Off to the races....

More fun...this time we're off to the races. Sandown Racecourse to be exact. Just southwest of London lies this cute track. Who knew. Well actually, some of the students knew and had been before. The outing was arranged on Military Cup day, which was once patronized by the Queen Mum. Todays royal was Princess Anne, who look so much like her mom now.

Princess, arriving

Let's start with the view from our box. Yup, somehow we got a box in the Eclipse Pavilion. Good views. And there so much to see. Most people stayed in the pavilion, but I wanted to walk around and people watch. And they were worth watching. Tweed and colored trousers everywhere!!

Horseys, horseys everywhere. it was nice to watch them run and jump. This is not a typical run, but a sprint and steeplechase. Okay, now I'll hear from you horse people that I'm using the wrong terms....fine.  But I can fake it

The group Military Wives performed some numbers between the races. They are a group of actual wives who sung a song written from letters to their service members. Of course in the music machine here, they have become a sensation and rightfully earned popularity and perform nationwide.

Fun day had by all. No great wins, except for Carol.

Wave good bye to the group from below.

Amused at the Mews.....

We, the student spouses group, went on a guided tour of the Royal Mews yesterday. They are located on Buckingham Palace property and are open to the general public. Now, what I figured would just be some horses and a few carriages turned out to include all modes of transport,or anything to do with getting royal personage around. They also house the Bentleys (just missed Her Royal Highness on her way to kick off her Jubilee year festivities), Jags (Princess Anne and Andrew have one) as well as other cars, sleds or motorized vehicles. Horses are kept there, but we didn't get to view those areas. Cleveland browns (yes...) and Windsor Greys are the two offical horses used by the Palace. Not a horsey girl myself, I was interested but got lost on all the tack and whatnot details. The Mews themselves were built in 1760 by Nash when the Buckingham was just a "house". George IV turned it into the grand palace it is today.
And silly me, I forgot my camera.....hopefully the other spouses will post some pictures and I can grab them to post.
Last night I got to go see the filming of the Graham Norton show. If you know who he is, you'll know how much fun and silliness it was. If not.....I really can't explain. It's a evening talk show with celebs from the UK, USA or anywhere they can get them. There is always some potty humour, and of course the Red Chair. This is where members of the audience tell an antidote and try not to get flipped off the chair by Graham. See, hard to understand unless you've seen the show. Since I was a "single" and toward the back of the queue, I got to be in the front row. wow, you could see everything. Of course cameras got in the way sometimes. But it was fun still the same. Hope to get to another one soon.

Sistas on the run.....

Man, it's been a busy week. We've done so much...again. Last Sunday was a much needed "day of rest", but after going to the local Anglican church. It was the first day of Lent and we got ash crosses on our foreheads. Buy, haven't had that in....forever.
Pulling out the Walking Tour book, we wanted to do at least one while she's here in town. So off we went to do the "Inns of Court" walk. This took us near the City, and where the courts are. Turns out the Courts are four areas where barristers and solicitors traditionally train and then work. The major London court (Old Bailey) is also there. Wile I' m not a LNO aficionado, I did find it architecturally interesting. We also stumbled upon the Knights Templar church. Very old and very cool. Free Wednesday concerts, if you're interested.
But the following day, we took off for another one of the famous Walking Tours. We chose Hampstead Heath cause sissy used to live there, back in the day. Wow, I have to say it is stunning. Very much a village feel, while still technically in the city of London. Surprisingly, after all the car boot sale failures, we stumbled upon a street vendor hawking cool vintage items from a table in Flask Walk

We are having to cross items from the To Do list, as there is just no time. Today we road tripped it to Bath. Sure we had six hours there, and I was certain it would end up with time to kill in the shops. Nope! We didn't even get to see all the sights. One spends so much time looking up and pointing at interesting bits and piece. I really wish tourist would look less at maps and such, and look up to enjoy the view.

Sis in the Royal Crecent

Sally Lunn's

Stairway to Heaven