We did our behind the scenes tour yesterday, along with the other exhibits in the Castle. My actual favorite part was the bird show, where the Falconers, who patiently work with these raptors, show the birds off. We saw American Bald Eagle, some hawks, an owl and a giant Condor. They all perform acrobatic treats that were amazing and show that the bird are highly intelligent hunters but here they get easily fed so will fly for food. The Castle tour itself provide a dizzying survey of English history, pertinent to the Castle’s place it it. It was originally built as a Saxon defense against Dane invaders. Over time the continual struggles between the various Earls and their fluid alliances to the vying Kings for rule and throne, both of Tudor and Stewart family lines, makes for intriguing and bloody history. Game of Thrones certainly is mining this turbulent history, although I have not seen any dragons flying around. Many a royal spent time in the tower, as a guest or prisoner and ransoms were a way to get the coin to continue to add to the castle, both for prestige and power. Some pictures below of our day more to come. Today we are in Oxford for a bike/walking tour. By the way, those of you who saw my earlier interpretation of the bear chained to a tree the plaque below is the real story. The tour guide is holding the leg armor of Edward The Black prince. Not sure how much fighting was actually done, once they were ensconced in their outfits but the nasty axes and truncheons, swords and other very lethal weapons make it clear that when a blow was effectively landed it was probably a pretty brief affair. Its no surprise that England was at the heart of the industrial revolution, as the metal work done from early in their history, shows incredible facility with fabrication in metals and wood. This fact also goes back to our visit to the National Train Museum in York, where inventions by George Stephenson and others led to the harnessing of steam in transport. In the picture of a wall below there is some graffiti from a priest, who was held captive in the castle, he is wishing that the Royals reconcile with blessings from God, good luck there!
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