219/365 Abstract

"Abstract"

218/365 Personable

"Martin"

Meet Martin.  He was our bus driver for the two weeks that we were on tour in England.  Not only was he an amazing bus driver, he is an all-around good guy.  He was always cheerful and patient.  He also went way beyond the call of duty - retrieving items that people had left in previous places, using his personal time to scout out eating spots for us when we had tight schedules and risking a ticket to drop us off in a place that was off-limits to buses because traffic had been terrible in transit that we were running very late for a performance.  We could not have asked for a better person to be with us on our journey.

On our last evening in London, six of us took Martin out for dinner and a beer to express our gratitude for all that he had done for us.  Martin began as our bus driver and became our friend.

217/365 Dainty

"Arrival"

We arrived home safely from England.  Though there seemed to be signs of heightened security in the airports, the process and the flight were fine.  I am tired, but it is a good tired, the kind of tired where you know you had fun, you are glad to be home, but would do it all again given the chance.

I was too tired to give too much thought or energy to today's picture.  I found these few things as I was doing some very minimal unpacking.  The royal baby was born while we were in the airport waiting to leave for London.  Because we did not start our trip by staying in London, we missed most of the hype, but we were given the box shown as we exited Heathrow on our arrival there.  The background in this photo is a tea towel.  I got one for each of the girls . . .kind of touristy, I know, but it was the least kitschy of all of the royal baby paraphernalia.  Who knows, maybe some day it will be worth something on ebay.

Though the clock here in Dallas now reads 10:32pm, my body knows that it is 4:32am in the timezone in which it awoke; this means that I have been awake for 22 1/2 hours, which is way too long.  I am going to bed now . . .in my own bed for the first time in two weeks.  Goodnight!

216/365 At Eye Level

"Bob, Bokeh and Big Ben"

You may remember that my intention at the outset of this trip was to photograph Bob every place that we went.  As it turned out, that was a little unrealistic.  Every place was so crowded that taking the time to set up silly shots with him was not feasible so I had to let that idea go.  I am kind of sad about that, but it is what it is.  Tonight, on our last night of the trip, I decided to pull him out and have a little fun.

Today was a busy day - sung Eucharist this morning and Evensong this afternoon with a rehearsal in between.  When we returned to the hotel, we decided on one more quick trip to a pub for dinner and a final toast to our time in the UK.  We also needed to pack as breakfast is being served at 6:45 tomorrow morning with a scheduled 8am departure to the airport.  I did take just a few short minutes to take some photos of Bob late tonight.  I wish I had had more time; I do enjoy photographing the Lego mini figures.

I like the idea of this image but the execution leaves a little bit to be desired.  I just didn't have time (or energy) to think this through.  Part of the bokeh in the background is Big Ben.  For me, that is the hidden reminder of this trip.

215/365 An Outline

"Bridge At Dark"

We had the entire day free in London . . .and so did a billion other people, it seems.  The city was wall to wall people and wall to wall bicycles.  London is hosting a two day bike rally this weekend so the streets, many of which are closed to motorists, are crawling with cyclists.  Im not sure I have ever seen this many people in one place.

We attempted to go the Westminster Abbey this morning but the lines were a mile long in two different directions.

O have already been to Westminster Abbey on our last visit and Weber did not want to stand in line, so this picture is as close as we got to the abbey.  The inside will have to wait for another visit.

"Quintessential London"

We did take an excursion on The Tube toTrafalgar Square, The Strand and Covent Garden.  Again, we met a solid wall of human beings on the sidewalks.  After a few hours of barreling though the crowds, we came back to the hotel to devise a Plan B. 

Plan B involved a sunset cruise down the Thames and then an Italian dinner.

"The Eye"

All of my pictures involving the eye are still being taken from the ground!

I cannot remember the name of tho Bridge.

"London Bridge and Tower Bridge"

"Tower Bridge"

"Tower of London"

It is late and I have to be up early in the morning.  We are singing for the Eucharist in the morning and then Evensong tomorrow afternoon.  I suppose after that, we'll have one more night together in the pubs before we pack everything up and head home on Monday.  Boy these two weeks have passed quickly!

214/365 A Sign

"A Sign"

I think that this is a sign that someone is ready to go!

We spent Friday in Canterbury.  The day had a stressful start in that we ran into a traffic snag between London and Canterbury that caused us to arrive at the cathedral with no time to rehearse or even warm-up much for our midday concert.  We did sing a few notes on the bus on the way.  The cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican communion and it was an honor to sing here, but the acoustics were very strange, probably having to do with carpet leading to the altar and an enclosed quire.  We sang well, but the singing highlight of this tour has definitely bee at Wells Cathedral a few days ago.

The Altar at Canterbury Cathedral

Saturday it's time to explore London.  We have a completely free day.  I'm not sure what we'll do.  I guess we'll see how the spirit moves us.

213/365 Adventure

"Not Eye, Says I!"

We arrived in London this evening after a day of travel.  We packed up and left Bristol this morning with our first stop being Stonehenge.  It looks exactly like all the pictures you have ever scene.

I wish that we could have seen it either at sunrise or sunset.  Unfortunately we were there in the middle of the morning with thousands of other tourists.  I could help myself and had to play with some filters just to see what it might have looked tike had the light been different.

I love the lone bird sitting atop the stone.

From Stonehenge we headed the short distance to Salisbury.  I was excited about this since this town is the namesake of my birthplace, Salisbury Maryland.  We began our visit here with a traditional pasty from the West Cornwall Pasty Shop.  We strolled the streets for a little bit.  Unfortunately, it was very warm, the hottest day thus far this season.  It was then off to the cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral

This cathedral has the tallest spire in Britain.  I had thought that I would take the tour to the top, but time ran out and I missed that opportunity.  So, pictures from the interior will have to suffice.

This candle is in the Chapel of Conscience, a chapel dedicated to all of those who were killed for standing up for their beliefs.  This candle is the symbol for Amnesty International.  The brilliant blue window in this chapel (and you can also see it in the above picture of the sanctuary, was a gift from the people of Chartres.  That explains the richness of its color.  Chartres Cathedral is know for its vibrant blues in its stained glass.

The very first picture, my true picture of the day, was taken with my phone from the front of our hotel.  The blue arc of light over the buildings is the Eye of London, the tallest ferris wheel in all of Europe reaching 400 feet high.  A part of me, a very small part, would love to ride it for the magnificent views and the great photo opportunities, but the other 99% knows that my fear of heights would make this a terrible choice for me.  I have a few days to overcome my fear and change my mind, but I doubt seriously that that will happen!