Something a bit different.

I spent yesterday with my friend from the camera club.  This time we went to East Kirkby.  East Kirkby operates an old airport from WWII and was once home to 58 Lancaster Bombers.  Now they have one of the 2 remaining Lancs in England.  The one here can only taxy and the second is one of two in the world that can still fly,  the other is in Hamilton Ontario.  During the war my father was an armorer for the Lancaster and worked on the ground crew.  The airport is home to a museum which is dedicated to the men and women who worked there.  It was an amazing opportunity to learn a bit about what my dad's life might have been like.  We took a tour of the original base with a guide who was young at the time of the war and his descriptions of the sights and sounds was so insightful.  He brought empathy and wonder to the events that unfolded in 1943(when the base became operational).  I will have to research my dads papers when I get home to see which squadron he served in.  As well as visiting the museum there was a large model airplane demonstration going on and a motorcyle meeting. The bikes ranged from vintage to modern and the planes were jet and propeller.  Then the Lancaster was running and giving payers a taxy ride up and down the field.  And if that was not enough, a full size Spitfire made a few passes to wow the audience.

Just a model, you have an idea of the scale on the ground but once they are airborne forget it.

Model

Model

A model of the Lancaster in the air and the real thing on the ground.

Real, this is the Spitfire that visited.

The Lancaster taxying.

This time the angled shot really works.

The "Queen Mary", a 1940'3 truck with trailer that would have been used to transfer large plane parts but now it takes museum goers around the airport.

The bombs inside.

The large group of enthusiastic bikers.

Thought of Jim.

Looks as though it has not been cared for since the 40's.  I imagined many service men and women using this while stationed at East Kirkby.

Patiently waiting for a ride.

On the way home we stopped at the Bolingbroke Castle, birthplace of Henry IV.  This is a scene of a pond/mote and the church beyond.  Nothing is left of the castle but the foundation.

This was an entrance to the kitchen tower

Then this popped up.

Graham is a bus fanatic and I was happy to join him in this photo opportunity.

From Lincoln to London

Wow, thats all I can say!  Well actually I will say much more but WOW would suffice.  I have had an amazing two weeks off.  The first week was spent with my family as you may have already read.  And the last was spent with my friend from high school, Sangita.  We spent the first day in Cleethorpes and the second in Lincoln.  This was my third visit to Lincoln and still I'm seeing new things.  In fact on my way home by train I passed an area of Lincoln I have not explored so I think there will be more visits in my future.
We then made our way to London.  We stayed in Notting Hill which was beautiful and no I did not see Hugh Grant.  I was looking though.  Our first day there we went to the Portebello Market.  I thought the Camdon market was big but this one made it look like a country fair.  There had to be people in the tens of thousands and vendors every where you looked.  The following day we went to a couple small galleries and the Tate Modern.  What a day, I think we figured we were walking for about ten hours.  The icing on the cake was the next day.  We went to Harrod's.  I never imagined to enjoy myself as much as I did.  The architecture, the history, the window designs, the displays, the expensive one of a kind items, the food area, the escalators and elevators.  It was an experience anyone would enjoy.  I was sad to say goodbye to Sangita, we had only a few days to catch up on many years but I cant wait to visit her at her home in Rome come October.

I think my next miniature will be a candy shop, so this is research.

Sangita and I at Lincoln.

The Cathedral from a different view point.

Then on to London

These blossoms were so pretty.

Wall to wall sewing machines in a clothing store.

Our hotel is the one on the left with the Pot Pourri's.

Tulip at Embankment and Victoria Garden.

Harrod's

Window Display, a woman's dressing table with reflection of the street.

Paper sculpture

Humpty Dumpty sat on a Fabrege sign having a cup of tea.

Figs anyone?

The Egyptian Escalator

Ice Cream bar

A Children's riding car, only 34,000 pounds.

Dress/costume shop, on average the outfits were around 350 pounds.

Beautiful Glassware

Glass Sculpture/Cosmetics

This creation was a glass commisioned piece bought by Harrod's and recently installed in their newly refurbished Grand Hall.  Ironically enough the staff had no idea where to find it.  Lucky for me Sangita was determined to find it or I would have just given up and not been witness to it's amazing glory.

We stopped for lunch in this quaint restaurant before heading over to the Victoria and Albert Gallery.

Court yard inside the Victoria and Albert.

I am so glad to have more than just a holiday here.  I could never get to see all this in just a couple weeks.  I know that I'll be back again and I will subject you to more images than you can ever imagine.