Thatched Roof Thursday # 5 - Brinklow

Brinklow is a beautiful and picturesque village near Coventry.   I chose this cottage for today because it is bright and freshly re-thatched...a nice contrast to another dull day in this part of England.

Tomorrow, no matter what, I am going to include some blue sky in my posting.  A promise!

And, most important of all - Happy Birthday, Nadine!

'R' is for Remembrance in the Rain

Old Coventry Cathedral
Taken on Monday
(day after Remembrance Sunday)

My apologies for having so many photographs in the Old Coventry Cathedral over the past week.  I just had to include this one today.   It doesn't matter at all if it is raining here, life goes on (as you can see from the photograph of  the scene behind me).

Spire structural repairs due to be completed before Christmas.

For more photographs from around the world highlighting the letter 'R', follow the link to ABC WEDNESDAY and enjoy!

Golfers, No - Deer, Yes

Forest of Arden Golf Course
Meriden, near Coventry

I played golf today but not here.  After my game I went out in search of  a thatched roof home.  No luck with that but I will settle for this instead.  The light isn't brilliant but you can see the local wildlife (with no golfers around). Meriden is next door to Coventry and is in the centre of England.

PS.  My better half thanks you for your kind thoughts.  He is much better.

Day After Remembrance Sunday

Old Coventry Cathedral
Day After Remembrance Sunday

Today, I was planning to go to one of the little villages near Coventry and take photos of a war memorial.   That didn't happen - too much rain.  Instead I went with my husband to town.  He had a chiropractor appointment. While he was getting his back sorted I nipped into the Old Cathedral nearby.  This is what I found.

This is a wonderful tribute to a Regiment that lost soldiers in both world wars. This memorial was damaged during the Blitz.  During a fierce battle against the Germans in Caen, France, in July, 1944, the Regiment lost nearly all of its troops.  See BBC's WW2 People's War for more about the Regiment and this memorial.


PS. All went well at the chiropractor and somebody is standing up a bit taller now :).

Skywatch Friday - Sky From Inside

The Old Coventry Cathedral

Two weeks ago, I shared a photograph taken from outside the Cathedral looking in.

I thought you might like to see inside the Cathedral

as it stands now after being bombed in WWII.

The New Cathedral is to the left. The spire is behind me.

A footnote: My husband's parent were married in this very Cathedral in 1936, 

not many years before the Coventry Blitz. 

His mother lived in Bayley Lane (next to the Cathedral) 

and this was her parish church. 

For many more photographs featuring the 'sky' 

follow the link to SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Have a good weekend all. Cheers!

Lauren, the LOLfromPasa

Thatched Roof Thursday #4 - Monks Kirby

Someone please invite me into this house!

This home in Monks Kirby was built in 2002 replacing (with permission) a Grade II Listed building. For you thatched roof lovers, the thatch over the windows is called 'eyebrow dormers'.  The turret is a staircase tower apparently leading up to a galleried balcony which overlooks a show-piece dining hall.  Oh gosh, it sounds amazing.

Here is the full view below.  Thanks to a planning permission application (which is a public document), I was able to get a little information about this home.  Looks like work is under way.

And, the house next door?  Another thatch!

There you go, a few more thatched roof homes for you to enjoy.  I seem to have a little series going here so why not number them.  Better go and do that now.  Cheers!

Q is for 'The QUEEN Visits Coventry'

The Caption Reads:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF
EDINBURGH on their Silver Jubilee visit to Coventry
in 1977.

This photograph was on display at the Coventry Transport Museum in April this year as part of  The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration exhibition.

I was living in Coventry in 1977.  I saw The Queen not many minutes after this photograph was taken and I can remember that day as if it were yesterday.  What a moment.

For more stories and photographs from around the world please visit ABC WEDNESDAY.

(Photograph of The Queen was taken in Broadgate, Coventry.)

Baginton Village Bonfire (Before & After)

BEFORE:

Bonfire is ready with Guy Fawkes on top.
(Note the white doors to give you a perspective of the mammoth size.)

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day.  To celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators to destroy Westminister in 1605....on or around the 5th of November (weather permitting) the Citizens of Great Britain build bonfires, set them alight and set off fireworks too.  This is how they celebrated in Baginton, a village that borders Coventry.

That would be 'Guy Fawkes' sitting there with no chance of escape.  This was how it all looked on Saturday just before 6pm.


AFTER:

Taken Monday (2 days later)

PS.     Note the blue sky....hooray!  (And, that the houses are still standing...phew.)

Linking with OUR WORLD TUESDAY. (Click the link for more 'Our World Tuesday' photos from around the world.)

Year 1605 - Gunpowder, Treason & Plot

Today is Guy Fawkes Day, named after the Gunpowder Plot conspirator, Guy Fawkes.  The plot? To blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I on 5th November, 1605.  Fawkes had the job of guarding gunpowder hidden in the undercroft of the House of Lords.  He was caught!  In the meantime, his fellow conspirators waited in the Old Lion Inn (below), Dunchurch, not far from Coombe Abbey in Coventry.

Known as the Old Lion Inn in 1605.
Guy Fawkes House now and a
residential property.

As you can see from the plaque, Coombe Abbey had a part to play in this story.  (If you go back to my photo for 1st November, I wonder if the scene at Coombe Abbey in 1605 might be something like that.  Ooooooh!)

As for the fate of Guy Fawkes, he was tried and found guilty of High Treason along with 7 others.  For the whole story, look HERE .   

            

Dunchurch, Warwickshire
Road to London to the south and Glasgow to the north.
Main door to Old Lion Inn is in the middle.

Tomorrow, I'll you show you preparations for a village Bonfire Night in Baginton.                                  

NOVEMBER THEME DAY - THE WATER'S EDGE

Early Morning At Coombe Abbey Hotel

Earlier this month I shared several photographs taken at the front of this former monastery. Now is the time to see a view of the hotel from The Water's Edge to the north.  I look forward to showing you more photographs when the fog has lifted. 

For more Water's Edge photographs from around the world, visit CITY DAILY PHOTO.

See you on Monday, the 5th of November, better known as Guy Fawkes Day.  Have a good weekend and please stay safe.