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Showing posts from April, 2018

Statue of Richard I Lion Hearted, 1169-1199,The Houses of Parliament

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"Good night then; sleep to gather strength for the morning. For the morning will come come brightly it will shine on the brave and true, kindly upon all who suffer for the cause, glorious upon the tombs of heroes. Thus will shine the dawn".

The Throne, Houses of Parliament

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The Throne. House of Lords, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, England

The two-House system The House of Commons, The House of Lords

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The business of Parliament takes place in two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Their work is similar: making laws (legislation), checking the work of the government (scrutiny), and debating current issues. The House of Commons is also responsible for granting money to the government through approving Bills that raise taxes. Generally, the decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other. In this way the two-chamber system acts as a check and balance for both Houses. The Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government. Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws. It is one of the key places where government ministers, like the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, and the principal figures of the main political parties, work. The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills, such as proposed new taxes. The Lo

Sir Winston Chrchill's last home

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Sir Winston Churchill's house, 28 Hyde Park Gate, London SW7

Clock outside Fortnum and Masons

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Hampton Court Palace

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Home of Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty: a 500-year old royal pleasure palace The original Tudor palace was begun by Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century, but it soon attracted the attention of Henry VIII, who brought all his six wives here. Surrounded by gorgeous gardens and famous features such as the Maze and the Great Vine, the palace has been the setting for many nationally important events. When William III and Mary II (1689-1702) took the throne in 1689, they commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build an elegant new baroque palace. Later, Georgian kings and princes occupied the splendid interiors. When the royals left in 1737, impoverished ‘grace and favour’ aristocrats moved in. Queen Victoria opened the palace to the public in 1838. It has remained a magnet for millions of visitors, drawn to the grandeur, the ghosts and the fabulous art collection. Royal preoccupation with Italian Renaissance classicism and baroque during the 17th and 18th centuries ennobled

"Young Dancer" Statue, Covent Garden

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The Royal Opera House is the home to The Royal Ballet, one of the most outstanding ballet companies in the world and it is highly appropriate that this sculpture is sited here in front of the Opera House. This statue of a young ballet dancer sits in Bow Street opposite the entrance to the Royal Opera House. It was sculpted by Enzo Plazzotta, an Italian who was born in Mestre, near Venice, but who spent more than half his life in London. He loved ballet and this state is an excellent example of his work. He died in 1981. The "Young Dancer" sits in Broad court, opposite the Opera House in Covent Garden. The Ballerina is the creation of Italian artist Enzo Mario Plazzotta and modelled after ballerina dame Ninnette De Valois. Irish-born dame Ninnette de Valois, whose real name is Edris Stannus came to London and founded a ballet academy and one of the first ballet companies of the 20th century. Having contributed a lot to the history of English ballet, she is regarded as t

IDIOM: "to go for the Jugular"

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Jugular vein, any of several veins of the neck that drain blood from the brain, face, and neck, returning it to the heart via the superior vena cava. The main vessels are the external jugular vein and the interior jugular vein. Word forms: plural jugulars 1. countable noun A jugular or jugular vein is one of the three important veins in your neck that carry blood from your head back to your heart. adjective 1. of, relating to, or situated near the throat or neck. 2. of, having, or denoting pelvic fins situated in front of the pectoral fins. e.g a jugular fish. Word origin of 'jugular' C16: from Late Latin jugulāris, from Latin jugulum throat. Word origin of 'jugular' C16: from Late Latin jugulāris, from Latin jugulum throat. Word origin of 'jugular' LL jugularis < L jugulum, collarbone, neck, throat, dim. of jugum, a yoke IDIOM: "TO GO FOR THE JUGULAR" means to make a serious effort to defeat someone, usually by criticizing or harmin

IDIOM: To "Bury the Hatchet"

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To bury the hatchet: to stop an argument and become friends again,to become friendly with someone again after a disagreement Can't you two just bury the hatchet? Thesaurus absolution afraid amends apologetic apologize apology atone for sth atonement bad beg bury bury the hatchet idiom bygone clear clear the air idiom conciliate crawl crawl back (to sb) idiom cut cut sb some slack idiom excusable excuse excuse/pardon my French! idiom expiate forge forge ahead forgivable forgive forgiveness forgiving French if you'll pardon the expression idiom make make it up to sb idiom make up mend mend your fences idiom my bad idiom overlook pardon pardon (me) idiom pardonable penance penitent recompense reconcile reconciliation remission reparation repent repentant sink sink your differences idiom sorry soz take take sb back turn turn the other cheek idiom unrepentant, Explore related meanings Arguments and arguing To argue Physical fights To oppose something or someone Opposed to som

IDIOM: "From stem to stern"

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From stem to stern (US) : throughout all of something,from one end of something to the other: . Example: “We cleaned the house from stem to stern","We overhauled the car from stem to stern";as well as the figurative meaning mentioned above, from stem to stern also has a literal meaning: from the front to the back of a ship or boat. Complete and Whole. Thesaurus: ​ (from) soup to nuts idiom (up) to the hilt idiom A, a a/one hundred percent idiom absolute absolutely aggregate all all all or nothing idiom all told idiom all-in-one all-inclusive altogether at/in one fell swoop idiom away be an artist, professional, etc. to your fingertips idiom blanket catch-all clean closure complete completely completeness comprehensive comprehensively consummate cover cross dead diametrically direct entire entirely entirety exhaustive fairly fell fibre fingertip flat flat out 2 flatly from A to Z idiom from head to toe idiom from stem to stern idiom full full-blown full-fledged full-

IDIOM: a "Duck Soup"

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(slang) something very easy, an east thing to do, an easily accomplished task or assignment, a cinch to succeed, as in Fixing this car is going to be duck soup. This expression gained currency as the title of a hilarious popular movie by the Marx Brothers (1933). The original allusion has been lost [Early 1900s]. Beware with the use of the idiomatic expression, a according to "Urban Dictionary" it can also convey a number of obscene and unpleasant meanings : 1. Duck Soup is a gathering of sad and single people on a Sunday night making one last ditch effort to 'get lucky' at the weekend. Duck Soup is often frequented by lonely cougars, and fag hags but never a hottie (unless they are there to make sport of all the losers). This phrase was coined after the 1933 movie of the same title, directed by Leo McCarey, written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and starring the Marx brothers. A gathering of Duck Soup is aptly named, because Groucho Marx described Duck Soup... &#

The Ravenmaster and the Legendary Status of the Raven to the Tower of London

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13 Secrets From the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London BY CHRISTINE COLBY JANUARY 19, 2018 Christopher Skaife is a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London, an ancient fortress that has been used as a jail, royal residence, and more. There are 37 Yeoman Warders, popularly known as Beefeaters, but Skaife has what might be the coolest title of them all: He is the Ravenmaster. His job is to maintain the health and safety of the flock of ravens (also called an “unkindness” or a “conspiracy”) that live within the Tower walls. According to a foreboding legend with many variations, if there aren’t at least six ravens living within the Tower, both the Tower and the monarchy will fall. (No pressure, Chris!) Skaife has worked at the Tower for 11 years, and has many stories to tell. Recently, Mental Floss visited him to learn more about his life in service of the ravens. 1. MILITARY SERVICE IS REQUIRED. All Yeoman Warders must have at least 22 years of military service to qualify for the posit

IDIOM: " Chickens Come Home to Roost"

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Definition - used of person's past actions that are causing him or her to experience problems in the present The sense of roost employed here (“to settle down for rest or sleep”) is not now one of the more common ones. Chickens do, in fact, come home to roost, as do most people. As to Mr. Troup’s complaint of “contemptuous and disrespectful language,” it reminds us of the remark, that “curses are like chickens; they come home to roost.” — Louisville Public Advertiser (Louisville, KY), 12 oct. 1825 This idiomatic expression was employed by Malcolm X: "Malcolm X stirred up a hornet's nest when he said this about John F. Kennedy after the (U.S.) president was assassinated, possibly alluding to the alleged C.I.A. attempts on Fidel Castro's life. But the saying is an old one, dating back to at least 1810 in the form of 'Curses are like young chickens; they always come home to roost,' which appears to have been the invention of English poet laureate Robert South

The Writer's Museum

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Edinburgh. Honoring the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott.

The Gerkin, London

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30 St Mary Ave, informally known as The Gherkin, London

London Landmark

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One of London's favourite landmarks is the statue of JM Barrie's Peter Pan, which stands in a wooded area beside Long Water, in Kensington Park. The statue was commissioned by Barrie from sculptor Sir George Frampton and was erected in 1912 in the spot where Peter lands in Barrie's first version of the story.
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Earl's Court surrounded by magnolie Early history Philbeach Gardens, Earl's Court, c1875, with St. Cuthbert's Parish Church Earls Court area in 1830 A map showing the Earl's Court ward of Kensington Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916. Earl's Court was once a rural area, covered with green fields and market gardens. The Saxon Thegn Edwin held the lordship of the area prior to the Norman conquest. For over 500 years the land, part of the ancient manor of Kensington, was under the lordship of the Vere family, the Earls of Oxford and descendants of Aubrey de Vere I, who held the manor of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances, in the Domesday Book in 1086. By circa 1095, his tenure had been converted, and he held Kensington directly of the crown. A church had been constructed there by 1104.The earls held their manorial court where Old Manor Yard is now, just by the London Underground station.Earl's Court Farm is visible on Greenwood's map of L
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"To have an axe to grind" (idiom) meaning: to have an opinion or aim that influences your decisions and that you want other people to accept or consider, reckon, have a mind of ones's own If someone has an axe to grind, they have particular attitudes about something, often because they think they have been treated badly or because they want to get an advantage. Note: `Axe' is spelled `ax' in American English: Lord Gifford believed cases should be referred by an independent agency which, as he put it, doesn't have an axe to grind. He didn't have a critical ax to grind. He was very open-minded about other people's work. Note: You can also say that you have no axe to grind to deny that your strong opinions about something are based on personal reasons: The unions insist they have no axe to grind, because they will represent operators wherever they work. Note: There are several explanations for the origin of this expression. One is a story told by Be