YE OLDE MERRIE ENGLANDE!!

[OJ UK]

Ok Guys 'n gals I though I'd put up a couple of pics (and it is only a couple at the moment!)
of life on a Spyder in England....
IMG_0285_1.jpg This picture was taken at an old coaching house, where coaches would stop to
allow passengers and horses some refreshment. It was built in 1512. (That's older than some of Bob Denmans jokes!!)
They serve excellent food and of course beer!!

IMG_0282.jpgHere I am just about to leave the parking area of a nearby 14th century manor house where they
serve afternoon tea in the gardens.....all very quaint!
These were taken on a friend's phone. I have just bought a new Nikon camera so I hope that this year's pictures will be more plentiful
and bigger!!

[bruiser]

Makes me want to have a pint with you. I miss the UK. Thanks for the pictures. Waiting for more.

[SNOOPY]

Moar!!! lol





Thanks for the pics

[Chupaca]

nice pictures and history. Must be a lot of that where you all ryde...!!

[eddieshep999]

Thanks for posting OJ Maybe try and post on the UKSPYDERWEB site as well

[Oldmanzues]

I spent some time in UK. Used to go to St Ives a couple times a year. Stayed in "new Hotel" like your coaching house pic.
Oldmanzues

[Bob Denman]

GREAT pictures... Please keep them coming!!
(Older than SOME of my jokes... )

[ARtraveler]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting. UK is one of the items on the bucket list.

[OJ UK]

nice pictures and history. Must be a lot of that where you all ryde...!!

I have a good friend of mine, Toby Walker, who plays blisteringly wonderful fingerpicking blues guitar and is well known on the US east coast.
He lives in Noo Joisey........originally from Long Island.

He always says when he comes over here to England that the historical difference between the US and the UK is this:

"In the US it's quite difficult to find man-made things more than 300 years old, but in the UK you can be assured that it's almost
as difficult to find things that aren't 300 or more years old."

He was looking at me when he said it.....

Oh!...Free plug: http://www.littletobywalker.com/ Definitely worth a look!!

So what I've decided to do is this. I'm going to start carrying my camera a great deal more often and if I see anything I think that you
guys would like to see I'll snap it and post it here on this thread sort of in the stylee of the very famous duo Dave and Teddy.
How would that be? I won't always be on the Spyder but the scenery here doesn't change if I'm in the car!!

To get the ball rolling, here's a snap that I took a few years back while I was showing Toby Walker some of the history of Kent
which is the English county in which I live. As with the rest just click on these 'thumbnails for the big picture!
P1010114.jpg
This rather lovely old house dates from around the turn of the 16th century although, as is often the case, some of it may easily
be quite a bit older. As the family who lived here would have been that of maybe a successful merchant or similar the house would
have seen improvements made over several hundreds of years. The glass windows may have been put in for instance in the
17th. century and until that time there would have been no glass.

[SNOOPY]

I know you have more pics

[SNOOPY]

GREAT pictures... Please keep them coming!!
(Older than SOME of my jokes... )

Barely

[Bob Denman]

OJ,
Keep those wonderful pictures coming!

[OJ UK]

Another snap from the hard drive!!
This is a picture of the old part of Aylesford village where I live.
I've seen pictures of this village in art and craft shops all over the world!
The river is the river Medway and one of the dwindling number of navigable rivers in England.
The church is quite old, possibly 600 years but if you really want to know then visit here:

http://www.aylesford-church.org.uk/history.php

AylesfordBridge.jpg

[SNOOPY]

Very cool.

[wyliec]

Do you live near Downton Abbey (Highclere Castle)?

[Rayelljay]

Born in Middlesbrough....I used to live in Bedford and spent quite a number of years in Poole before comin' over 'ere.

[Bob Denman]

Have you ever been to Retford? (The spelling may be off...)
My family emigrated from there, in 1795...

[Showie]

I have a good friend of mine, Toby Walker, who plays blisteringly wonderful fingerpicking blues guitar and is well known on the US east coast.
He lives in Noo Joisey........originally from Long Island.

He always says when he comes over here to England that the historical difference between the US and the UK is this:

"In the US it's quite difficult to find man-made things more than 300 years old, but in the UK you can be assured that it's almost
as difficult to find things that aren't 300 or more years old."

He was looking at me when he said it.....

Oh!...Free plug: http://www.littletobywalker.com/ Definitely worth a look!!

So what I've decided to do is this. I'm going to start carrying my camera a great deal more often and if I see anything I think that you
guys would like to see I'll snap it and post it here on this thread sort of in the stylee of the famous duo Dave and Teddy.
How would that be? I won't always be on the Spyder but the scenery here doesn't change if I'm in the car!!

To get the ball rolling, here's a snap that I took a few years back while I was showing Toby Walker some of the history of Kent
which is the English county in which I live. As with the rest just click on these 'thumbnails for the big picture!
P1010114.jpg
This rather lovely old house dates from around the turn of the 16th century although, as is often the case, some of it may easily
be quite a bit older. As the family who lived here would have been that of maybe a successful merchant or similar the house would
have seen improvements made over several hundreds of years. The glass windows may have been put in for instance in the
17th. century and until that time there would have been no glass.

Damn I wonder Y 1776 - 2014 or 1500's to go way back. You may be just a bit older. But you Brits do age much more gracefully than your Yankee offspring.

[Bob Denman]

I've heard it said, that OJ is actually 544 years old...
But still doesn't look a day over 197!

It must be all of that clean living...

[OJ UK]

I've heard it said, that OJ is actually 544 years old...
But still doesn't look a day over 197!

It must be all of that clean living...

As we say in Olde Englande: SLAP!!! (Junior!!)

[spydaman60]

oj, if we can find a ship to get us all over there with our spyders, will you sign on as tour guide? the pay won't be much, but i'm sure there will be many pints slipped your way. (after the rides, of course) love that country side look!

[OJ UK]

Do you live near Downton Abbey (Highclere Castle)?

Highclere is not really a castle in the traditional meaning of a castle, which is a fortified building
to defend against and repel attacking forces. It's more like a fortified manor house, but still a lovely
building designed and built by the same man who built The Houses of Parliament.

[OJ UK]

Have you ever been to Retford? (The spelling may be off...)
My family emigrated from there, in 1795...

No Bob, I haven't been to Nottinghamshire other than to do work related stuff.....but if it was as
bad then as it seemed to be 10 years ago, I can understand why they emigrated!!

[OJ UK]

oj, if we can find a ship to get us all over there with our spyders, will you sign on as tour guide? the pay won't be much, but i'm sure there will be many pints slipped your way. (after the rides, of course) love that country side look!

Done!! When do I start??!!
Because the UK is relatively speaking a small country, I reckon it would take me a couple of months to show just the major highlights to a visitor. In depth??
It would take months to see a county like Kent. It has to be remembered that the UK's history is almost 2000 years old and each county has it's own story to tell.
We've been invaded and and governed by the Romans, the Vikings and the Normans and of course each of those was followed up by their wannabes!!
It's the reason why the English language is comprised of ancient German, French, Saxon, Danish, Celtic, and Latin.

[bruiser]

You forgot Cockney