedia.)

Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK

The Albert Dock was built in 1846. It was named for Queen Victoria's husband, Albert. He attended the grand opening, marking the first time a member of the Royal Family had visited Liverpool. It was used for storage of valuable cargo such as brandy, cotton, silk, tobacco, ivory, and sugar. In WWII it was used as the base for the British Atlantic Fleet. It was damaged by German bombs in the May Blitz of 1941. At the end of the war, 15% was damaged. It is now a tourist attraction, including The Beatles Story, the Maritime Museum, and Tate Modern Museum. Read all about it at Wikipedia, Albert Dock, Liverpool.

Liverpool, UK

There is some amazing architecture in England.  The building with the bird statues on top was used by sailors to let them know they were in Liverpool.  I'm not sure what the other old building is, but, hopefully Eileen or Tony can leave a comment explaining that. The ferris wheel is one of three I saw. The one in London is called the London Eye. Manchester and Liverpool also have their own version, although not as big.

Ferry across River Mersey

We took the underground tunnel on the train to Birkenhead, so we could see Liverpool from across the River Mersey. The first ferry began operating in 1150 AD. After being in England, I got a little more used to seeing things from a long, long time ago. Anyway, as we were walking up the "gang plank" the water was really rough.  Tony was a little nervous about being sick because he had been on a previous trip, but John was absolutely "green around the gills". It was a smooth ride though, and the view of Liverpool is absolutely fabulous!

Just waiting on the train

Eileen and Tony took us to Liverpool. We caught the local train to Birkenhead, across the River Mersey from Liverpool.  We saw Albert Dock, and the Beatles Story. John had his first helping of fish-n-chips, but more about Liverpool later.

Correction from my Westhoughton post, it is spelled as one word. Oops.

TCB in West Houghton

John and I had to TCB (taking care of business) in West Houghton this morning.  We went to the Laundry, the Fruit Stand, the Library and Town Hall, and we saw the Conservative Club (one of the political parties). The butcher is across the street from Ivy's house. They take very good care of her. I also got to see where Ivy was born, the places John used to avoid cause you would certainly get in a fight, where his friends lived, the alley he used to smoke his ciggies before school. It was fascinating.