OK, so I guess you all are probably getting tired of hearing about Castles, but tough! I like them, Teri likes them! They are EVERYWHERE, and so well, yes, we went to another one today. Again, an amazing back route this GPS picked out going through one of the narrowest road systems in the world. Some areas was just wide enough for one car and you would have had to back up to get out of the way of anything on coming. And the people are NUTS! At one point, we had these two ladies walking down the side of a 50mph road just barely wide enough for two cars and their walking side by side. They didn't even fall back into single file when we approached. I felt like hitting them out of spite..."See! Yer Stupid! Let me help you with that problem! " But, I nicely swerved into on coming traffic in deference to damaging my front bumper and waking up Makenna...but they were lucky I tell you, some people may not have a sleeping baby in the car. In one spot the side mirror by Teri was actually smacking into bushes on the side of the road when we came upon some traffic. Another, "cool" spot was where someone had built up a stone wall something like two centuries ago on one side of the road and then on the other side of the road was this tall wood fencing blocking the noise from the traffic from someone's back yard and house. You would think that they wouldn't put a wood fence like that, because if someone does have to choose between running into a massive stone wall or blasting through a fence and into a yard, I know what I would pick and I certainly would want to see it coming if I was in that yard or house! Hello! A wood fence is like paper mache to a 50 mph car. Of course, there could have been an even thicker stone wall behind the fence for all I know.
But, I've rambled on again. About Hever Castle. This one was interesting. It was an estate castle. Not really ever a defensive Castle, but like Leeds Castle, it was more a residence made up to be like a castle. But, the gardens were amazing. I really don't like plants, but it seems like gardening is a national pastime over here. Everyone talks about their gardens...really, it is just another term for "backyard", but they are all pretty into it really. There were the biggest roses I've ever seen in my life there and they smelled amazing. The grounds were huge.
We picked out Hever Castle because there was to be a jousting exhibition, which was interesting, but made more into a humorous skit, than really an exhibition. But Makenna loved it! She laughed and danced at the horses running and people going flying off the horses. It was a very nice day out and it was a lot of fun. (perhaps Teri will put pictures up for me again? Please sweety?)
Hever castle was the place where Anne Boleyn or Bollen (they spelled it numerous ways, don't know why) grew up. She was the woman who stole the heart of King Henry VIII refusing to be his mistress and forcing his hand in order to marry her to separate from the Roman Church and declare himself the head of the Church of England thus, allowing himself to divorce his wife of 25 years who had bore him no children...Nice guy, but really, if Anne had just agreed to be his mistress none of this would have happened...interesting how things work. Well, eventually, he fell in love with another maiden and since Anne only had given him a daughter and two miscarriages, he wasn't too happy with her. So after supposedly determining that she had been having an incestuous relationship with her brother and adultery with other members of the court (hmmm....not willing to be the mistress of the king, but was willing to be the same with her brother and lower court members?) He had her put to death for treason in the Tower of London. And, after growing tired of 4 other women he married after beheading or divorcing the previous one, he died. I think the pattern was: divorced, beheaded, divorced, beheaded, divorced, survived. He ended up with one son, who ended up dieing shortly after taking the crown or something, and then his daughter Elizabeth from Anne turned out to be one of England's most loved Queens with a huge growth in the arts occurring during her reign...she was also a Virgin to her death (gee wonder why with a Dad like that!).
Anyway, there were some touching mementos from Anne Boleyn's life in the castle. It was restored by an American by the name of Astor. He was made rich by buying up land around NYC and selling it when NYC really started to take off. So he went over there and bought Hever castle which had fallen into a horrible state of repair and invested millions into it between 1900 and 1908. He employed over 800 craftsmen to work on the place. He restored it as best as he could back to what they believed would be original, even not allowing the plaster workers to use strait edges (apparently, a straight stick wasn't invented at the time the Castle was built and the Astor guy made them all eyeball it. It actually came out quite nice.) There was amazing oak panelling everywhere and really, really, just an amazing house. Again, they have ANCIENT tapestries, furniture, and pictures where anyone could just reach out and touch them with signs saying "don't touch"...frankly signs don't work so well with a 20 month old, so, "SORRY England, I'm sure that baby spit hand print on the 16th century table will come off. Just use a little Pledge." Oh well...
They had this lake that Astor had dug BY HAND and you could rent a boat and go out on it. We didn't do that, but there were ducks all over the place and Makenna played the old game: "one for you, and one and two for me" with the crackers that we had along, laughing maniacally as the ducks would fight over the crackers when they would land just out of their reach on the stone work around where she was sitting. She really hasn't perfected he toss yet, but at least she didn't toss it behind her like how most of our games of catch go with her.
It looks like I might be coming back to the states for a few days next week to learn a little bit about integrating the new propulsion system we have developed so that I can bring back the information and make our work here easier on the double decker buses. Hopefully, I'll be able to pop in for church, not sure, but next Sunday is Teri's birthday so, she is not happy. We celebrated it today a little bit with a couple of $20/lb. Rib eye steaks (yes, that is actually cheap for steak here) and a cheese cake. I couldn't find any matches so I had to go out to the grill and light a wood skewer I had. I first tried lighting it in the toaster, but that didn't work very well. It lit right away at the grill, but as I was walking the candle (votive size) back into the house it blew out when I opened the door. Frustrated, I went back out to the grill and lit the skewer and started to pull it back out and dropped it....DOH...now I'm looking around for little sticks and such...apparently, for the safety of everyone, they have sprayed fire suppressant on every stick in our back yard because for the life of me I couldn't keep one lit the second I pulled it away from the flame. I finally found a stick they must have missed and after 10 minutes of screwing around with a stupid candle, we managed to get out a round of happy birthday and eat some cake...Makenna, of course, went first. Happy Birthday sweetheart!
But, I've rambled on again. About Hever Castle. This one was interesting. It was an estate castle. Not really ever a defensive Castle, but like Leeds Castle, it was more a residence made up to be like a castle. But, the gardens were amazing. I really don't like plants, but it seems like gardening is a national pastime over here. Everyone talks about their gardens...really, it is just another term for "backyard", but they are all pretty into it really. There were the biggest roses I've ever seen in my life there and they smelled amazing. The grounds were huge.
We picked out Hever Castle because there was to be a jousting exhibition, which was interesting, but made more into a humorous skit, than really an exhibition. But Makenna loved it! She laughed and danced at the horses running and people going flying off the horses. It was a very nice day out and it was a lot of fun. (perhaps Teri will put pictures up for me again? Please sweety?)
Hever castle was the place where Anne Boleyn or Bollen (they spelled it numerous ways, don't know why) grew up. She was the woman who stole the heart of King Henry VIII refusing to be his mistress and forcing his hand in order to marry her to separate from the Roman Church and declare himself the head of the Church of England thus, allowing himself to divorce his wife of 25 years who had bore him no children...Nice guy, but really, if Anne had just agreed to be his mistress none of this would have happened...interesting how things work. Well, eventually, he fell in love with another maiden and since Anne only had given him a daughter and two miscarriages, he wasn't too happy with her. So after supposedly determining that she had been having an incestuous relationship with her brother and adultery with other members of the court (hmmm....not willing to be the mistress of the king, but was willing to be the same with her brother and lower court members?) He had her put to death for treason in the Tower of London. And, after growing tired of 4 other women he married after beheading or divorcing the previous one, he died. I think the pattern was: divorced, beheaded, divorced, beheaded, divorced, survived. He ended up with one son, who ended up dieing shortly after taking the crown or something, and then his daughter Elizabeth from Anne turned out to be one of England's most loved Queens with a huge growth in the arts occurring during her reign...she was also a Virgin to her death (gee wonder why with a Dad like that!).
Anyway, there were some touching mementos from Anne Boleyn's life in the castle. It was restored by an American by the name of Astor. He was made rich by buying up land around NYC and selling it when NYC really started to take off. So he went over there and bought Hever castle which had fallen into a horrible state of repair and invested millions into it between 1900 and 1908. He employed over 800 craftsmen to work on the place. He restored it as best as he could back to what they believed would be original, even not allowing the plaster workers to use strait edges (apparently, a straight stick wasn't invented at the time the Castle was built and the Astor guy made them all eyeball it. It actually came out quite nice.) There was amazing oak panelling everywhere and really, really, just an amazing house. Again, they have ANCIENT tapestries, furniture, and pictures where anyone could just reach out and touch them with signs saying "don't touch"...frankly signs don't work so well with a 20 month old, so, "SORRY England, I'm sure that baby spit hand print on the 16th century table will come off. Just use a little Pledge." Oh well...
They had this lake that Astor had dug BY HAND and you could rent a boat and go out on it. We didn't do that, but there were ducks all over the place and Makenna played the old game: "one for you, and one and two for me" with the crackers that we had along, laughing maniacally as the ducks would fight over the crackers when they would land just out of their reach on the stone work around where she was sitting. She really hasn't perfected he toss yet, but at least she didn't toss it behind her like how most of our games of catch go with her.
It looks like I might be coming back to the states for a few days next week to learn a little bit about integrating the new propulsion system we have developed so that I can bring back the information and make our work here easier on the double decker buses. Hopefully, I'll be able to pop in for church, not sure, but next Sunday is Teri's birthday so, she is not happy. We celebrated it today a little bit with a couple of $20/lb. Rib eye steaks (yes, that is actually cheap for steak here) and a cheese cake. I couldn't find any matches so I had to go out to the grill and light a wood skewer I had. I first tried lighting it in the toaster, but that didn't work very well. It lit right away at the grill, but as I was walking the candle (votive size) back into the house it blew out when I opened the door. Frustrated, I went back out to the grill and lit the skewer and started to pull it back out and dropped it....DOH...now I'm looking around for little sticks and such...apparently, for the safety of everyone, they have sprayed fire suppressant on every stick in our back yard because for the life of me I couldn't keep one lit the second I pulled it away from the flame. I finally found a stick they must have missed and after 10 minutes of screwing around with a stupid candle, we managed to get out a round of happy birthday and eat some cake...Makenna, of course, went first. Happy Birthday sweetheart!
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