Just joking. Don't try this at home.

barry manilow

Preamble: I absolutely HATED history as a kid, BUT, bein’ fairly observant for a kid, I realized that most older adults LOVED the topic, so I figured that one day, when I got MUCH older, I’d begin to   more...enjoy history too . . . . . those days have apparently arrived! LOL

Brighton (earlier known as “Brighthelmstone”) began as a Saxon village when the Saxons conquered Sussex in the 5th century AD.

In 1313 Brighton gained a charter. This was a document granting the merchants the right to form their own local government and certain other privileges. A fish market was held daily on the beach. There was also a weekly pig market and corn market, as well as a general market where all kinds of goods were sold.

The earliest map of Brighton shows a little town about one quarter of a mile square. There were 4 streets, North Street, West Street, East Street and South Street (kinda makes SENSE huh? LOL). In the middle of the 4 streets were many small land holdings. “The Lanes”, highlighted in this video, started as pathways between them all. There were also fishermen's huts along the shore.

The unneighborly French burned down Brighton in June 1514. This was easily done as nearly all the buildings were of wood, with thatched roofs, and the buildings were all packed tightly together (as they are to this day).

In 1545 the French returned, but warning beacons were lit, and brave Englishmen from all the surrounding countryside rushed to the town to defend it, and the French, after sustaining large amounts of casualties, were driven back into the sea.

By 1580 there were about 400 fishermen living in Brighton; the overall population was around 2,500. By the standards of the time, Brighton was a fair sized market town.

Brighton's popularity and size grew, when, in 1750, Dr Richard Russell, a resident of Lewes, wrote a book in which he claimed that bathing in sea water was very good for your health. Rich people began to come to seaside Brighton hoping to be cured of their various illnesses. At first the travelers were a trickle, but later became a flood. In 1783 the Prince of Wales and his friends visited Brighton which ensured its popularity.

In 1841 a railway to London opened which made it much easier for visitors to reach Brighton. By 1848 it was estimated that 250,000 people visited Brighton each year. West Pier was built in 1866. Palace Pier was built in 1899.

When World War II began in 1939 many schoolchildren from London were evacuated to Brighton to escape the bombing. Since Brighton was, of course, a seaside resort rather than a manufacturing town it was anticipated it would escape bombing. Yet Brighton was not as safe as people thought it would be, and the town suffered considerable damage as a result of bombing. There were 56 raids in all, and over 5,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.

Today about 8 million tourists a year descend on the town (no warning beacons are lit for this type of invader however LOL), and “The Lanes” today, are a wonderful mix of shops selling all manner of things from antiques to jewelry to memorabilia, and there are cafes and pubs in the area too, and you REALLY get an idea of how jammed together the old buildings were “way back when”, and how convoluted the maze of pathways between them were in the days before city planning.

Here are a couple of good websites for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
http://www.picturesofengland.com/history/brighton-history.html

The song I chose is Keith Urban’s “Everybody”.  less

dreamy panoramas above the lake district - god i love the raw beauty of this place

Photos I took at an Elite Horse Jumping Competition in England . . . OH!, people have been asking me about this . . . the rider whose picture is shown 46 seconds into the video, was launched off his horse   more...when the horse stopped, and the rider ended up WAYYYYY beyond the jump, but thankfully was just shaken up . . . the horse was fine too, and stopped without even touching the jump . . .  less

Celebration

London
England
AD 2007
New Year Fireworks
(Extracted from LiveVideo channel Jacques 2006)

Madeira
Portugal
AD 2007
New Year Fireworks - World Record
(Extracted from YouTube channel macedospirotecnia)
  more...
Accompanied by National hymne England - British National Anthem - God Save The Queen (Orchestra Chorus) and Doctor and the Medics - Spirit in the Sky.  less

this painting is my kind of landscape painting in oil
the music nolle composition
and DOGTALES I work with my guitar

This video is in the category of “home movies” LOL, ‘cause I just wanted to have a keepsake video about my two favorite England canine friends, who I really enjoy seein’ each time I’m visiting my human   more...friends in England.

You can learn a lot about how to “Live Life” from watching dogs . . . they TRULY “live in the moment”, so they AREN’T constantly rehashing past events in their lives, nor stressing about future “what ifs?”, as do most HUMANS unfortunately! LOL, but instead, dogs just live in “the now” and enjoy each second to the fullest, in their happy worlds of scents and sounds and blissful joy :)

The song is one of my favorite Cat Stevens songs, “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out”, which pretty much summarizes the wonderful way that dogs look at life, because “life” and “seeking happiness” really aren't NEARLY as complex as humans seem to think they are :)  less

One Of My Favorite Band

Some of Rooneys finest goals

I always find cemeteries to be a place of peace and introspection about “the meaning of life”, and what it means to have truly “lived”, and “living life to the fullest”, and enjoying all that life has   more...to offer, and not being afraid to seek out what you want out of life . . . because as “they” say . . . “NOBODY gets out of life ALIVE, so you might as well enjoy it, and make the most of it while you’re HERE!”

So today, when I again heard Bette Midler’s version of “The Rose” on the radio, I immediately knew that that was the song I wanted to use for this video project, which shows “Denne Cemetery”, one of the really interesting old cemeteries in a corner of Horsham, England.  less

An England friend and I met up with Tony (England YouTuber “Ajdpadbury”) and Dominika (YouTuber “Nika441”) in London recently. Many thanks to Tony for booking the tickets for the London Eye Flight, and   more...for being our tour guide for the day!! We had a great time!!

The beautiful song I used for this video, entitled “Walking In the Air (From "The Snowman")” by Brian Dunning & Jeff Johnson, was suggested by my England friend Ren.

Part One of this two part video focuses on the views while "flying" on the London Eye. Part Two focuses more on the structure and design of the Eye and the process of getting on and off the Eye.  less

balls of steel

It snowed yesterday!! :D

2 of 5

a show about the famous gangsters ronnie and reggie kray

the latest floods from Atlantis, the British public fear the slightest of rain fall now and in a country that does nothing but rain it's not practical.
Now here is why. and if you don't think Britain   more...will sink you have zero knowledge of prophecy nor 2012.
please note: These are not severe weather patterns it's just in the same amount of time period three to four times as much water is being dumped than just four years ago..  less

'Mental Kaleidoscope'
Published Anchor Books 2004 'Make Each Day Count'.

'A Flush in the Pan'
Published by Anchor Books 2004 "It's a Funny Old World"

This story was related to me by a customer/friend, George S.
So I wrote this poem to surprise him on his next visit.

The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, England
Caring for donkeys in need worldwide.
Since 1969 we have taken over 12,000 donkeys into our care in the UK and Ireland and have over 45 welfare officers who can follow   more...up reports of cruelty to or neglect of donkeys, quickly and efficiently. We also have core overseas projects in Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Mexico - bringing urgent veterinary assistance to working donkeys in distress. Further projects exist in Europe where many more donkeys need our help.  less

Some photos taken at Tintern Abbey.

This is a video that I have made for little Madeleine McCann. She has been missing for 100 days now! She is only four and is so innocent. She deserves to have a childhood and a life!!!!

Remember Princess Diana (Elton John - Goodbye England's Rose)

This guy is pretty good :)