Once upon a time a couple of chicks and a group tour expert thought it would be fun to plan a tour around our former subjects… finally, three years, four reschedules, 56 people went on that eight-day trip. These are their stories. (And historical trivia, travel and book recommendations, societal observations, and even a lesson in gas exchange…there’s a lot to learn in this one.)
The history pub tour that Beckett and her dad took was through Liquid History Tours; the Jack the Ripper tour Susan took was through RipperVision, her guide was Richard (although some Seagulls took the tour with a different guide from the same company and loved it just as much.)
Starr: The book that Starr nerded out to and gave her visit to Jane’s world added depth:
Susie: The public art installation of giant corgis are dotted throughout Westminster (where we were staying so it was hard NOT to see one.) Here is a map of them, and the one that she referenced, Susan, represents Queen Elizabeth’s first corgi and the grandma of many of the ones she called for walkies in the Queen’s life. Funny story: this piece was created by the class of one of our Traveler’s daughters!
Find yourself near Victoria Station on a Sunday evening and fancy a game of Trivia? Our Trivia Teams really enjoyed the Sunday evening game with Johnny the Fox at The Warwick!
The Superbloom music that Diana referenced was this, Music For Growing Flowers, by Erland Cooper.
If you’re excited to join us on another Field Trip, we would love to have you join us on our October Boston and Newport adventure! Click on over to Like Minds Travel for information, or if you are going to be in Boston and would like to join that trip’s Local’s Meet Up, find out more here!
Life gets in the way of the best intentions, doesn’t it? Covid has derailed us this week so instead of talking about our visit to the land of Henry VIII we thought we would get in the Way Back Machine to our 2012 series on the wives of Henry VIII! We’ve remastered and edited them into one really short audiobook (or long podcast, however you want to think of it.) Beckett is still recovering but hopefully, we’ll be together in two weeks!
Today we want to introduce you to a show we both really enjoy: The Gilded Gentleman! It’s produced by our friends Tom Meyers and Greg Young, The Bowery Boys, and is hosted by social and culinary historian Carl Raymond. Carl’s episodes are often a delightful companion to the stories of our subjects and this doubleheader is no exception.
This month Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, but she’s still alive so we can’t cover her* so we thought this would be an excellent time to get into the Way Back Machine to our 2017 conversation about Queen Lili’oukalani, the Kingdom of Hawaii’s last monarch (who was at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1887!)
Unlike most actors, Elizabeth never left the public view and her entire life played out on magazine covers, scandal sheets, punch lines, and news stories with tales of fact and fiction. But, in this final chapter of her life, she uses that very visible platform to bring money and awareness as a vocal ally for those stricken by a then mysterious and deadly illness, AIDS–going so far as to form her own foundation to fight the disease and support its victims. (And, just because she could, she also became the first celebrity to launch her own perfume line and company.)