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August 28 Goodbye to Summer
It's hard to say goodbye to summer
the water on the rocks beats on
in rhythm to a low lying wind
 that caresses our skin and fills our hair
with memories of an earlier rhyme
 when our hearts still searched for a place to share
a lofty lair with a misty clime.
Laughing at the olden ways
 amid the pounding heat
which still purveys something sweet
leaving a scent that lingers for days...
 and makes me stretch out my hand for time...
more time.
By Evelyn M. Wallace
All Rights Reserved by author
August 28, 2009
 With fond kisses, The Castle Lady  August 21 Don't Let Them Lie to You ! ! !The following message is from the desk of Bobby Clark the Executive Director of Progress Now Colorado. It is a democratic organization with the people's welfare in mind. I agree with this message wholeheartedly and that means 100%. If you are starting to wonder about all the Republican rebuff you owe it to yourself to check out the following and do something about it. - The Castle Lady
 To find out more facts on Obama's Health Care Package click:
 Is the public option dead? If you read the headlines, you'd think so. But it's just not the case. The bottom line is this: nothing has changed. President Obama has always said that health insurance reform must lower costs, must ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans, and it must increase choice and competition.
He believes the public option is the best way to achieve those goals. Presidential senior advisor Valerie Jarrett reiterated that on Saturday at a public event, and this morning Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius was explicit: "We continue to support the public option that will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice, and keep private insurers honest." But industry lobbyists are still spending $1.4 million a day to convince Congress otherwise. Tell Congress not to back down. Despite the fear mongering and outright lies from reform opponents like State Senator Josh Penry, Coloradans need health insurance reform. Our premiums have increased 91% since 2000. Every day, 100 working families lose their employer-sponsored insurance because it has become too expensive. And those who do have insurance worry about insurance company bureaucrats making decisions about their medical care instead of their doctor. (Evelyn's note: Does it make sense for Republican politicians to go on and on about Obama controlling the health care program and not mind that the insurance companies already do that to a large extent without asking us our permission to do so ? Think about it. )
President Obama's plan will ensure that Coloradans have secure, affordable choices for health insurance. A public health insurance option will serve as a check on the greed of the for-profit insurance industry. Tell Congress to make sure a public option is included in the final bill. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/publicoption Don't let partisan ideologues like State Senator Josh Penry bamboozle the public into believing falsehoods about the President's reform plan. In a recent op-ed, he wrote that reform "isn't going to come from Washington, D.C." but from "private-sector innovation." It's the same tired, hackneyed philosophy that brought us the health insurance system that is bankrupting Colorado families while lining the pockets of health insurance CEOs. To declare your support for the President's health insurance reform plan, including a public option you have to let congress know you support it. With a kiss, hug and atta-boy, The Castle Lady !
My condolences go out to the Kennedy family. The "Lion of the Senate" will be greatly missed.
August 20 I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends... I've had full intent on doing a showcase on all the friends I've made on MSN Live Spaces through the years and I made a definite decision that I would not let the year 2009 pass without getting the job done. Without any further ado here is a small tribute from me to you all of just a few of the wonderful people I've come to know- there are so many of you now, more than a hundred ! - I wish I could fit everybody in this entry.
 Maybe I'll do some more a bit later on this year... - The Castle Lady
 Most recently you may have seen my friend Doug and Leona's comments quite a bit. Both are like me. Writing is our raison d'etre. They both have hearts of gold and keen senses of humor and I also respect their opinions to the utmost !
Doug is the author of the amazing Caledon series of books which can be sourced at your local internet or regular bookstore. Just look for Sword of Souls; Chronicles of Caledon or The Crimson Reaver (a part of the same series). He's got his own world up there in the Badlands and with a nice family to boot ! He wrote an entry on me earlier this year which was absolutely charming and absolutely Doug too, entitled, "Has Anybody Seen My Pal?" I just adore him...
 isn't he precious ? ?
 It's Doug's birthday today, too, so wish him a Happy Birthday, OK ?
Leona is a retired teacher and poet at heart and you can find that out if you check out her book, "At the Starting Gate" . I have my own personal copy, signed and everything, and the book contains more refreshing insights into life than I have read anywhere in recent memory. We both have a multitude of blogs to keep up with all our ideas and her motto is : It's never too late to dream...
I concur. She's also a very natural beauty, don't you think?
I have quite a few Italian friends...
Mirco is a long time friend. We have bantered back and forth in Italian and English when we chat on messenger and he's wild about Avril Lavigne! In fact, his web site is almost totally devoted to her !
  Giuseppe loves cars like me and he's happy working on them all day long !
My amorous friend Francesco convinced me to put photos of myself on this blog and now, in retrospect, I'm glad I took his advice. It was an idea meraviglioso ! So here's what he looks like:
 Not bad, huh?
Now Joey Dalton is from the deep South (all the way down there in Eureka, Kansas) and he can make me laugh like nobody's business ! His photos will make you giggle for weeks !
 This looks nothing like him but it's what he gave me. See ? Look in the network for a cowboy avatar !
Bobbi and
If you see an avatar of the Fab Four hanging around my network it's not your imagination! Definitely click on it and you'll get a chance to see some Beatle memorabilia plus much more. Carolyn's blog actually is the Yellow Submarine !
    Olivier, aka Olicat is the best French ami any American could have and he's got a young family started ! He really loves cats, his baby daughter Eva and of course her Mama ! He really knows the meaning of Joie de Vivre but he's a hard worker and has a lot of beautiful and fun web sites!
  Some of my friends have been more pen-pals than internet pals- but occasionally they visit- we just can't see them- so, say hello to Lyns and Karen in England, Dima in Belarus and Ron in Australia! I've written to Karen since we were both fifteen !
Dima of Belarus Lyns and her boyfriend !
Karen
 Ron the Aussie Joy is the very first Christian friend I made on MSN Live Spaces! Here she is with three of her closest friends in Spain! I don't know where exactly they're at but it's Spain!
 Joy is here on the far right !They really look like they're having a great time, huh?
 Well, that's all I have time for now but,- who knows ? - , if you're on my network you might see yourself on here in the near future!
Many kisses for my many friends !
The Castle Lady
  hee hee, I just love to kiss ! August 17 And the Reuben Award went to...Every year they give out an award to the top cartoonist here in the U.S. which is called
the Reuben Awards. We have great funnies here, I think, and I'm going to show you with just
a few that I read on a regular basis. Actually, the truth ? I read them all every day.
These are just a few my favorites:
 Garfield, baby ! An old favorite, Blondie. People used to call me Blondie when they didn't know my name.
 Hagar the Horrible- very often the best in castle humor !
But the winner this year was a relatively new guy ....
 tu pete' ou quoi ? XD
  Before summer started one of the top cartoonist awards went to Mark Tatulli with LIO.
I love LIO the best, too, and I still say that kid reminds me of someone...
The Castle Lady, with only the best in reading!  August 12 Ode of a Dancing Girl I have, on a couple of occasions through the years, posted some poetry of Rabindranath Tagore who was an Indian poet, artist and philosopher. He kept to strong political opinions which did not fit in with his times or even his country in many instances. He was a free-thinker whose influences were both traditional and departures from his native culture. He is published quite a bit in English plus many other languages and his personal history is long and fascinating. The following is from his book Gitanjali which was published in English by Macmillan in 1913. I have enjoyed his viewpoints in poetry. The English translation of his poem is his own writing, the title to this entry is mine.
- The Castle Lady
 Dancing Girl, undated ink-on-paper art by Tagore
আমার এ গান ছেড়েছে তার সকল অলংকার
Ornaments would mar our union;
they would come between thee and me;
their jingling would drown thy whispers."
"My song has put off her adornments.
She has no pride of dress and decoration.
Rabindranath Tagore
(May 7, 1861-August 7, 1941)
Proverbe du Jour:
"শূন্য নদীর তীরে রহিনু পড়ি / যাহা ছিল লয়ে গেল সোনার তরী" - Rabindranath Tagore
Translation: All I had achieved was carried off on the golden boat- only I was left behind.
All my love and kisses!
The Castle Lady   August 05 August Fifth- In Remembrance The bridge to the trains.  Korczak at 10On August 5, 1942, sixty-seven years ago, Janusz Korczak, along with the orphans
he fought so hard to save, marched to the trains and ultimately to the gas chambers
at Treblinka in Poland. He chose to go with them so they didn't have to face death
alone.
 For more information see my July 25, 2006 entry:
"Doing Battle With Demons"
and for further reading, the following books are still available:
Father of the Orphans: The Story of Janusz Korczak E.P. Dutton 1989
Ghetto Diary by Janusz Korczak Yale University Press 2003
The Castle Lady with such big kisses you'll never feel alone !
 August 01 In the mean time...  One of England's most educational historical sites is also one of the most fascinating UNESCO (and World Heritage) attractions you will ever visit and its landscapes and architecture will dazzle your eyes. If you take one of the riverboats on the Thames from London Bridge or Tower Hill it's only four miles downstream! First you'll see the Millenium Dome built in celebration of the year 2000, then there is the Royal Observatory which is seated 155 ft above the river, the National Maritime Museum and the adjoining Queen's House. The Maritime Institute at the University of Greenwich, located in the historic setting of the Old Royal Naval College and Vanbrugh Castle sits a short distance from where you can also get a good look at the Cutty Sark which has been dry-docked there for more than half a century!
 Greenwich RNC QH complex All of these are a part of the Greenwich Royal Park, part of Greater London, a southeast London paradise across the Thames from the Isle of Dogs which has been delighting tourists for a couple of decades now but there was a time when it was a very quiet part of London. This royal parkland of 180 acres has been palisaded since 1433 and then surrounded by a wall during the Stuart era and was officially the oldest enclosed royal domain in England. It has been graced with architectural masterpieces since the 17th century and before that was the site of the Tudor Palace originally called Bella Court then Placentia by Margaret of Anjou! The entire complex has featured in many films but the most recent was for the fantasy film, The Golden Compass !
With the Queen's House, whose greatest importance is that of being England's first true Palladian Classical building, we'll start the tour. This was the work of Inigo Jones after his return from Italy. A royal appointment was given to him as Surveyor-General of the Works and, along with the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall, was his most revolutionary design. Today it is considered a part of the National Maritime Museum when they took it over in 1934. It has served many functions since 1805 when George III granted the house to the Royal Naval Asylum ( a charity for orphans) but it was originally commissioned by Anne of Denmark, the wife of James I, in 1616, as a pavilion and private retreat for her. Its functionality as a bridge over the Greenwich to Woolwich Road, between the palace gardens and the park is still in evidence but much altered.
The view from across the Thames reveals the Royal Naval College frontage, built by Christopher Wren, on both sides of the Queen's House, in two halves, so that it doesn't spoil the river view for the house but makes it appear like a recessed portion of the entire complex of classic and domed buildings! To take in this vista, walk to the embankment, past the white marble statue of George II. Here you can see where the Tudor Palace of Greenwich was cleared away after the mid-17th century for the magnificent court of the Wren Royal Hospital building, twin-domed painted hall and chapel. These have been incorporated, since 1998, as the Greenwich Maritime Institute- a postgraduate teaching and research multi-facility which offers postgraduate degrees in Maritime History, Maritime Policy and Management and an Mphil/PhD in Maritime studies. It also houses the Trinity College of Music.
 Painted Hall Wren had a lot of help from some well-known and not so well-known architects on this complex which has never had the exteriors significantly altered. His pupil, Nicholas Hawksmoor was his co-designer initially. After Wren died in 1723, Sir John Vanbrugh, Colen Campbell and Thomas Ripley continued the work with Hawksmoor through until 1751. The interiors of the Painted Hall, one of the domed structures on the west, were decorated by Sir James Thornhill from 1707 to 1726. The Chapel which is located in the east side domed building was reconstructed by James "Athenian" Stuart after a fire devastated it in 1779.
 Queens House façade , North Front The Queen's House was finished in 1638, three years in the perfecting after it had been structurally completed in 1635, with the Great Hall taking center stage on the north wing. Its model was Sangallo's Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano. The entrance staircase is very reminiscent of Fontainebleau's in the Ile de France region of France. Being strictly classical, the entrance hall was a perfect cube being 40 x 40 ft and featuring a geometrically-patterned black and white marble floor. This is surrounded by a gallery and crowned with a ceiling compartmented by well carved beams. All the principal salons were on the first floor with great height and large windows giving the plan a great frame for the magnificent spiral "tulip" staircase (a misnomer, for certain, because the designs are -in fact- French fleur-de-lys!) Originally the ceiling was painted by Orazio Gentileschi with a series of nine separate paintings- Allegory of Peace and the Arts under the English Crown being the title. Taken down in the early 18th century, the exquisite paintings now grace the ceiling at Marlborough House, at Pall Mall in London, in the Blenheim Room. The beautiful balcony shown here was sometimes used by musicians.
 Great Hall Some structural changes were made by Charles II- the most marked were the addition of two upper east-west bridge rooms forever altering the original "H" plan to a square plan on the first floor. These were added by John Webb in 1662. In the 18th century most of the original windows were changed to Georgian sashes which imparts a more modern external appearance. From 1807-12, Daniel Asher Alexander added colonnades with flanking wings framing the sides of the house. Those were the last alterations made turning the original appearance to a more "modern" look. Restorations without alteration were carried out during the late 1980s with additional work about ten years ago. Attempts have been made to refurnish the house in its original 1670s style.
With a relatively new exhibition on the history of Greenwich here along with a beautiful portrait and fine-art collection of permanent and temporary exhibits to see there is almost too much to explore! You will see rare seascapes by the Van de Veldes because father and son had a studio in the house in the 1670s! There are many events and private entertainment is a part of its continuing venue as well as corporate and private hire.
Neptune Court façade, north
 The National Maritime Museum which adjoins the Queen's House as East and West Wings which were the former Hospital School Building (note: this is not referring to the colonnades which flank the Queen's House!) stores wonderful marine artifacts and marine history covering everything from Captain Cook's exploration of the Pacific to Nelson's battles with the French in twenty modern galleries. Don't miss the Neptune Hall in the west entrance along with its Barge House which has quite a few royal barges that may have belonged to Henry VIII. Galleries on the west wing ground floor have had exhibitions tracing Britain's marine history since 1937 which include lore of Captain Cook and also has many maritime artifacts such as the 1907 paddle tug, Reliant with working machinery, shipping artifacts, wheels, figureheads from boats along with educational displays explaining the development of wooden boats. Portraits are highlighted by uniforms, logs, guns, maps and navigational instruments, models and the large collection of decorated chinaware which ranges from popular commemorative mugs to gilded presentation pieces.
The East Wing only came into more recent use in 1951. It displays the Royal Navy history in both World Wars, arctic exploration, fishing and whaling, and British merchant shipping. A building design partnership between the management and Rick Mather Architects reconfigured the main galleries around the new Neptune Court which made a streamlined effect between the 1807 wing created by Daniel Asher Alexander and the south and west ranges created by Philip Hardwick in 1862. The Alexander wing still holds the Caird Library built in the 1930s which happens to be the largest maritime reference library in the world. A rotunda at the entrance to this wing was created by Sir Edwin Lutyens in memory of Sir James Caird who was the Museum's founding benefactor.
In 2012 the NMM will play host to the equestrian events for the Olympics.
Captain Cook Statue @ Queens House
 looking toward the Observatory.  The Royal Observatory, which was the work of Sir Christopher Wren, shows his unique inventiveness and his prodigious use of traditional English building materials to bring a new style to England. If he was not influenced by Inigo Jones he certainly took his plans into serious consideration. He also took on the job of Surveyor-General at thirty years of age when the huge task of rebuilding the churches of London (after the Great Fire of 1666) became imperative. It stands today on the former foundations of Greenwich Castle, the birthplace of Henry VIII and may have been built by King Edward I. This castle was a favorite place for Henry VIII to secret his mistresses because he could travel quickly from the palace below to meet with them. He loved this castle and turned it into a vast palace by adding towers and halls, a tiltyard and armoury which once sported an impressive display.
Jones's challenge in building the Observatory buildings was keeping to the limits of classic rules while making the style accessible to the English Tudor work still going on. Spare building material from the Tower of London, the Tudor Fort at Tilbury and the foundations of Duke Humphrey's Tower (remains from the castle) were used to save money in construction. Flamsteed House shows true Palladian influence as well. Wren was a mathematician and astronomer so his building was set marking the Prime Meridian of the world (Longitude Zero). Commissioned by King Charles II in 1675, the foundation stone was laid on August 19th on the hill it occupies overlooking the River Thames, the other beautiful Wren buildings and Queen's House. Today you can stand right next to the famous Greenwich Meridian Line where a laser now marks the spot. You can visit most of the Astronomer Royal's apartments and see the 1833 time ball- which sits atop the turret of the 20 ft high Octagon Room- fall at 1 o'clock. The time ball was installed by Astronomer Royal John Pond in 1833.
 Octagon Room Flamsteed House was the first house built with the express purpose of being a scientific research facility in Britain. Nevertheless, the alignment of the building was 13 degrees away from true North, however exact the building was proportioned, to the consternation of John Flamsteed who was to be the appointed Astronomer Royal. During the forty years that Flamsteed worked here he prepared the most accurate star maps ever produced using a transit telescope mounted on the first established Greenwich Meridian (north/south line) in a small brick shed at the bottom of the garden! The buildings around the observatory have undergone constant change and enlargement in more recent years to accommodate new technology as it has become available. The Observatory is very much an historical and scientific building in every aspect!
 Telescope Dome The domed building is the Great Equatorial Building which was added in 1857. It contained a 28 inch refracting telescope which was used from 1893 until the 1960s! It's still the seventh largest telescope in the world and it was returned to the observatory in 1975 and continues to be used for educational purposes. The current dome of the building is a fiberglass replica because the original dome was taken down after being hit by a flying bomb in WWII !
It housed many scientific instruments on stellar tables which was supplied by Sir Jonas Moore at his personal expense. Two clocks were installed in the Octagon Room which were built by Thomas Tompion being featured with 13 ft pendulums above the clock faces. They gave an accuracy which was unparalleled for the time period. The prime meridian was established there in 1851 when four separate meridians were drawn through the building. An international conference in 1884 established the spot which passes through the Airy Transit Circle of the observatory and it was marked by a brass strip but is now made of stainless steel. Because of this establishment world time is based on Greenwich Mean Time: each day on planet Earth begins there! Since December 16, 1999 a green laser beam, which shines out northward from the observatory at night, is the official mark for GMT.
During the 20th century most of the activities of the observatory were moved to other places. After 1924 most of the various departments of the sciences went to far flung northern and southern outposts. Much of this was due to various atmospheric and magnetic interferences from railways running near Greenwich and the war caused a decision to move the Astronomer Royal in 1947 to Herstmonceux Castle which is south southeast of Greenwich in East Sussex. In 1990 the RGO was moved again to Cambridge. This was closed in 1998 on a decision by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. Much scientific work along the original order is scattered throughout various facilities of the U.K. and Canada.
The Meridian Building seated behind Flamsteed House is an 18th century compliment to the house as it is built from identical brick and was to house the observatory's large collection of telescopes and other world time instruments including sundials. It contains Harrison's prize winning longitude marine chronometer along with many predecessors and other horological artifacts. You can see it in the panoramic photo of the observatory grounds in my ever-expanding London Castles and Palaces photo album!
 Planetarium As part of a L 15 million redevelopment project, a 120 seat bronzed venue at the Observatory, the Peter Harrison Planetarium, along with other educational facilities was built starting in February of 2005 and was opened on May 25, 2007. The planetarium was a restoration of the South Building originally finished in 1899 as a astrophysics observatory, and contained the Thompson Equatorial Telescope.
 Shepherd Clock, early example of an elec. slave clock. Vanbrugh Castle was built by the architect himself while he was occupied here as an architect (from 1717) and Surveyor to the Royal Naval Hospital being built. It is an eclectic medieval folly and a blue plaque outside the building attests to his occupation of the castle from 1719 to 1726!
This marvelous folly has a tower modeled on the French Bastille and is graced with a more modern-looking manor with the grounds enclosed by a relatively low surrounding wall. It is mostly a riot of gothic towers, turrets, walls and crenellations and precedes its rival- Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill in Twickenham- by thirty years!
If it seems odd that he would build such a structure amid gothic renaissance splendor consider that, given his work elsewhere, perhaps his imprisonment at the Bastille (on charges that he was spying for the British government from 1690-92 ) inspired or ignited thoughts of revenge in him ! LOL
(That last bit of factual info came straight off the internet folks ! )
Until 1975 it was occupied by a school on funds from the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund for the sons of RAF personnel killed in action. Preservation and restoration was carried on by a local Trust- Blackheath Preservation Trust in 1977- and this fantasy castle is now privately owned maisonettes. (Translation for Americans: town homes.) Check it out in the London album.
 When you get a chance, go down to St. Mary's Gate near the pier to get a look at the Cutty Sark and the Gypsy Moth IV. If you don't know what the Cutty Sark is, then you are missing out on a 19th century racing history wonder! This beautifully masted clipper ship became famous in 1869 for her best day's run (with 3/4 of an acre of canvas spread) which was 363 miles! The Cutty Sark brought tea from China and wool from Australia to the mainland and at Dumbarton. It takes its name from Robert Burns' poem, Tam O'Shanter, and still sports the witch figurehead for which the name comes from! She is undergoing restoration currently which should be complete by 2010. Brought to Greenwich as a permanent home in 1955, she is the perfect nautical museum containing important papers, charts, mementoes, models with illustrations on the history of the clipper trade, especially her own! Don't miss the curious collections of figureheads! Even if, by comparison, it looks rather small, the Gypsy Moth was the boat Sir Francis Chichester immortalized by traversing the entire globe in her, alone, from 1966 to 1967. It's worth a look.
If your legs aren't falling off yet you could also check out the Fan Museum which is further southwest of the Croom's Hill boundary of the observatory and contains a beautiful collection along with the Ranger's House which has the Suffolk collection of 53 paintings including portraits, Macartney House and the Manor House. You can cool your hoofs down at the Cutty Sark Tavern later.
Much thanks to Christopher Holt for the use of some of his photos in this entry.
Greenwich Park T-020 8858 4422 24 hour hotline 020 83126565
The Fan Museum 12 Crooms Hill T- 0208305 1441 www.fan-museum.org
With love and devotion, The Castle Lady
 Happy 48th Birthday Obama ! August 4, 2009
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