Did the U.S. Invade England on the Fourth of July?

US Invasion of England on 4 July 2018

Hello Elementary Friends,

A bucket list trip is just beginning! Mitch and I are joining our long-time friends, Robyn and Andy Smith in Great Britain for two weeks. Our journey starts in London flying into Heathrow Airport and making our way to our flat for a few days. We are staying in the Fulham area, more specifically, Parsons Green. Here is a map showing our location in comparison to Central London:

Here are a few photos of our flat:

The White Horse Bar and Grill - The Gathering Place for Parson's Green

Dinner our first night

The Road of our Flat in London

A Very Helpful Tube Attendant Who Saved Us a Lot of Money on our Oyster Cards

On Friday morning (6th) we made our way via London Tube to Victoria Station where we boarded the The Original London Tour Bus. We then visited the following sights in a full morning!

Grosvenor Gardens

Queen's Gallery

Horseferry Road

Avingdon Street

The London Eye

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Queen Victoria Streete

Tower and London Bridges

Tower of London

Westminster Abbey - just a peek - we will go there tomorrow!

Coventry Street

Saint James Palace

Hyde Park

Kensington Neighbourhood

Here are some photos of our day sightseeing in London:

Outdoor Areas for people to lounge and watch the Wimbledon Matches

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Gardens

On Saturday, July 7 we had another full day. We started the day at the iconic Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. The building itself was a Benedictine monastic church until the monastery was dissolved in 1539. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, the building is no longer an abbey or a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign.

Since the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror, every English and British monarch (except Edward V and Edward VIII, who were never crowned) has been crowned in Westminster Abbey. In 1216, Henry III could not be crowned in London when he came to the throne, because the French prince Louis had taken control of the city, and so the king was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral. This coronation was deemed by Pope Honorius III to be improper, and a further coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony.

King Edward's Chair (or St Edward's Chair), the throne on which English and British sovereigns have been seated at the moment of crowning, is now housed within the Abbey in St George's Chapel near the West Door, and has been used at every coronation since 1308. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when the stone was temporarily stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots are crowned. Although the Stone is now kept in Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle, it is intended that the Stone will be returned to St Edward's Chair for use during future coronation ceremonies.

We then made our way to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge). It continues to amaze me at how old everything is. To think we are standing in a building that was commissioned in 1066 is mind-boggling.

The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins),[3] although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.

The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period. In the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle, its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery.

The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth Throckmorton, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and 19th-century writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, clearing out many of the vacant post-medieval structures. In the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, and the castle reopened to the public. Today, the Tower of London is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site.

Of course we had to have photos at Tower Bridge - sometimes confused as London Bridge.

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. Because of this, Tower Bridge is sometimes confused with London Bridge, situated some 0.5 mi (0.80 km) upstream. Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. It is the only one of the Trust's bridges not to connect the City of London directly to the Southwark bank, as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets.

The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Before its restoration in the 2010s, the bridge's colour scheme dated from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. Its colours were subsequently restored to blue and white.

The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge's twin towers, high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, for which an admission charge is made. The nearest London Underground tube stations are Tower Hill on the Circle and District lines, London Bridge on the Jubilee and Northern lines and Bermondsey on the Jubilee line, and the nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Tower Gateway. The nearest National Rail stations are at Fenchurch Street and London Bridge.

John Wesley's Chapel

Since Andy is a District Superintendent for the United Methodist Church - Hill Country and West Texas and since all of us are longtime United Methodists, we just had to find John Wesley's Chapel.

Andy told us a story about the dove plaques (pictured above) that encircle the ceiling of the Chapel. Many years ago when Andy's father, Reverend Jerry Smith (also a United Methodist District Superintendent - now retired) he very much wanted to see Wesley's Chapel - the birthplace of Methodism. While traveling in London, he discovered that Wesley's Chapel was under renovation and was not open to the public. Determined to see what ever he could of the chapel, Reverend Smith made his way to the location. It was definitely a work site. Jerry walked around a bit to see if he could catch a glimpse of the inside. He was spotted by a site caregiver, and asked what his purpose was. When Jerry told him that he was a UMC pastor longing to see the birthplace of his denomination, the caregiver gave him a personal tour, and even gave him two very special artifacts to take home with him. One was one of the dove plaques and the other was an old rusted nail - an original from the first Wesley Chapel on the site. Both of these treasures hold very significance to Jerry and will more than likely find their way into Andy's office one of these days. We were appreciative of this special story about our Methodist roots.

On Saturday Night we enjoyed a play in the West End of London - "The Play that Goes Wrong." It was hilarious! Here is a synopsis of the play:

The Play That Goes Wrong begins before the curtain has even been raised, as the audience witness the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society preparing to stage their annual production – which this year happens to be a 1920s murder mystery 'Murder at Haversham Manor'.

With a murder having been committed in a country house isolated by a fierce snowstorm, there are multiple suspects, and an Inspector hell bent on solving the crime – the perfect ingredients for a complex thriller...

As props start to disappear, actors go missing and the set begins to fall down around the cast, mayhem ensues, but the amateur thespians struggle on against all the odds. But will they ever make the final curtain? And at what cost...?

Sunday - July 8 - Renting Car, Leaving London, Traveling in English Countryside

We left London on the Tube making our way to Heathrow to pick up our rental car. I was rather impressed how easy it was to get to Heathrow on public transportation with all of our bags. Renting the car was without issue.

We traveled to a small town in south west England near Bristor and Bath - Clutton:

Clutton is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in Somerset in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area on the A37 road. It is located 10 miles from Bristol and Bath, very near Temple Cloud. The nearest town is Midsomer Norton (5 miles). The parish which has a population of 1,602 includes the hamlet of Breach.

Mitch - very happy with a glass full of ice!

In Bristol - for dinner. We were afraid that we were too late for dinner. Finally we found some very delicious Cuban food!

Our AirBnB in Clutton

Monday, July 9, 2019

(Clutton to Cardiff)

We stopped in Bristol at John Wesley's New Room

John Wesley's New Room was our first stop of the day on Monday, July 9th. Here is information on the New Room:

The New Room is a historic building in Broadmead, Bristol, England.

It was built in 1739 by John Wesley and is the oldest Methodist chapel in the world. Above the chapel are the rooms in which Wesley and other preachers stayed. The chapel includes a double decker pulpit, which was common at the time, and an octagonal lantern window to reduce the amount paid in Window tax. In addition to meetings and worship, the New Room was used as a dispensary and schoolroom for the poor people of the area. The pews and benches were made from old ship timber. The Baldwin and Nicholas Street Methodist groups combined to form the United Society, which met at the New Room from 3 June 1739. Wesley insisted that meetings at the New Room should only be held outside of Anglican church hours as he wanted Methodism to complement rather than compete with Anglican worship.

After visiting the New Room, we started making our way through some significant traffic to Cardiff, Wales.

Cardiff is the capital of, and largest city in, Wales, and the eleventh-largest city in the United Kingdom. It is Wales's chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The unitary authority area's 2017 population was estimated to be 362,756. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 21.3 million visitors in 2017. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked sixth in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.

The city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later South Glamorgan). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city. The Cardiff Built-up Area covers a slightly larger area outside the county boundary and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.

Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955. Since the 1980s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Current developments include the continuation of the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay and city centre areas with projects such as the Cardiff International Sports Village, a BBC drama village, and a new business district in the city centre.

Dinner in Cardiff - July 9

Our hotel in Cardiff - July 10th

July 10th - Traveling from Cardiff to Furnace, Wales

The scenery is starting to get really beautiful!

Hay on Wye - A Book Lover's Dream Come True!

Hay-on-Wye, often abbreviated to just "Hay", is a small market town and community in the historic county of Brecknockshire in Wales, currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the town of books", and is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Literary Festival.

Of course, Mitch was in Hog Heaven!

Castle in Hay on Wye

Furnace, Wales: July 10th

Twelve miles north of Aberystwyth, on the main road to Machynlleth, lies this picturesque old relic from Wales' industrial past.

The furnace here was originally constructed around 1755 for smelting iron ore, with fuel obtained from local woods and stored upstairs in the building. At this time, the waterwheel would have powered a huge pair of bellows which supplied compressed air vital for the blast furnace's operation. Most of the pig iron would have found its way to forges in the Midlands.

Apparently, the furnace only lasted for about 50 years before being abandoned. Some years later it was turned into a sawmill and a new waterwheel was installed to drive the machinery. This later waterwheel is the one that has been restored and is viewable today.

There is now no admission fee charged for entry to this site which means you can wander around at leisure, but this does unfortunately mean that you can no longer go inside the building.

The waterfall nextdoor, where the River Einion drops, completes the picturesque scene. You may also like to venture further, to the nearby RSPB nature reserve at Ynys-hir.

Dinner in Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative center, and holiday resort within Ceredigion, West Wales, often colloquially known as Aber. It is located near the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol.

Historically part of Cardiganshire, since the late 19th century, Aberystwyth has also been a major Welsh educational centre, with the establishment of a university college there in 1872. At the 2001 census, the town's population was 15,935; it was reduced to 13,040 at the 2011 Census. During nine months of the year, there is an influx of students—to a total number of 10,400 as of September 2012. Including the suburbs of Llanbadarn Fawr, the population is 16,420.

We loved our evening in Aberystwyth!

Where we had dinner on July 10, 2018

A community band playing in the town of Aberystwyth

Along the bay in Aberystwyth

Wednesday, July 11, 2018 (Traveling through Snowdonia National Park from Furnace to Menai Bridge, Wales

First stop is Dolgellau - is a market town and Community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It is traditionally the county town of the historic county of Merionethshire.

St. Mary's Church in Dolgellau

Beddgelert for Lunch on Way to See Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park

Beddgelert

Beddgelert is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 455. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert.

The folk tale of the faithful hound "Gelert" is often associated with the village. A raised mound in the village is called "Gelert's Grave" and is a significant tourist attraction. But the grave was built by the late 18th-century landlord of the Goat Hotel, David Pritchard, who created it in order to encourage tourism. Similar legends can be found in other parts of Europe and Asia.

The village is probably named after an early Christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert) who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of the name Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258, and the name recorded is "Bekelert". In a document of 1269 it is recorded as "Bedkelerd".

Robyn and I had the Welsh Rarebit - a Traditional Welsh Delicacy

Snowdonia National Park

Caernarfon - A Happy Accident

By accident, we ended up in Caernarfon - our GPS brought us here instead of to our destination, Menai Bridge. It ended up being great because Robyn was able to tour a castle!

Caernarfon is a royal town, community, and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,615. It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) to the north-east, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and south-east. Carnarvon and Caernarvon are Anglicised spellings that were superseded in 1926 and 1974, respectively. The villages of Bontnewydd and Caeathro are close by. The town is also noted for its high percentage of native Welsh speakers. Due to this, Welsh is often the predominant language of the town.

This brings us to our final destination of Wednesday, July 11th - the Anglesey Arms in Menai Bridge.

Here is a map of our location for the Semi-Finals of the World Cup 2018:

Our hotel night of July 11th - the Anglesey Arms - We watched the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup here when England was in the final four!

We are little more than half-way through our trip, and we are having a wonderful time. My favorites so far:

1. Malsters Hotel in Cardiff, but not necessarily Cardiff, the town.

2. Aberystwyth - Loved the seaside town, and the delicious seafood restaurant. Also loved the sea view walk and the old castle and fortress.

3. Loved going to the theater in London - it was a great production even though it did take us extra time to get there!

4. Absolutely loved Beddegelert and my firsrt Welsh Rarebit - also loved traveling along the path to see Snowdon and the rest of Snowdonia National Park!

5. Our conversations with Robyn and Andy - some which have topics going back forty years!

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