stumbled across your site into your trip around england, and found it really interesting. you take beautiful pictures, and i was particularly amused that you saw a royal guard crack a smile. great! christina

Enjoyed you excellent pictures and great commentary. Thank you.

Hey, loved your photos of Windsor Castle. Am going to London in May..only have 15 hr the 1st day and about 5 the second. Do you know if there is public transport to the Windsor Castle from Heathrow? Also, would you suggest getting a London pass and spending morn in Windsor and afternoon in London Tower...or would the changing of the guards at Buckingham be more impressive. Your answer would be much appreciated. I really want to make the most of my time. Thanx, Sharon

The pictures at the Leeds Castle were great and helped me do a school project.

WOW! Am planning 21 day trip to Great Britain this June. Found your site while looking for more information then I will ever need. Your pictures are amazing and commentary very realistic and engaging. I really enjoyed your site. Your perspective is not only interesting and informative but humorous as well. But what about Vic and who is Laura?

Great photos, as always Jeff! Nice job!

Hi. I saw the pics of your trip to england. I have to say that they are really cool. I am planning to fly to london in summer 2005 after I had finished school. I hope that it is great there. ;-) --> www.zeljk-it-out.de.vu

Me and a fellow conspirator spent a good 20 minutes looking through your ejournal and we need to know if you and vic lived happily ever after.

Hey there, I am an internationl travel consultant and was just searching for extra info on windsor castle and fell upon your site. 10 points doll, your stories and pics are excellent. You should e-mail me and we can talk.

LOVED your England photos! I am planning another trip with friends and just really enjoyed your snaps. Just like being there without the rain!

I am a grade 6 student in Victoria Harbour, Ontario, Canada and am doing a project on the UK - your pictures were a great help for me to see what everything looked like! Thank you.

The Coronation Chair was made for King Edward I to enclose the famous Stone of Scone, which he brought from Scotland to the Abbey in 1296, where he placed it in the care of the Abbot of Westminster. The King had a magnificent oaken chair made to contain the Stone in 1300-l, painted by Master Walter and decorated with patterns of birds, foliage and animals on a gilt ground. The figure of a king, either Edward the Confessor or Edward I, his feet resting on a lion, was painted on the back. The four gilt lions below were made in 1727 to replace the originals, which were themselves not added to the Chair until the early 16th century. The Stone was originally totally enclosed under the seat but over the centuries the wooden decoration has been torn away from the front. At coronations the Chair with the Stone stands facing the High Altar. Every monarch has been crowned in this chair since Edward II in 1308, except Edward V and Edward VIII, who were not crowned. At the joint coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689 a special chair was made for Mary, which is now in the Abbey Museum. The Chair was taken out of the Abbey when Oliver Cromwell was installed upon it as Lord Protector in Westminster Hall. It was used by Queen Victoria at the 1887 Golden Jubilee Services in the Abbey. During the Second World War the Chair was evacuated to Gloucester Cathedral and the Stone was secretly buried in the Abbey. Most of the graffiti on the back part of the Chair is the result of Westminster schoolboys and visitors carving their names in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Chair was kept in the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor for many centuries until that chapel was closed to general visitors in 1997. In February 1998 the Chair was moved out to the ambulatory and raised on a modern pedestal and can now be viewed near the tomb of Henry V. Stone of Scone Legends abound concerning the Stone of Scone and tradition identifies it with the one upon which Jacob rested his head at Bethel - "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it" (Genesis chapter 28, verse 18). The legend then says that Jacob's sons carried it to Egypt and from thence it passed to Spain with King Gathelus, son of Cecrops, the builder of Athens. About 700 BC it was said to be in Ireland, whither it was carried by the Spanish King's son Simon Brech, on his invasion of the island. There it was placed upon the sacred Hill of Tara, and called "Lia-Fail", the "fatal" stone, or "stone of destiny", for when the Irish kings were seated on it at coronations the Stone groaned aloud if the claimant was of royal race but remained silent if he was a pretender. Fergus Mor MacEirc (died 50l?), the founder of the Scottish monarchy, and one of the Blood Royal of Ireland, received it in Scotland, and Kenneth MacAlpin (d.860) finally deposited it in the monastery of Scone in Perthshire (846). Setting aside the earlier myths it is certain that it had been for centuries an object of veneration to the Scots. Upon this Stone their kings, down to John Balliol in 1292, were crowned, and it is said that the following words were once engraved on the Stone by Kenneth: Ni fallat fatum, Scoti, quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem [If Fates go right, where'er this stone is found The Scots shall monarchs of that realm be crowned] The prophecy was fulfilled at the accession of James VI of Scotland and I of England in 1603. The Stone weighs 336 pounds and is composed of sandstone. It was stolen by Scottish Nationalists on 25 December 1950. After its recovery in April 1951 it was kept in the vault in which it had been stored during the Second World War and was not replaced in the Chair until February 1952, after elaborate precautions had been taken for its future safety. However, on July 3rd 1996 the Prime Minister (John Major) announced that the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland by the end of the year, returning to the Abbey for coronations. On the evening of 13th November 1996 the Stone was removed from the Chair by representatives of Historic Scotland and put in a specially made crate. It was transported by stretcher to stand in the Lantern of the Abbey overnight and was removed in silence to the waiting police escort early on the morning of 14th November to make the long journey to Scotland by road. It can now be seen in Edinburgh Castle. So the Coronation Chair, once the oldest piece of furniture in England still used for the purpose for which it was originally built, now stands empty after 700 years. I stand corrected...Just the Stone went back to Scotland...

It might have been just the Stone that was given back...but it would be remiss of you not to mention the Stone of Destiny...as it sat in Westminster for centuries.

Love the MOtherland..but I found your description of Wedtminster Abbey and the coronation chair not accurate. The coronation chair was given back to the Scottish people on 15th November, 1996 and you will gather all the information you need on it if you look at Stone of Scone, Jacob's Pillar, Stone of Destiny...The real coronation chair does not have graffiti...it's in Scotland. Other than that..I enjoyed my joirney through your eyes. And a tip when travelling Jeff, you can take pics of anything you wish..Just say in an off accent...after the event...Oh sorry, No speak English.

Jeff, Great pictures of Westminster Abbey. I tired to take a picture of the Coronation Chair and the guards almost threw me out. Did you take those pictures yourself or are they from a guide. I can't wait to go back.

Your pics helped me! Whilst reading "The Da Vinci Code", trying to find a picture of Newtons Tomb , I found yours. Thanks

Jeff, I learned more off your web page then other sites. It was great!!! Its a place where I have wanted to go to for years..I happen to like the history of those dead people in the floor.LOL..Did you see anything about the 2 young princes that were killed.When they found, they ended up at the Abby..Thanks again for some good reading.

Very good.....Wow!! you have really good pictures. I've seen a lot of these places myself, your pictures make me want to return UK again.

I really enjoyed your site - it was hilarious! I can't decide what part of it I like best - your obsession with eating American fast food on a trip to England, the pictures of all the shittiest, touristy-est sites of London (London Dungeon!), or your frankly creepy obsession with the seriously homely Victoria. I can't wait for you to update the site again. Vic had to have totally freaked when she figured out how seriously you took your non-relationship, right? Do tell! You're gay, right?

My husband and I are going to London next week and really enjoyed seeing your photos in advance. Thanks for posting them on the web!

Hi Jeff! I just wanted to say what a great photographer you are. Amazing pictures. Also, you have a funny sense of humor and a very personable way of writing. It felt like you were talking right to me. Let me know if you do write a book about your travels. I'll be one of the many standing in line for you to autograph it! But for the meantime... I hope to go to England and see what you saw. Thanks!

Jeff, just had to drop in and tell you how much I enjoyed your site! We spent time in England a few years back, about the same time of year - February. The weather looked to be a bit more inviting when we were there. Unfortunately we didn't get to all of the wonderful places that you did but seeing your fantastic photos makes me want to go back. Best of luck to you in all of your endeavors! Visit us at www.kentdyche.com.

Very nice travel journal, Jeff. Enjoyed reading it, as my wife and I just returned from there last month.

Came upon your trip to England and found it to be very interesting and entertaining. My friend and I are also going to England in March/April 2004 and I look forward to seeing the sights that you have encountered. I am very interested in England history, especially around the Henry VIII era - thanks for the show. Annie

Way to go, Jeff! Keep on truckin'!

Beautiful, interesting, amusing, insightful and honest....oh, and the website's not bad either... Vic

What a quality set of photo's and a very entertaining persepective on England. If only those terrible pics of me were removed, I'd tell everyone to go have a look.

What wonderful photos1 Truly gifted

Very nice...well framed photos..."Big Ben, Parliament, Kids"...you are missing your calling; well done. Link forwarded by Jonathan

Hi, Laura forwarded me the link and im totally impressed! I loved the blurred up merry go round - a picture il try and do myself me thinks - need some filters tho!! A very interesting persepective on England.. Excellent!

Jeff, you've done it again! Very impressive indeed. You beez one talented photo man!

Great job, Jeff! Your pix and narrative actually made me want to visit London!