The Tower Of London

We went to the Tower of London which sites on the Thames river. The history of the Tower is central to the story of the history of London. It has served as a prison, castle, center of government (mints, etc).

We joined a Yeoman Warder's tour of the castle. The Yeoman Warders are a group of ex-British military men that live on the castle grounds with their families. Their job, which has existed since at least Victorian times, has been to give tours of the Tower. The job isn't as easy at it seems.

The Discovery Channel in the UK did a documentary on a prospective Yeoman Warder. They spent 6 months with him as he went through all the trials and tribulations of learning the required history of the Tower and the reported 10,000 word tour itself. I caught the end of the show the day after we went to the Tower. The Yeoman Warder that gave us the tour was the subject of the show.

Right next to the Tower is the Tower Bridge. We didn't walk across it but were able to get a good look at it. Located nearby is a church built by Christopher Wren and also Wren's Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of London.

The (Non)Silence of the Lambs

In the middle of January the sheep that are kept on the fields around the base disappeared. However a week or so ago some of the sheep appeared with their new-born lambs.

Watching the lambs run around after their mothers and chase each other is a riot. I took the kids up to see the lambs running around. Once they get a bit braver (they are already starting to spend time away from their mothers) we should see them get out of the fences (which the full-grown sheep do all the time.