Ok, I haven't updated this in a long time so here are three things together.
Mary Arden's Farm had a Plague Funeral and Wake to close down for the season and a few of my friends and I went to see it. Here are a few pictures.
The last picture is Richard (who works at the Farm), emma, Mary Lee (emma's friend from St. Andrew's and me.
Guy Fawkes Day, 5 November: In 1605 a group of 13 Catholics dug a tunnel under The House of Lords in Parliament, planning to fill it with barrels of gunpowder. The plan was to light the fuse at the state opening of Parliament, blowing up King James I, and his entire family, killing the King and the Prince of Wales (heir to the throne) and leaving the country leaderless, opening it up for invasion, possibly by Catholic Spain. However, one of the conspirators had a relative in Parliament and didn't want him to be killed as well. He sent him a letter warning him not go to the opening. The man realized that if he said nothing he would be a conspirator and, if caught, executed as a traitor, or he could reveal the plot, which he did.
When the tunnel was discovered Guy Fawkes was found surrounded by barrels of gunpowder holding a lantern (which is now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford). All the conspirators were caught, tried, found guilty and drawn and quartered (I will explain what that is later).
Every year 5 November is Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night. A big bonfire is lit and an effigy of Guy Fawkes is placed on top to burn. It is a lot of fun. I have heard in the far south of England some communities burn an effigy of the Pope as well as Fawkes. There is a song for the holiday that goes like this:
Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot
I know of no reason the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes twas his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below
To Prove old England's over throw.
By providence he was catch
With dark lantern and burning match.
Holler boys, holler boys
Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys
God save the King!
You can see the figure of Fawkes on the top of the fire here. He caught fire a few minutes later. He is stuffed with straw, so he went up in flames pretty quickly.
In this picture are Amanda, Red, Thea, emma, Anne and Drew.
And now to Oxford. A couple of us went to Oxford two days ago. We went to Christchurch College (the Cathedral was closed, but oh well), the Bodleian Library and went shopping at Blackwell's Book Shop.
This a gay wedding cake we found at the covered market. My friends called it the Jason Cake.
This is the Divinity School at Oxford. This is the place were they filmed the hospital scenes in the first two Harry Potter Movies. Um...it is pretty (understatement but it gets the idea across).
The spot on the street marked with the cross is the approximate location where Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) had Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester), Nicholas Ridley (Bishop of London), Thomas Cramner (Archbishop of Canterbury, who helped to create the most Protestant Book of Common Prayer) burned in 1555 and 1556.
This is the Radcliffe Camera, one of the reading rooms of the Bodleian Library.
This is the dining hall of Christchurch College in Oxford. It is the inspiration for the Dining Hall in the Harry Potter movies. This is basically their cafeteria....lucky them.
We had real Mexican food for dinner. As all of were American, we enjoyed it greatly! Last night we had Taco night at my friends house. It was all Americans and one British guy, who had to have the difference between a Tortilla and a Taco shell explained various times.
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