Saturday, October 1, 2016

A friend of mine will be heading to London to celebrate one of those milestone birthdays. As usual, I will do my visit via books. :-)

For a big (as in Oversized book) look at some of the things tourists can't always visit, read Unseen London with photos by Peter Dazely and text by Mark Daly. There are gears in the Tower Bridge, hidden tunnels for bowling balls (creates the sound of thunder) in theaters, and dazzling tile work in power stations. Remarkable and heavy! I sat at the table to read this one. :-)

I cannot imagine what it must be like to always be in the public eye, every move noticed, scrutinized, criticized, but this is normal for the royal family. It's all about the women (well, mostly) in Game of Crowns: Elizabeth, Camilla, Kate, and the Throne, by Christopher Andersen. Follow them through good decisions and bad, how they react to each other, how Diana fit in, who could sit on the throne, and how they cope with such a public life.

There is a pub in England, the Warren House, where a fire keeps patrons warm. A fire that was first lit in 1845 and has never gone out! Bizarre England: Discover the Country's Secrets & Surprises, by David Long is filled with strange and curious facts like this. Just one of those fun reads. :-)

For a quick and interesting (if sometimes rather sad) look at the Royal Family, try Queen Elizabeth II: Crowns, Horses, and Corgis by David Arscott. In the past the Royal Family would have been off limits to the press. The change may have started back when Elizabeth was a child and a nanny sold her memoirs of working with the royal children ... and it got worse and worse. Are they really all that different from the rest of us, though, or is it just because they are a large family in the news a lot?

Reading Hermit With Dog

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