The Tower of London

Worrybomb and I went to London to see the Crown Jewels.  Its not her first time in London, but it was her first with me!  This posting entry might be a Worrybomb.com first as I think its the first to include photos from Worrybomb herself.

Holding on in the Tube
Holding on in the Tube

We went on the underground.  Where we did have a seat each, but it wasnt as much fun as standing up on the wobbling bouncing train!

Coat of Arms - (meaning God and my right) is the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in England. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the English version of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom
by Worrybomb.  ( God and my right) is the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in England. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the English version of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom

The coat of arms of the Queen.

Raven
Raven

We saw the ravens. The group of ravens at the Tower comprises at least seven individuals (six required, with a seventh in reserve). The presence of the ravens is thought to protect the Crown and the Tower; a superstition holds that “If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.”

photographing the raven
photographing the raven
Raven - Worrybomb
Raven – Worrybomb
Worrybomb and Towerbridge
Worrybomb and Towerbridge ( worrybombs camera )

We saw Tower Bridge ( which we later walked over and found the bit in the middle. There is a pretty large gap between the two bits that lift up and you can see right down to the Thames river below! )

Worrybomb and Cannon
Worrybomb and Cannon
Yeoman Hawkins
Yeoman Hawkins

In one of the towers, we could touch some chain mail and we found a helmet you could wear. It was very heavy and a big big even over a fluffy cat hat !

Tower Bridge - by Worrybomb
Tower Bridge – by Worrybomb
Waterloo Block - The Tower of London
Waterloo Block – The Tower of London – by Worrybomb

We couldn’t take photos of the Crown Jewels, but they were lovely and along with the current ones many of the old crowns are there too. Several old corwns had all the stones removed from them, these were recycled to make the newer ones. As a (very basic) Silversmith it was very interesting to see how they were made, very similar to the way I was taught to set stones.

Tower and Shard
Tower and Shard

Worrybomb is following in the footsteps of Auntie Goody ( who was born within earshot of Bow Bells ) and could name some of the new landmarks of London like the Shard.

Scaffold Site Memorial  ‘Gentle visitor pause awhile : where you stand death cut away the light of many days : here jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life : may they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage : under there restless skies’.
‘Gentle visitor pause awhile : where you stand death cut away the light of many days : here jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life : may they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage : under there restless skies’. – by Worrybomb

Off with your head, well there is a nice memorial to the nastiness that happened on the Scaffold site now.

Worrybomb Dad and the Guard
Worrybomb Dad and the Guard by Worrybomb

Outside Waterloo Block there is a Queens Guard, who stands very very still, but every 5 minutes of so, he stamps and marches 5 or so meters to either side to check all is well. His first march made us both jump.

On Guard
On Guard
The Queen's Guard outside Waterloo Block at the Tower of London - guarding the crown jewels.
The Queen’s Guard outside Waterloo Block at the Tower of London – guarding the crown jewels. – by Worrybomb

We saw Queens Guards come off duty, they were out of their dress uniforms in
green, carrying what looked like large black barrels, these had their bearskin hats in ! And yes they are still made of real Canadian Bear as the synthetic materials dont work as well or look as good !

More Mortars
More Mortars
Armour by Worrybomb
Armour by Worrybomb

Lots of suits of armour, some Worrybomb size!

More London Riverside Art - Stream
More London Riverside Art – Stream

Then over the river to find a Leon. The food was simple and great tasting, and the staff were really firendly and lovely to us. It wasnt the same one as Worrybomb had been in before with her Nanny, but the meatballs were as good she said and they helped to warm us up a little to enjoy the art around More London Riverside before walking back along the Thames past the Golden Hind and the Tate Modern and home.

The Girl from Stephen Balkenhol’s ‘Couple’
The Girl from Stephen Balkenhol’s ‘Couple’

We had a super time.

Worrybomb and The White Tower
Worrybomb and The White Tower

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