The London Hippodrome

Now there's an interesting looking building. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me so I asked my daughters to take a few shots for me. The building dates from 1900 and was originally used for a circus and variety performances. It then became a music-hall and variety theater. In 1958 the inside was demolished and turned into a cabaret restaurant. It is currently undergoing more renovation.

"Hello down there, why not come up and join us !!!"

We also passed  Ripley's on our mammoth walkabout. A visit inside will have to wait for another jaunt across the "big puddle". Piccadily Circus has changed somewhat since the days my mother worked there at Drummonds Bank, and unfortunately looks even more "signage tacky" since I lived in London.

I feel like I've been busy the past few weeks with a lot of traveling - college visits for daughter #3, volunteer work, a visit to Ohio to do some house painting for my mother-in-law, shopping trips to help daughter #1 get ready for her mission in California, woodwork project in our house, and a bunch of other stuff locally. We are currently dogs/house sitting.
It's been way too hot and humid for me to sew much, (though I have been helping my daughter with hers,)  so I've been doing a lot of productive genealogy research related to my great-uncle and one of my cousins. (That internet travel has taken me to New Jersey, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, England, Scotland and India !)
School starts back up at the end of this week for my two youngest. Summer break has felt really short this year. Daughter #2 is flying in for a short visit in a couple of weeks and hopefully we will get together when hubby and I are doing an overnight layover in Utah in September.

Scots Corner - Camera Obscura

After a visit to Edinburgh Castle we decided to try out the Camera Obscura which is located just outside the castle. It was built specifically as a tourist attraction in the 1850's by Marie Theresa Short. We had a whooole lot of fun in the "World of Illusions" exhibit, most of which is hands on. The short Vortex Tunnel at the end took me a wee while to stop feeling like tipping over :)
The Camera is at the very top of the building, about 5 flights up with no other access, and we were fortunate to see through it on a lovely day. (When it rains hard or is foggy there is not much to see.) There is a walkway outside on the roof that gives great views over the rooftops of old Edinburgh.
We opted to start at the top and work our way down. We all enjoyed ourselves, though it took me a wee while to regain my balance once we were done :)

http://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/

Scots Corner - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Plan on spending at least a day at this wonderful, free to the public, museum in Glasgow. After all the wonderful exhibits we saw, my favorite part of the building was the Central Hall of all places. The pipe organ was played at lunchtime which made for a nice ambiance as we ate and wandered round.

And then there's the "Hanging Heads." On their own, amongst the light fixtures, they look somewhat out of place but in context with the rest of the exhibit they make more sense. The expressions are hilarious.

Once we got to Glasgow we took the underground to Kelvingrove and then a short walk to the museum. There's lots of other sites to see in the area but we opted to spend the day inside this impressive building. Definitely a must see again.

Scots Corner - Stirling Castle

I'm still having issues uploading photographs. This is one of the quieter areas of Stirling Castle. It's the Nether Bailey at the back of the castle. You access this area through the North Gate. There's a wee exhibit in the guard house with prisoner in situ.
At the far end of the Bailey is the Tapestry Studio, which was closed by the time we got there. The tapestries are a work in progress so we were somewhat disappointed to have missed that.
What look like little cottages in the photograph are actually powder magazines. They were built about 1810 and later converted into mobilisation stores.
Just like the rest of castle rock the Nether Bailey has fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. From far outside the castle, the walls surrounding that area make that whole section look like a ship.

Beautiful Britain - The Back Walk

We got to visit a number of places on our recent visit to Scotland and for the next wee while I plan on sharing some of that.
There's a number of ways to get to Stirling Castle and we chose to hike up the Back Walk. There's a small section beside the library but the main part starts beside the Municipal Buildings and is "guarded" by Campbell Bannerman and Rob Roy. (A few days after we went for our walk a fierce storm blew threw Scotland and the tree beside RR was uprooted.)

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the first leader of Britain to officially go by the title Prime Minister. Why is there a statue of him in Stirling? He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Stirling Burghs from 1868 for about 40 years. He became Premier of Britain in 1905.

"Rob Roy" from behind. Still standing after a nearby tree was uprooted in a storm.

My two traveling companions, having inspected the map decide it is time to move on up the hill.

After a steep climb past a lot of old Stirling wall and historic buildings we are close to the top of the Walk. We took some time to pause and admire the views.

Looking out onto The Carse which once used to be an impenetrable bogland. It is now agricultural, part of the Forth River floodplain and a wonderful scenic view to see in reality from many areas of the Old Town and Castle.

Near the top of the walk is a great stop off area - The Old Town Cemetery which is part of the Holy Rude Church. Due to the lateness of the afternoon we were not able to stay as long as we wanted. 'Tis a fascinating place to visit and I'll show you more next time :)

Beautiful Britain - Westminster Abbey

THE big day in Britain is almost upon us (depending upon which time zone your in) and I for one will be glued to my chair watching THE event :)
I lived in London for a couple of years. Loved it. Such an historic place with many wonderful sites to see.
Westminster Abbey is gorgeous and a must see if you ever visit the area. Get off at Westminster tube station and walk over to see Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, the Abbey, and behind you The London Eye and London Aquarium. If you want to keep on walking you'll find the Churchill Museum, St. James Park and Buckingham Palace. You can also take a bus tour round the area which is very interesting.

Monks have been in the area since the 10th century. Kings and Queens have been crowned in the abbey since 1066. 17 are resting in peace there along with many other famous people. The abbey has been host to 15 royal weddings, though there might have been more.
The current building was started in 1245 and is typically Gothic in style. I love the ceilings, arches and in particular, the stained glass windows.
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/

Beautiful Britain - Belfast

I'm going to do something a bit different today. I'm going to send you to Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti who is currently in Ireland on a business trip (her husband is doing the business part and she's tagging along). She has done a couple of fabulous postings about Belfast.

http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com/2011/04/beautiful-belfast.html
After that check out the rest of her blog. She shares some great information and photographs about New York,

Beautiful Britain - Outer Hebrides

Oh be still my beating heart. I am going to Scotland to visit my parents, siblings and nephews, and taking my two oldest daughters with me :)
If I can swing it I would love to visit the Outer Hebrides. It's a wee bit of a hike from my parents house to my cousin's farm but I would at least like to work out the cost and travel just to see if it could be accomplished this time round. My brother made the trip last year with our nephews and sister-in-law and had a good experience.
Having lived on the Isle of Skye (Inner Hebrides) as a child and having a good friend from Stornoway when I was in high school the idea of going to Lewis/Harris and assorted outer islands has always appealed to me.
http://www.scotlandinfo.eu/outer-hebrides-western-isles

Outer Hebrides (orange), Inner Hebrides (pink)

Garenin Black House Village, Isle of Lewis close to the Calanais Standing Stones.

West coast, Isle of Lewis

A pretty look at how Harris Tweed was made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nbLe9CGNc

The islands have inspired many photographers. Here's one beautiful interpretation by Bruce Percy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8LFbBrZq3E&feature=related

Beautiful Britain - Ireland

It's St.Patrick's Day so what better way to celebrate than to send you here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVd1S6g284&feature=related

Ireland, known as "The Emerald Isle", is a wee country with a huge history, majestic scenery, and the ability to rouse romance and passion in the souls of many.
My ggg-grandfather George McGechie was born in Ireland abt. 1795. I have no idea when he jumped over the channel to Glasgow but he married a bonnie Scots lassie and she gave birth to my gg-grandfather, David, in 1819.

Here's an Irish Blessing for you all.
"Wishing you ... warmth in your home, love in your heart, peace in your soul ... and joy in your life."

Beautiful Britain - Horse at Water

A few days before John visited London an new sculpture was unveiled (14 Sept. 2010). Titled "Horse at Water" by Nic Fiddian-Green it stands an impressive 33 feet high. It's made of bronze and took about a year to build. It weighs 17 tonnes and currently is the tallest free-standing sculpture in London.

When I first looked at the hubsters photograph I thought "Oh look at all those wonderful little birds. How are they attached?" On closer inspection I realized they were real birds, probably pigeons :) Given that particular birds propensity for pooping everywhere you turn I doubt that the sculpture will stay pristine for long.

To read more about the sculpture and why it came about visit http://artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=40761&int_modo=1 I pinched the picture of the artist with head from the article. Take a close look and work out if he is standing up or lying down :)
Before I forget the sculpture is located near Marble Arch.

Here's another one of the artist's equestrian sculptures, this time it's "Still Water" that was installed at Ascot Race Course on June 8, 2010. It's a bit smaller at 20 feet but still impressive. (This one, I think was a temporary installation.)

An interesting article about Nic Fiddian-Green and his sculptural philosophy can be found at http://www.holmesadamsprojects.com/nicfiddiangreen.php

Beautiful Britain - Christchurch Mansion

This is about the only house John has interior photographs of and he took a whole lot of them.

Christchurch Mansion can be found just outside Ipswich town center and is a museum of some worth. The area was originally the site of a 12th century Augustinian priory that was disbanded by Henry VIII
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Withypoll family bought the land in 1545 and commenced building the mansion. At some point in the 18th century the mansion was bought and expanded by Claude Fonnereau. The mansion changed hands again in 1892 and Felix Cobbold saved the mansion from demolition by turning it into a museum and art gallery under the care of the city of Ipswich. Would you believe admission is free ! With lots of nooks and crannies to explore it's a great place to take all sizes (and ages) of kidlets :)