Tower of London

One of the main things we saw on our visit was the Tower of London.  While we were outside we heard a carillon playing Christmas Carols.  Gabriel's Message is quite well suited to the bells.  I've been listening to Sting's version.  I'm convinced that he must have been a Catholic choir boy in some former life.  He does these fabulous renditions of various traditional carols.  To the point... if you haven't heard Gabriel's Message, here is his version.

I have apparently crossed a threshold.  When we saw the Footguard (whom I mistakenly called a Beefeater to the children- oops!) I looked at him as a mother and wished I could offer him a cookie, a hug, and a hot cup of cocoa.  Once upon a time, I would have wondered if he had a girlfriend.  :-)

While we were touring we happened into King Edward the First's bedchamber and got to "meet" Edward the Second.  He asked Charlie if he would like to be a knight but Charlie said he would rather be an inventor.  Prince Edward allowed that there were rather a lot of things that needed to be invented in the 12th century.



Megan spent the entire time playing a rather complicated seeming game involving marbles and dice but we never did get a good picture.

Noah was convinced that the symbol for England was a tiger.  I finally took him over to some of the "servants" to ask them and they confirmed it was, indeed, a lion.  After that disappointment, it was time to talk Christmas.  Noah reported that he was hoping for a red apple.

 Interestingly, in the 12th century, the rules for celebrating Christmas were quite a bit different from ours.  Advent was something of  a mini Lent during which you abstained from sex, meat and various other pleasures of the flesh.  You didn't decorate until Christmas Eve and gifts weren't exchanged until New Year's.  Christmas Day was all about feasting.


We then saw the crown jewels and various armament through the ages.  Of which, there is little to say but that the former was very sparkly and the latter looked very uncomfortable.