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| Me and Windsor Castle |
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| Changing of the Guard |
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| Another friend |
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| Windsor town |
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| Eton |
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| Silly boys in suits |
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| The cake Jane baked me |
After the obligatory security check, Prince
Charles greets me on the audio tour as if he personally knows me. I don’t know
how they he does that tone but it works. Its cold and blustery here today, perfect
weather for castle exploring.
10 centuries of history are before my eyes,
the turrets, arrow windows, stone work of all different types. Its easy to
imagine this was one a defensive fort.
The crowds start to gather for the changing
of the guard. The guards look amazing in their chocolate box outfits in red and
gold but I would not want to tussle with them as their guns look pretty mean.
The band knows how to whip the crowd up into a frenzy.
Next is St George’s Chapel, as you enter
the gothic ceiling towers above you. The windows are so big you can’t see how
the walls stay upright. Seeing where all the kings and queens are buried is
like stepping back in time. Sculptures of each king and queen lay on top of
their graves. Their features are so life like and peaceful in marble. It’s a
pity you can’t take any photos but in some ways makes the overall experience
more powerful and the beauty is burned into your mind instead.
Now into the room for the Order of the Garter,
founded in 1348 and the oldest order for chivalry in the world. I ask if there
are any Australian’s and am shown Sir Ninian Stephens spot with a king parrot
on his helmet and wattle and thistle on his banner. The thistle represents that
he was born in Scotland.
Now to join, the long, long, long line to
see Queen Mary’s doll house. Americans complain loudly that the lines are
longer than Disneyland. Some people abandon the line, I wait it out. Finally I
get inside the building out of the cold and then wait some more. Then into a
darkened room, I first see all the
cars lined up in the garage, then the rooms start to appear. Each room is
exquisite a showcase of the best of British design at the time (1924) including
an electric vacuum cleaner in the maids room. The toilets flush, the lights are
electric, some of the paintings are copies of original works of art redone in
miniature by the original artist. There is even a valuables room to secure the
miniature crown jewels. Walking around every side of this exquisite
construction is an experience I will never forget.
Shuffling along with the rest of the crowds
its time to now be awed by the state rooms, without any photos to share with
you I could write a book about how impressive each room is. A couple of the
highlights for me.
Being blown away by the Waterloo Chamber,
its was built to celebrate the success of the forces at the Battle of Waterloo
in 1815. The large room is surrounded by portraits of major people in the
battle all done by Sir Thomas Lawrence. As the portraits are all done by one
person they create a harmony in the room. This room screams don’t mess with us
we win battles.
Glancing into a small glass case and seeing
the bullet that killed Nelson. These guys sure know how to do history. The life
size marble statue of Queen Victoria has her favourite dog, Sharp sitting at her
side, wrapped in amongst the folds of her dress.
So overall its pretty obvious to all where
the “Great” in Great Britian comes from.
After checking out the rest of Windsor
town, I make the trek over the Thames. In my Aunty Betty’s diary she comments
“Eton boys in morning suits looked ridiculous” and she was right. They are
everywhere around the streets and the tourists are secretly taking photos of
them and the boys know it. The teachers with their white bow ties look even
sillier.
Home late for a yummy dinner with Jane,
lightly dusted haddock and vegetables, my favourite London meal.
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