There were a couple of places which Ron Senior, thanks to the Air Force, got a chance to tour, but the rest of the family didn't.
Ron Senior managed to make it to England twice on TDY. Although Judy and Ron Junior wanted very badly to go, there were lots of terrorist bombings going on in London at the time, and we considered their safety to be more important than touring.
The alternate headquarters of European Communications Area was located at South Ruislip, just South of London. There were two simulated exercises where the Headquarters was moved from Wiesbaden to South Ruislip. On both exercises Ron was on the battle staff. During both simulations, South Ruislip was "knocked out". "Poor" Ron was left with nothing to do for ten days on each occasion except check in every day, and spend the rest of the time touring at government expense!
At that time, there was a hotel for allied officers. It was located on a street just off of Hyde Park. To get to South Ruislip, one had only to walk about a block and enter the London Subway, one of the best systems of public transportation in the world.
If you like to shop, bring plenty of dollars or pounds, because London has some of the best shopping in the world.
For a virtual tour of London, click on the beefeater below.
Who invented the modern flush toilet? It's an open question, but a prime candidate is London resident Thomas Crapper. Well, at least the name fits!
Elsewhere on this site I created pages to two of my favorite historical characters who just happen to be British. In case you missed them, here are links to pages about Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson and Sir Winston Churchill.
London certainly doesn't represent all of England. Although my duties kept me in London, there's one place I really wanted to go, and that's Stonehenge.
There's a British legend which has captured the imagination of the world for centuries. Nobody knows how much is truth, how much fiction. Perhaps we'll never know. It's the legend of Camelot.
If someone were asked to name a famous date in history, they very well might reply, "1066". Indeed that is a key date in history, for it marks the date of The Battle of Hastings.
Need some information about historical royals? Go to this site about Kings and Queens.
Edward Rutherfurd is one of my favorite authors. His most grandiose effort thusfar is a novel entitled "Saurm" subtitled "The Novel of England". It traces, through accounts of fictional families, the history of England from pre-historic times to the present age. It's fascinating reading! But be prepared to spend some time with the book; in paperback it runs 1033 pages!
Rutherford has written another book which I just discovered. It's called "London", and as soon as I could I ran right out and bought it. I just finished reading it, and it's nearly the equal of "Sarum". Anyone interested in English History should read this book. Without giving anything away (I hope), there's a mystery which hangs from the beginning of the book until nearly the end when the mystery is solved.
We're lucky. We have a Barnes and Noble bookstore almost in our backyard. If you don't have a quality bookstore near you, these books as well as literally millions more can be ordered on-line from either Barnes and Noble or from Amazon. Both claim to be the largest, but who knows or cares. Compare prices.
For a look at the complicated world of British politics, click here.
Here is an interactive guide to London (especially shopping) which is quite good.
When I found out I was going to Greece on a two week TDY, I was overjoyed! I had been a History Major in college, and the idea of touring one of the birthplaces of civilization was overwhelming. I was not disappointed. We were based in Athens, but managed to travel North to Macedonia, and even to the island of Crete.
We were fortunate to be based in Athens. We could spend all of our spare time exploring the ruins. The Ancient City of Athens was the wonder of the Western World. Art, Drama, Philosopy, History, and more all found a home there.
Perhaps the most famous resident of Athens was Socrates. His Philosophy and his methods are studied to this day. However none of Socrates' words would have survived at all had it not been for his most famous student, Plato. Another famous disciple of Socrates was Xenophon.
Socrates' detractors were legion, and this is what ultimately led to his execution. Not the least among these was Aristophanes.
One of the greates orators, statesmen and generals of ancient times was the Athenian Pericles.
One of the best fictionalized (but accurate) accounts of life in Ancient Athens is Mary Renault's book The Last of the Wine.
During this TDY we visited the Communications Center at the airport in Iraklion on the island of Crete. Near Iraklion is the ancient palace at Knossos. This palace has been partially restored, and was the center of the Minoan Civilization.
To return to Schloß Von Springer Great Hall, click on the castle below.
Since the inception of Schloß Von Springer, we have received a number of awards; some for which we've applied, and some unsolicited. To go to a page which lists all of our awards, click on the bar below.
