Here are Tony and Charles playing with the lines, and below the two of them plus Tony's brother Mick. See that blue thing on the upper right? That's an enormous kite, as big as two men. It has to be launched into the air by one person while the other battles the wind using long handles.Tony has mad skills with the kite. Charles was learning to fly, and though he learned fast and had a great time, he also experienced the joy of being dragged across a field by an enormous sail. Then I experienced the pleasure of rubbing hydrogen peroxide into his abrasions. Good times.
Tony's brother Mick came by to play, give Charles some pointers, and generally enjoy the weather. I don't know what happened to the England we met in 2007. This time, the sun shone nearly every day and it hardly rained at all. We brought rain jackets, umbrellas and rain-proof shoes, so that probably guaranteed sunshine.
That's Mick, below, looking all nonchalant and cool like he does.
*No, really. When Eleanor, wife of Edward I, died, her body traveled slowly through England in state. Everywhere that the cortege stopped, Edward erected a memorial cross. Stony Stratford had one.
But wait, there's more! Remember the Princes in the Tower? The ones who disappeared under Richard III's watch? The elder, Edward V, was captured by his uncle in Stony Stratford, and from there conveyed under guard to the Tower...never to be seen again.
So it's really historic. Like, really. Even by English standards.
2 comments:
When you get out of the Charing Cross station in London, there is one remaining tower that Edward built for Eleanor there. It is currently being refurbished, so you can't see it. But it is pretty cool.
Any of your readers who are aware of just how far off the ground those big kites can lift you will know how lucky Charles was to escape with only a few scrapes. Mick has just gone off to the coast of Cornwall for a weekend of kiting and may well come back in a body bag.
:¬)
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