the VTOL Osprey and the Apache helicopter doing acrobatics normally only associated with fixed wing aircraft before the rain set in properly and the temperature dropped dramatically. We had gone completely unprepared for such weather so, regretfully, beat a very soggy retreat home.
Great Tew is a wonderful little collection of ironstone and thatch cottages spilling down a valley below “the big house” belonging to the Great Tew Estate.
We walked around the village, checked out the Falkland Arms, the church with some rather lovely brasses and a beautiful marble monument, and the remains of an old engine house.
Next unusual spot was Aynho. Unusual in that many houses have espalier apricot trees on their street frontage walls as rent to the Lord of the Manor used to be paid in apricots.
The church is very different, looking more like a grand house than a church. Unfortunately it was locked but given the size of the windows must be quite stunning inside.
Sunday saw us at Broughton Castle, the set for quite a number of movies and deservedly so. A full moat surrounds the site and some “castle” bits remain around the site of the old drawbridge but the house is from the 1300’s onwards.
We were captivated by an amazing bed in the Kings Chamber, you can see a little of it on the web page. It is a fabulous piece of the modern wood-worker’s art.
The visiting family requested Stonehenge, a Cotswold village and Cambridge so that was the weekend plan. After being delayed an hour taking delivery of the people-carrier from the car renter we got off to a late start and headed for Stonehenge. 
canals and locks so we stopped at the Caen Hill Locks, an amazing flight of 16 locks in a row (apparently the largest climb in Europe) and part of an overall set of 29 locks moving barge traffic up and down 73m.
From there we stopped briefly at Sandy Lane, before heading to Lacock. This “film set” village is truly delightful, not even a TV aerial to be seen, presumably the custodians, the National Trust, have banned them.
TV screens in homes or pubs watching England drop out of the (soccer) World Cup: a great chance to get some shots uncluttered by people.
Regent’s Park Underground station is closing for extended refurbishment so while we still had the opportunity we exited at this station, walked across the park, past the Zoo, to the Regents Canal and followed it down to Camden Market.
Browsing Camden Market is a great way to make one feel old: all the alternative dressers, Goths, Punks etc with their outlandish clothes and hairstyles; and every second shop seems to be selling something that they would wear but which would look decidedly odd on someone who left their student days behind three decades ago.
After contributing to the local economy in the form of lunch we set off back to the royal precincts to check on the action outside the palace in preparation for the Queen’s Children’s Birthday Party. 
The centrepiece was a play based on many characters from English children’s literature. We watched it later on TV and it was quite fantastic, mixing over-the-top pantomime into a fairly simple plot line. It was a superb way to conclude the 80th celebrations. 
Saturday saw us enjoying fabulous weather in the London Docklands area. It is just such a contrast to ‘old’ London with its heritage buildings. Here in the Docklands they have boldly redeveloped the land around the docks that had been left behind when containerisation moved the port area further down the Thames. 
What has been achieved since the 80’s is simply fantastic. And yet, the reminders of the past are there with old dock cranes etc scattered around.
We started close to one of my favourite sculptures, the traffic light tree, and walked along the Thames path to the southern most point of the Isle of Dogs , with views to Greenwich, then back up the middle alongside the old docks, over to the western side, with views of the Dome, 
then back across the top to our
A pair of coots was tenderly raising their offspring on a collection of rubbish. Not quite on the scale of the kids raised on the rubbish tips in the Philippines.
The reason for picking this particular weekend was a festival that was being held in and around the Docklands area. 
Saturday 
It was summer: it was sunny; so a stroll from Syon to Strawberry seemed a suitable scenario. After a look around the opulence of Syon House, the London home of the Dukes of Northumberland, we set off along the Thames path walking upstream, away from London.
After about 4 miles we arrived at Strawberry Hill the home of Horace Walpole, son of Britain's first Prime Minister. He, and his 'committee of taste' revived the Gothic look, well before the Victorian gothic era.
Although he built on the cheap and said it would not last, the house is still going strong and being restored by a dedicated group of enthusiasts. One example of his money saving which has turned out to be quite propitious is his use of papier-mache to create the ceiling details. In other stately homes such detail is carved wood or plaster work. If plaster details come loose and drop to the floor they will shatter, papier-mache bounces and can be glued back in place.
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