English history.

Pross

kingstongraham said:

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

I didn't realise until a few weeks ago that Henry VIII was married to Catherine of aragon for over 20 years before he had his midlife crisis. She stayed living at court after he divorced her.

Have you been listening to Six The Musical? I know that from my daughter singing / playing the songs over and over. I also discovered that Jane Seymour's family home was a castle a few miles from where I live and that I pass regularly.

Wasn't it Thomas Cromwell rather than Oliver that would have been in the Wolf Hall books?

No, took my nephew to Hampton Court Palace last weekend and actually bought a guide book.

Did that on my only trip to your neck of the woods (went to run Hampton Court Half, my last proper race before lockdown). Very impressive building but the parakeets are annoyingly loud!

surrey_commuter

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

I didn't realise until a few weeks ago that Henry VIII was married to Catherine of aragon for over 20 years before he had his midlife crisis. She stayed living at court after he divorced her.

Have you been listening to Six The Musical? I know that from my daughter singing / playing the songs over and over. I also discovered that Jane Seymour's family home was a castle a few miles from where I live and that I pass regularly.

Wasn't it Thomas Cromwell rather than Oliver that would have been in the Wolf Hall books?

No, took my nephew to Hampton Court Palace last weekend and actually bought a guide book.

Did that on my only trip to your neck of the woods (went to run Hampton Court Half, my last proper race before lockdown). Very impressive building but the parakeets are annoyingly loud!

and growing in number

if I had a tree they liked nesting in I would chop it down

surrey_commuter

me-109 said:

Just happened across this a day or two back. Nothing to do with me. Fills in some blank periods as mentioned above.

https://youtu.be/LWPLjg10D2A

that is very helpful

rjsterry

surrey_commuter said:

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

I didn't realise until a few weeks ago that Henry VIII was married to Catherine of aragon for over 20 years before he had his midlife crisis. She stayed living at court after he divorced her.

Have you been listening to Six The Musical? I know that from my daughter singing / playing the songs over and over. I also discovered that Jane Seymour's family home was a castle a few miles from where I live and that I pass regularly.

Wasn't it Thomas Cromwell rather than Oliver that would have been in the Wolf Hall books?

No, took my nephew to Hampton Court Palace last weekend and actually bought a guide book.

Did that on my only trip to your neck of the woods (went to run Hampton Court Half, my last proper race before lockdown). Very impressive building but the parakeets are annoyingly loud!

and growing in number

if I had a tree they liked nesting in I would chop it down

They're pretty well endemic now. Noisy buggers as you say, but more colourful than crows.

DeVlaeminck

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

surrey_commuter

DeVlaeminck said:

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

I hope that the red kites man up and come inside the M25

elbowloh

surrey_commuter said:

DeVlaeminck said:

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

I hope that the red kites man up and come inside the M25

I've seen them near Sutton and also near us in Banstead, both well within the M25. Also saw a kestrel above the town church a day or two ago.
There's a place just outside Croydon I know where you can see kestrels, buzzard and even a peregrine falcon. I have a shot of the peregrine with the Shard visible in the background.

The white tailed eagles that have been introduced on the IoW have been seen as far up as London.

We get the parakeets in our garden too.

me-109

Parakeets (thread-within-a-thread) arrived in our garden last week. Seven of them. About 300 miles north of Hampton Court.

surrey_commuter

me-109 said:

Parakeets (thread-within-a-thread) arrived in our garden last week. Seven of them. About 300 miles north of Hampton Court.

Move them on before their family and friends join them.

They are from China (can survive in the frozen wasteland 300 miles north of London) so it is worth a google for the various ideas of how they got here

surrey_commuter

elbowloh said:

surrey_commuter said:

DeVlaeminck said:

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

I hope that the red kites man up and come inside the M25

I've seen them near Sutton and also near us in Banstead, both well within the M25. Also saw a kestrel above the town church a day or two ago.
There's a place just outside Croydon I know where you can see kestrels, buzzard and even a peregrine falcon. I have a shot of the peregrine with the Shard visible in the background.

The white tailed eagles that have been introduced on the IoW have been seen as far up as London.

We get the parakeets in our garden too.

Sutton is a short thermal uplift to me so that cheers me up that I could see them drifting overhead. I am up the road from you and likewise can see the London skyline.

Are you willing to name the place just outside Croydon...

pangolin

Kestrel in Bushy Park

elbowloh

Peregrine with Shard

rjsterry

surrey_commuter said:

elbowloh said:

surrey_commuter said:

DeVlaeminck said:

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

I hope that the red kites man up and come inside the M25

I've seen them near Sutton and also near us in Banstead, both well within the M25. Also saw a kestrel above the town church a day or two ago.
There's a place just outside Croydon I know where you can see kestrels, buzzard and even a peregrine falcon. I have a shot of the peregrine with the Shard visible in the background.

The white tailed eagles that have been introduced on the IoW have been seen as far up as London.

We get the parakeets in our garden too.

Sutton is a short thermal uplift to me so that cheers me up that I could see them drifting overhead. I am up the road from you and likewise can see the London skyline.

Are you willing to name the place just outside Croydon...

Everywhere down here is just outside Croydon 😁.

If you want to see lots of kites, I recommend Langley Park

https://countryparks.buckscc.gov.uk/langley-park/

elbowloh

rjsterry said:

surrey_commuter said:

elbowloh said:

surrey_commuter said:

DeVlaeminck said:

They are recent arrivals in the East Mids - I really like them but it's still a novelty seeing them - that may wear off.

I hope that the red kites man up and come inside the M25

I've seen them near Sutton and also near us in Banstead, both well within the M25. Also saw a kestrel above the town church a day or two ago.
There's a place just outside Croydon I know where you can see kestrels, buzzard and even a peregrine falcon. I have a shot of the peregrine with the Shard visible in the background.

The white tailed eagles that have been introduced on the IoW have been seen as far up as London.

We get the parakeets in our garden too.

Sutton is a short thermal uplift to me so that cheers me up that I could see them drifting overhead. I am up the road from you and likewise can see the London skyline.

Are you willing to name the place just outside Croydon...

Everywhere down here is just outside Croydon 😁.

If you want to see lots of kites, I recommend Langley Park

https://countryparks.buckscc.gov.uk/langley-park/

When I say just outside, I meant just on the actual border between Croydon and another borough, there is literally a wall separating the two there

rjsterry

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

veronese68

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

I'm sure you're not alone, I doubt anyone is 'excited' by Croydon

TheBigBean

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

pblakeney

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

I'm guessing that the soft spot was due to a hard thing. 😉

rjsterry

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

No, that's just a bog standard shopping centre, but there is some cracking modernist stuff. The Fairfield Halls are like a slightly smaller RFH and the NLA Tower and Corinthian House are great (although FA will disagree). For those of more traditional tastes, the Victorian Town Hall is very good, as is the old Bishop's Palace. There's also the Art Deco Airport. Most of all I like that it has not been precious about its history and seems to still have a confidence that other more traditionally pretty places lack.

elbowloh

rjsterry said:

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

No, that's just a bog standard shopping centre, but there is some cracking modernist stuff. The Fairfield Halls are like a slightly smaller RFH and the NLA Tower and Corinthian House are great (although FA will disagree). For those of more traditional tastes, the Victorian Town Hall is very good, as is the old Bishop's Palace. There's also the Art Deco Airport. Most of all I like that it has not been precious about its history and seems to still have a confidence that other more traditionally pretty places lack.

The airport and the town hall are nice, that's for sure. Some of the Croydon suburbs are really nice places to live also.

It has a lot of nostalgia for me as its where my mum used to take us shopping (coming from Dorking, Croydon is very metropolitan), when Alders was a really good department store.

I took my driving theory test in Croydon also.

Modern day, Boxpark is good for a brew and a burger/pizza/curry/other world food with mates. Particularly when they're showing the footy.

TheBigBean

rjsterry said:

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

No, that's just a bog standard shopping centre, but there is some cracking modernist stuff. The Fairfield Halls are like a slightly smaller RFH and the NLA Tower and Corinthian House are great (although FA will disagree). For those of more traditional tastes, the Victorian Town Hall is very good, as is the old Bishop's Palace. There's also the Art Deco Airport. Most of all I like that it has not been precious about its history and seems to still have a confidence that other more traditionally pretty places lack.

I'm not sure a few nice buildings makes a nice town. For example, Brasilia has a lot of nice buildings (depending on taste, of course), but there is no way I would want to live there.

MattFalle

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

No, that's just a bog standard shopping centre, but there is some cracking modernist stuff. The Fairfield Halls are like a slightly smaller RFH and the NLA Tower and Corinthian House are great (although FA will disagree). For those of more traditional tastes, the Victorian Town Hall is very good, as is the old Bishop's Palace. There's also the Art Deco Airport. Most of all I like that it has not been precious about its history and seems to still have a confidence that other more traditionally pretty places lack.

I'm not sure a few nice buildings makes a nice town. For example, Brasilia has a lot of nice buildings (depending on taste, of course), but there is no way I would want to live there.

a lot of people say the same about England, tbh.

monkimark

There were peregrine falcons nesting in battersea power station years back when I started working on it - I think they were on the chimneys.
A fake cliff was built for them on top of a tower crane mast to relocate them while the chimneys were demolished but I guess that they might have moved back to the chimneys now that they are finished.
I'm sure they were breeding as well so there are presumably quite a few of them around now.

elbowloh said:

Peregrine with Shard

rjsterry

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

TheBigBean said:

rjsterry said:

I have a bit of a soft spot for Croydon.

Statements like that which go against the conventional thinking really should be accompanied by workings. Do you enjoy the Whitgift centre?

No, that's just a bog standard shopping centre, but there is some cracking modernist stuff. The Fairfield Halls are like a slightly smaller RFH and the NLA Tower and Corinthian House are great (although FA will disagree). For those of more traditional tastes, the Victorian Town Hall is very good, as is the old Bishop's Palace. There's also the Art Deco Airport. Most of all I like that it has not been precious about its history and seems to still have a confidence that other more traditionally pretty places lack.

I'm not sure a few nice buildings makes a nice town. For example, Brasilia has a lot of nice buildings (depending on taste, of course), but there is no way I would want to live there.

Well, I do live just down the road I'm 15 minutes walk from a tram stop.