A magic carpet ride.

Today I went for a magic carpet ride and guess what! It flew right back here and settled on the floor.

According to A it is a Caucasian rug. See a web site here.

Colchester -visited with G on a shopping expedition. The church behind me, St Mary at the Walls, is used as an arts centre.

Colchester Arts Centre is a community centre run by the borough council. It plays host to all sorts of things, including theatre, activities for kids and a farmers' market. However, it also has regular gigs and occasionally attracts big name bands. It also has an alternative night near the start of each month.

And a bit of folk lore on the church:

Colchester is also the most widely accredited source of the rhyme Humpty Dumpty. During the civil war Colchester was a Royalist stronghold, a Royalist sniper known as one-eyed-Thompson sat atop the church of St. Mary-at-the-walls (Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall) and had the nick-name Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty was shot down (Humpty Dumpty had a great fall). The town was lost to the Parliamentarians (all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.) The Church of St. Mary can still be seen to be a Norman church tower until the top few feet which is a Georgian repair.

Colchester is the oldest recorded Roman town in England, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest. There is archaeological evidence of settlement 3,000 years ago. Its Celtic name was "Camulodunon", meaning "the Fortress of Camulos". (Camulos was the Celtic god of war.) This name was modified to the Roman spelling of "Camulodunum" (written "CAMVLODVNVM").

More on Colchester here at Wikipedia.

Here I am in the local village across the road from the butcher's

Outside of my new home!

A couple of pictures in the locality. Picture in car whilst the Gebeth crew visited the library to get a slightly scarey film "The Skeleton Key" -mind you if you have had to fight off a giant squid these films all come across as a bit tame!

The Eagle -Sky Guardian

"Evil Squirrel" -beware those who enter his domain!

Snowy the master of the ancient oriental martial art of Soh-Wing

Made some new friends down here in Essex. The eagle surveys across the househild, whilst evil squirrel lurks under a plum tree in the garden. Snowy of course is resident within the household. I am astounded with his skills in Soh-Wing his needles flash as he demonstrates this ancient and deadly art!

London visit -St Patricks Day -17th March.

G & I went to London on the train to a conference at the Working Men's College in London. A cold and windy day. G as you can see is still trying to get a half way decent picture of me!

Picture of me -I am an old sea bear -who was tired of staying in one place (Birmingham) and decided to travel a bit.

My first port of call away from Birmingham with some ladies at Brookwood Manor. A took me there to help with their Art & Craft activities.

Brookwood Manor, is an 18th Century Tudor Manor House and sits in its own grounds in the heart of rural Suffolk. Brookwood Manor was built in 1884 in the Tudor style but its history goes back to the 15th Century.