Royal Leamington Spa II

Here I am in another part of Jepshon Gardens. Behind me is the Davis Clock Tower. It was built in 1925 and named after William Davis who was mayor of Leamington three times. The park was originally called Newbold Gardens in 1834, it became Jepshon Gardens twelve years later. They seem to like changing names in this town. I'm not sure what the metal pillars are for, maybe somebody put them here ready for small visiting dragons as a handy place to pose for a photo. In the gardens there are a number of memorials, one of these is for Dr Henry Jepshon. He was a local doctor who promoted the spa waters. Apparently an album by Ocean Colour Scene features the Jepshon Memorial on the front. Not sure what the connection is.

Royal Leamington Spa

My first visit to Leamington, it likes changing it's name. It's been Lamintone, Leamington Priors then Royal Leamington Spa but known as Leamington Spa or just Leamington. Could get confusing, but nobody has written a song on the subject yet.

This photo is in Jephson Gardens, a park on the banks of the River Leam. Apparently it has lots of colourful floral displays, think I picked the wrong day. The gardens were created in 1831 and have won a number of prizes in recent years. There's a glasshouse here with tropical plants and a goldfish pond. Sounds warmer than where I'm standing. A boating lake is here, not a good day for that either.

Also in Jephson Gardens is a Czech memorial fountain to honour members of the Czech Free Army which was based in Leamington. The fountain is in the shape of a parachute and engraved around the bowl are seven names. These are the men who were parachuted in to Czechoslovakia from Leamington to assassinate the Nazi Governor of Bohemia, Heydrich, in operation Anthropoid. They succeeded but were killed after.

Giant Doughnut in Brighton

Walking along Brighton seafront I spotted this giant doughnut and feeling peckish I flew over. I was very disappointed to discover it wasn't real. It turns out it's a piece of art called 'Afloat', not sure it would float as its made of bronze. Afloat is a globe with the poles pushed together, which is the hole. Not sure I understand it, much prefer a nice chocolate doughnut.

Brighton Pier

The weather is still bad, not the best time to go down to the pier. So I'm on the other side of the road with the pier behind me. It is still known by lots of people as Palace Pier even though the sign above the entrance says 'Brighton Pier'. The West Pier was Palace Piers' rival but after a series of fires (nothing to do with me!) there isn't much of it left.

The construction of Palace Pier began in 1891. It opened in May 1899. The pier has is popular with film makers. It has been in a number of films and TV programmes including Carry On At Your Convenience, Dr Who, Sweeney Todd and Midsomer Murders. That reminds me, it's about time I was in Midsomer Murders. Death by dragon must be the only method of killing someone they haven't used.

Brighton Wheel

My first visit to Brighton. Weather wasn't too good. Despite the weather I went for a walk along the seafront and found this big wheel. It's just to the east of Brighton Pier. The wheel is quite big and you can see into peoples houses, I think you are supposed to look out to sea and along the coast though. As it's 160' above sea level you can see a long way. It was built in Germany and was set up in South Africa before coming to Brighton, I suppose they just roll it along with a giant stick. I rather like it, though lots of people objected as it's in a conservation area. It looks rather jolly to me and suits the seaside. If the weather was better I would have gone for a fly over the top of it and looked at the people going round.

Christmas Steps Bristol

During my visit to Bristol I went to Christmas Steps. This is a steep narrow street just outside the city walls. It's a very old street and originally the river would have been close to the bottom of the hill. Barrels were rolled down the hill to be loaded onto ships. The steps were put in place in 1669, which will have put a stop to rolling barrels. Where the name 'Christmas Steps' came from nobody knows, it used to be known as 'Queene Street' in Medieval days. Then it became 'Knifesmyth Street' after the trade in the area, I think that means people made swords and knives there. Years ago it was full of pubs. At the bottom is a very old building dating back to 13th C and in it is a very old fish and chip shop, supposedly one of the first to open in England.

Near the bottom of Christmas Steps I met this man and his horse. I told him how to get to the top of the steps without going up the steps themselves. His horse wasn't keen on climbing the steps.

William Tyndale

After chatting with Cary Grant I saw William Tyndale. Tyndale is famous for translating the Bible into English. This was forbidden at the time so he had to go into hiding. He was writing as English was changing from Middle English to Early Modern English. He created new words and coined a lot of phrases still in use. He came up with "under the sun", "signs of the time", "pour out one's heart" and "Go the extra mile". With out him it looks like song writers and management consultants would be stuck for things to say. In this photo he was telling me he is working on a new translation of the Bible. I asked about any dragons, maybe for a Welsh language version. I'm not sure he speaks Welsh. I had to be careful with breathing out fire when I was with him though. Aside from setting fire to his book he seemed a bit scared of flames. Can't think why.