Meet Bury St. Edmunds in East Anglia, UK

 

Bury St. Edmunds in East Anglia, UK

Here's a couple of videos of some American visiting my home town, which is about 30 miles from Cambridge, and its famous Beer and Cider festival so that you can get an idea and learn about the Magna Carta.

Explore the bank of England, meet the mayor of London

 

If you fancy going further in depth why not explore the workings of the Bank of England, peruse the Mayor´s mansion or just have a cup of rosy lee (tea) with a born and bred Londoner. Stepehen Fry (comedian, writer and director) explores the hidden side of London.

Shared by Petrina Moir.

British accents

This video about British accents is somewhat generalised, but it gives a good overview of the regions. For example, in my area of East Anglia, there's a big difference for me between the Norfolk and Suffolk accent and even between West Suffolk, where I'm from, and East Suffolk.

Enjoy. Which one do you like the best? Do you recognise any of the accents?

Shared by Aaron Biggs

Tolkien's inspiration in The Lord of the Rings

 These are some of the places which are said to have inspired Tolkien  in The Lord of the Rings:

St. Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-Wold

This entrance, two yew trees- seems to have inspired the Doors of Durin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.   

"It’s no secret that the ancient and magical yew trees of Britain have guided us for centuries and are shrouded in an air of mystery.  In fact, you’ll find most ancient yews in churchyards as they have a sacred status. The tree’s ability to regenerate from “deadwood” represents life, death, and resurrection which strongly echoes chapters of Christian texts."

There is a local legend that says that J. R. R. Tolkien visited Stow-on-the-Wold on his many tours of the Cotswolds while he was an academic at Oxford.  His brother lived in the market town of Evesham and they regularly met up at Moreton-in-Marsh at The Bell Inn pub too.

The Tolkien Society has proven that the nearby Bell Inn of Moreton-in-Marsh was used as inspiration for “The Prancing Pony” in the town of Bree. They even had a special print made for the owners!

The Four Shire Stone on the A44 was confirmed as inspiration for the “Three-Farthing Stone”. This is mentioned in both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as the boundary marker for The Shire and its four farthings.

Source: https://thirdeyetraveller.com/st-edwards-church-stow-on-the-wold-door/   You will find videos and more information about these sites.

Joanne Briggs

 

Shared by Petrina Moir: 

A fervent spokesperson for her country. Joanne Briggs with her distinct accent gives you an insight into parang music and what 9it means to her.

If you feel like exploring more of this music, here´s a great playlist.

Off the beaten path in London

 

Shared by Michael Church:

I´ve lost count of how many times I´ve visited London.

Here´s a wee video with some gorgeous ideas that won´t necessarily crop up in the typical guidebooks or internet sites.

Have a gander at this and next time you are there, you could take a look with your own eyes...