Doors of England

As we walked through some of the villages in the Cotswolds Lisa was really struck by all the beautiful and unique doors. Here are several of the doors we walked past.

Julia's Ambulance Ride

Julia took her last horse riding lesson last Wednesday. She was jumping really well as her horse, "Shadow", maneuvered the jumps. Her instructor decided to give Julia a bit of a challenge and she set up a double jump. Julia jumped one perfectly and then after jumping the second Shadow decided to bolt right while Julia fell off the left side. She couldn't move her neck once she hit the ground and we became quite concerned that she might have broken her neck or jaw. She cut her chin pretty badly. So we called an ambalnce and spent the evening at the Kingston Hospital. In the end Julia was totally fine - no broken bones. Praise the Lord!

Guy Fawkes Neighborhood Event on November 7

All of London broke out in parties and the skies erupted with fireworks in honor of this man who lived between 1570 and 1606, named Guy Fawkes. He belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Fawkes was born in York. He converted to Catholicisim and left for the continent and fought in the Eighty Years' War on the side of Catholic Spain against the Protestant Dutch reformers. Later Fawkes met Roberet Catesby and together they planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters leased and an underground tunnel beneath the House of Lords and Fawkes was put in charge of the gunpowder. The English authorities received an anonymous letter and search Westminster Palace on November 5 and found Fawkes guarding the explosives.

Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, which has been commemorated in England since November 5 1605. On this day every year in Britain people gather around bonfires and set off fireworks. We were invited to a neighborhood fireworks event by a friend of a friend.

Eton College

Eton College is across the Thames River from Windsor. The girls and Lisa had a lovely afternoon after the tour of Windsor Catle feeding the swans and then walking across the bridge to Eton. Eton is a small town with upscale shops and restaurants. Eton College is a British independent school for boys between the ages of 13 and 18. It was founded by King Henry VI in 1440.

Eton has a very long list of distinguished former students. David Cameron is the nineteenth British Prime Minister to have attended Eton. A 20th century historian of Eton wrote, "No other school can claim to have sent forth such a cohort of distinguished figures to make their mak on the world."

Windsor Castle

The girls and Lisa took the train from Paddington to Windsor for the day several weeks ago. John was out of town in Devon. We really enjoyed our day in the town of Windsor and our traditional Shepherds pie at the pub where there is a tunnel to Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Its history goes back 1000 years. The castle covers about 13 acres. We took the audio tour which was incredibly informative and took 2 hours for a walk through the State Apartments, St. George's Chapel (burial place of 10 monarchs), Queen Mary's Dolls House.

Rememberance Day in London

Laura, Julia and Lisa walked to Trafalgar Square to mark the Armistice. At 11 AM today London fell silent. It was very somber. The Royal British Legion hosted Silence in the Square. The pop group the Saturdays performed and there were readings from celebrities before before the silence.

Phantom of the Opera

Laura and Lisa walked across the street from our London flat to Her Majesty's Theater to see "Phantom of the Opera." Laura plays the song "Think of Me" on the piano and we really enjoyed listening to all the pieces during the musical. The theater wasn't as nice as our very own Morris Theater back in South Bend but we really enjoyed the production.

Think of Me

think of me foundly, when

we've said goodbye

remember me

once in a while, please

promise me you'll try

When you find,

that once again you long

to take your heart back,

and be free

if you ever find a moment,

spare a thought for me........