Showing posts with label American History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American History. Show all posts

12 June 2023

Grosvenor Square London England


 Grosvenor Square is a garden park in Mayfair, which is a district in Westminster, London. The park is named after the Duke of Westminster.


A statue honours president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. People all over the UK contributed to the memorial, which was unveiled by Mrs. Roosevelt  with King George VI on 12 April 1948.



In 2023, Grosvenor hosted Mayfair's Coronation Garden Party.


More history

John Adams was the first to establish an American presence nearby in 1785. The house is still there on the corner of Brook and Duke Streets.

A memorial honours Eagle Squadron--244 Americans served in the Royal Air Force before the US entered WW II.

Eagle Squadron/ Grosvenor Square
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Later, General Dwight D. Eisenhower established his quarters at 20 Grosvenor Square. The building was used by the US Navy until 2009.

For years, the US Embassy was nearby until they moved to their new location.

There's a commemorative stone placed on the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

And there's a memorial garden to the 67 British victims of 11 September 2001.

Google Map of Grosvenor Square London




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17 December 2022

Historic St Charles Missouri

St Charles Christmas Market 2022 /suttong.com




St Charles Missouri was Missouri's first State Capitol between 1801 and 1826.

We stopped by for the annual Christmas market and parade. Parking at the historic Lewis and Clark Boathouse, pictured below, soon filled up.



Further along by the river is the old railroad station.


The Missouri River runs parallel to Main Street where locals and visitors gathered to watch the parade event between shopping and eating.



St Charles MO / G Sutton 2022


A vendor sells chestnuts and wassail.

St Charles MO/ G Sutton 2022


The sign to the left marks the old trail to Fort Osage, established August 25, 1808. General Clark and his men were guided by Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone as they headed west.


We saw a variety of Christmas gifts and lots of food-- a sample.










You can hear these women sing in the video below.


The Mistletoe Misses



The English Shop got my attention--but I think they should call it British.






At the end of the parade, Santa appeared.




There's a touch of international flavour.




Here's a video of the Christmas parade we watched 4 December 2022.

One of their biggest festivals is Heritage Days -- a re-enactment of Lewis & Clark's 1804 camp.


St Charles is less than a half-hour west of St Louis where we visited other sites during our Christmas getaway.

Click for Google Map

See other St Louis Area posts

Wild Lights at St Louis Zoo

GLOW at Missouri Botanical Gardens


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26 September 2022

Southampton, England, UK

Southampton 28 July 2022/ Geoff Sutton

Southampton is a deep water port in the historic county of Hampshire, which is on the south coast of England.

Here's an aerial view created with Bing in 2023. Southampton is a busy port with hundreds of visits by cruise ships each year.





We arrived by train at Southampton Central and took a ferry to the Isle of Wight as part of our pre-cruise plans.


After two days on the Isle of Wight where we toured the historic Queen Victoria and Albert's Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle, we returned to Southampton and walked about the historic waterfront area.



The Mayflower Memorial built in 1913 for the 300th anniversary celebrations. The transatlantic voyage of the Mayflower and the Speedwell began near here 15 August 1620.

There are two plaques. One for the Wampanoag -- The People of the Dawn-- who were residents of the area where the ships landed for some 12,000 years. The other is for the many migrants who came through Southampton or made it their home.


Historic Tavern and Old City wall, Southampton

The wall dates to about 1350.





Platform Tavern, Southampton, 1873


God's House Tower built in the 1400s to protect the sluice gates.

In the 1700s, it was a debtor's prison and felon's gaol.


Street art, Southampton


Southampton Old Bowling Green--the World's oldest bowling green dating to about 1299 (which sounds older than about 1300).



Related posts


Cruising the UK


Visiting London Sites



Places to visit in the UK




Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

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Travel Notes

We purchased a return (roundtrip) ticket on a direct train from Waterloo station in London after flying into Heathrow.

Visitors may save money with a UK Railcard Pass.

In 2022, you could board a National Coach at Heathrow airport to Southampton.

There are two ferries to the Isle of Wight. One is only for passengers. The other is for passengers and vehicles. It makes a difference where you want to go on the island.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which was within walking distance to the ferry and cruise terminals.





 

11 September 2022

Castletown D-Day Centre Portland UK



Castletown D-Day Centre is a recreation of the Portland Dockyard in 1944. Thousands of US troops of the 5th US Corps and US 1st Infantry began their brave and treacherous journey to Normandy.


I stopped by after visiting Weymouth on my way back to the cruise ship. The local shuttle bus stops at the nearby Portland Castle.

The real equipment and full size figures give a sense of the action in the Spring of 1944.






















Before embarking at Portland, many Americans were encamped  about 20 miles away at Wardon Hill, Dorset where my father and others had built camps.



Related Links












Learn more at ddaycentre.com

Visit notes
There is an entrance fee
Storyboards are on the walls.
You can get in or on a lot of the equipment.
There's a small snack bar.
In 2022, toilets were in a nearby building-request the key.


Nearby




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Enjoy the cultural differences between the UK and the USA in language and activities.

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