UNDERGROUND VIDEO

Check out this youtube video (if you have highspeed internet) shot on the London Underground. It features an unauthorized busker playing on the train. Buskers (street musicians) are usually licensed and told where to set up, but they're not supposed to be on the trains. One of the most surreal moments of our last stay in London was the sound of a busker with an electric guitar playing "Under the Bridge" by the RHCP as we rode an escalator down into an Underground station. The acoustics were wonderful!

Scotland or Mordor?

Most of the pictures on this site are mine, but I borrowed this one from a web page. It's the William Wallace Memorial near Stirling Castle (we'll visit both). It reminds me of something out of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings - very weird. Wallace was sort of like the George Washington of Scotland - think Braveheart.

Old, really old

We talk about things being old, but Clifford's Tower in York is really old. It was built by the Normans 800-900 years ago soon after they conquered the Anglo-Saxons. Whoever controlled York controlled northern England, so this castle was important. There are only two other structures similar to this one anywhere in Europe. There's one just like it in France and another elsewhere in England that is badly damaged. In castle terminology the central tower portion is called the keep. We'll see a much fancier keep at Windsor Castle near London.

Yorkshire

We'll pass through Yorkshire (the north of England) on our way to Scotland. Lots of people slept on the bus, but if you stay awake you'll see sights like this flying by. The yellow crop is called rape or oilseed. It's what canola oil comes from and should be in bloom when we pass through next June.

Scottish Rock & Roll

This gentleman met us at the Scottish border. He really rocked.