Y is for...

Yeomen of the Queen's Bodyguard



Originated in 1485 to guard the new king Henry VII, the yeomen's duties have change in modern times. Still devoted to the monarch, these colorful gents act as guides to the Tower of London, regaling us with its fascinating history and entertaining along the way.


All are veterans of the military services, and experts on their subject matter.

For the history of the Yeoman Warders, Yeoman Archers--other versions of their title--visit their website.


The Tower of London



Reaching the letter Y means we will soon be leaving ABC Wednesday's Round 7. But don't worry, we'll be back for Round 8 immediately following.

Working--Shadows of the Past

 Last month we attended a workshop in historic interpretation. (I haven't mentioned it because it was where we were the weekend our house was robbed and it kind of faded into the inventory lists for a while.)

Our presenter, (whose name eludes me because it was in the files on my stolen computer) was a consummate actress, storyteller, historian, teacher, seamstress in combination. She did a shortened version for us of her presentation of four women of Pacific Northwest history which was fascination.

Historical interpreters might dress and act in a presentation as a character, or they might go about the day in the life of a person of a time period in a living history museum. (Colonial Williamsburg is an example of that.) They might also simply explain events or styles or daily life of the past.

 Mt. Rainier National Park has presented an annual evening program Shadows of the Past where guests are guided along the Trail of the Shadows in the historic Longmire area of the park and encounter characters from the area's history as they step out of the forest to tell their story. We had the surprise of gathering outside after lunch and seeing James Longmire (as played by one of the workshop attendees) step out of the forest for a visit.

ABC Wednesday--M

Many marvelous monuments mark the metropolitan London scene.


Victoria Memorial




remembering the Queen Mother




Samuel johnson's cat



Cleopatra's Needle

honoring the contribution of women

lions are good for climbing

Admiral Horatio Nelson

The many memorials of London make for a trip through history, and a great stop for M in the seventh round of Wednesday's ABCs. What other wonders have been found this week? You can see here.

Bodie Geometry

Square headed nails                     and            triangular hinges and hasps.

Looking out through a collection of rectangles. 

 Circles with rays marking radius and diameter.

Squares and rectangles leaning into parallelograms.

Bodie Reflected

Bodie reflected was quite interesting--contrast of old old and the clear vibrance of reflections. I find the double bill below rather fascinating. And as you can see, I was not the only one. Bodie was overrun with photographers the day we visited. It was nearly impossible to not get someone with a camer in the background of any shot.

 You can see a few of the interesting items that were on sale at the general store when it closed in 1942.

This is a Weekend Reflection in answer to James's year old continuing invitation to post a reflection shot each weekend. You can find James's post at Newtown Daily Photo, along with the links to others. Reflections are so fascinating--sometimes artsy, sometimes difficult to get without being in the picture.

A Bodie SkyWatch

Bodie State Park is a mining ghost town in the high desert east of the Sierra Mountains in California. The gold and silver mine and stamping mills there were active from the mid-1800s till 1942, when the federal government required all non-essential mining operations cease and men with mining expertise to work in war related materials.

The sky was incredibly blue the day we visited Bodie, making for a colorful, though cloudless Friday SkyWatch



Tomorrow some reflections from Bodie for Weekend Reflections.

Lincoln Castle

When you live in a city like Lincoln, having a castle is just part of everyday life. The castle might just be in your back yard.





Or maybe your playground butts up against the castle walls just outside the gate.

Or perhaps you are a publican just digging a bit for more of a garden for fresh vegetables for your lunch patrons and turn up some archeologically significant findings--and a fine for digging in the castle wall.

Walking along the castle walls, you can have another view of the Cathedral towers across the Bailgate, or look down into the castle grounds to see that, yes, indeed, it continues to host the crown court (though no longer the site of a prison.)

Cobb Hall was a defensive tower built sometime in the thirteenth century. It was later the site of public executions, which took place on the Cobb Hall roof. Currently, it is the home of one stubborn pigeon...

The rounded arch of the main gate, with the pointed Gothic arch which was later added, point out the years of changes of an active castle.

The Countess Lucy was a Constable of the Prison, a post held by several women over the centuries when the castle housed the prison as well as a military presence
The Keep was the home of the Constable and place of last resort in case of siege. The Lucy Tower was also the burial place for prisoners.

The Observatory Tower is a significant landmark of the Keep. The stone standing on the lawn is remnant of one of the Eleanor Crosses, monuments in honor of Eleanor of Castile, established at the nightly resting places of her funeral procession from Harby, near Lincoln, to London.

Lincoln Cathedral Part 2

Interior architectural detail

In Lincoln, the Cathedral Looms Large

Lincoln Cathedral (part 1)

Looking up at the cathedral towers, the only thing higher is the sky.

(It's SkyWatch Friday, so stop by here to see other SkyWatch blogs.)

Just about anywhere you go in Lincoln, the cathedral dominates the landscape. In fact, it can be seen from nearly 30 miles away. Construction on it began in 1072, and after partially surviving a fire and an earthquake within its first hundred or so years, rebuildings, renovations, and additions over the centuries brought us its current imposing image. We spent the entire afternoon in the cathedral, and could have spent another full day without seeing everything. This post will look at the exterior.

as seen from a bridge on the river

looking up at the facade