Photo by MarilynJane

Welcome to the town of Gillingham, which can be found in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. You will find that this town is the most northerly in the county. The town of Gillingham is 3 miles south of the A303, which lies roads of  the B3092 and B3081. The town lies about 7 miles to the south east of the town of Shaftesbury. It’s neighbouring hamlets include Peacemarsh, Bay and Wyke. But, due to the growth and expantion of Gillingham, they have  now become apart of Gillingham. Now what people may or may not know, is that this town is pronounced with a hard initial ‘G’ as in ‘gas’. Whereas the other town which can be located in Kent and also has the same name, Gillingham, the initial ‘G’ is pronounced like the ‘J’ in the name ‘Jill’.
At the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show
Gillingham & Shafesbury Motoring Pageant 2011

Photo by MarilynJane

This is a picture taken from flickr of Hambledon Hill in Snow.

Photo by Joe Dunckley

This is a picture taken of Colber Bridge.
I do not know what the population of Gillingham is today, but back in 2001, the census said there was 9,323 people living in Gillingham, which was a large increase from 6,187 back in 1991, there is an estimate at approximately 12,000 people living in Gillingham today, but not is not guaranteed. And supposedly, 35% of the population are retired. This is quite abig town, there are 70 shops, and the town is proud to have seven primary schools of which, four are in the town and there is one isecondary school. They also have the Gillingham railway station, which is on the Exeter to London railway line, and 4 miles away from the A303, which is the main London to south-west England road.  And the cathedral city Salisbury in thecounty of  Wiltshire is approximately 30 minutes away by train, and 50 minutes by car. So attractions will you find in Gillingham, well first of all, the town is home to North Dorset Rugby Football Club. The town, used to be the home to an annual 10 day festival of music and sport, sadly it ended in 2010, it used to  feature acts as diverse as the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, John Otway, Attila The Stockbroker and Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich. But due to the Lack of funding and the recession the event was stopped, which was ashame. It is also the home to Legends, which can be found situated in the heart of the industrial estate, it is the only night club in North Dorset.

• Learn about the town of Gillingham on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the church of St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham, Dorset on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Gillingham, Liberty on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the list of hundreds in Dorset on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Dorset County on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the South West England on Wikipedia:
• Find Gillingham on Google Maps:
• Find Dorset on Google Maps:
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Photo by Nouhailler

Photo by Paul-W

This is a picture taken from flickr of the Le Sentier / Vallée de Joux in Swizterland.
Welcome to the Jura Mountains, they are as being a  small mountain range which is found in the north of the Alps, separating the rivers, Rhine and Rhone and forming part of the watershed of each. According to Johann Gottfried Ebel, the mountain range are found in europe, in the countries of France, Switzerland, and Germany. So where abouts in France is this mountain range, it mainly covers the region of Franche-Comté, which stretches south to the region of Rhône-Alpes in the east of the department of Ain, where the range reaches its peak at Le Crêt de la Neige. Towards the southern end of the French Jura, which can be found in the northwest of the department of Savoie, and the north end is in the very south of Alsace. There is roughly 1600 square kilometers of the mountain range which is protected within the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park.

Photo by sjtiffen

This is a picture taken from flickr of the Jura Mountains and it’s wildlife.

Photo by dsearls

Now if you are in Switzerland, you will find that the range spreads around the country, and it covers the western border with France in the Cantons of Basel, Solothurn, Jura, Bern or Bernese Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud, and also it covers the border with Germany in the canton of Schaffhausen. And this also includes the Canton of Basel-Landschaft. The area known as the Swiss Jura, has been industrialized since the 18th century and used to be a major center of the watchmaking industry. So you will find that there are a few large cities at very high altitudes, such as La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, and Sainte-Croix , which is renowned for its musical boxes. Sadly though the area i am talking about has had a marked decline in population since about 1960. The Swiss Jura is well- known for being one of the three distinct geographical regions in the country of Switzerland, the other two are the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps. Finally, we Germany, it appears that the Jura, which is lower in altitude, stretches into Bavaria in the Swabian and Franconian plateaus. What does the name “Jura” actually mean, well it is derived from juria, which is a Latinized form of a Celtic stem jor- “forest”. The mountain range has given its name to the French department of Jura, the Swiss Canton of Jura, and the Jurassic period of the geologic timescale. But one of the reasons i wrote about this mountain range is because it is an area where people go skiing and there are resorts around the area some are known as, Bellefontaine, Jura, Cerniébaud, Grande-Rivière, Jura, Morbier, Métabief all in France, Les Breuleux and Les Genevez in Swizterland and Aalen, Albstadt-Tailfingen and Westerheim, Baden-Württemberg in Germany, there are many other resorts aswell. But if you fancy a ski, then here in europe is some of the places to go to.

Photo by mqk

Photo by sjtiffen

• Learn about the Jura Mountains on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Lac de joux on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Jura ridgeway on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Creux du Van on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Chasseral Pass on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Taubenloch on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Fort de joux on Wikipedia:
• Find the Jura Mountains in France on Google Maps:
• Find the Jura Mountains around France and Swizterland on Google Maps:
• Find the Jura Mountains in this part of Germany on Google Maps:

Photo by David Bailey MBE

This is a picture taken from flickr of Downtown Pristina, taken from the K4 Towers.

Photo by David Bailey MBE

This is a picture taken from flickr of a part of Pristina.
Welcome to a post about a tiny country in Europe, known as Kosovo, which is a partially recognised Republic of Kosovo. Located in the southeastern part of Europe. Along time ago this region used to be a part of the medieval Serbia, which was then conquered by the Ottoman Empire, then it became known as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which was withinthe country of  Serbia . Back then, when this happened Serbia was one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia, but also part of Serbia after First Balkan War and this was also before Yugoslavia was created. One of the sadest, things about this small nation is that there appears to have been long-term severe ethnic tensions, between Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian and Serb populations. Because of this it is sad to say that it has left Kosovo ethnically divided, and this was also one of the reasons why the Kosovo War happened in 1999, there was so much violence within the nation that it spread within the Kosovo.

Photo by Joseph A Ferris III

This is a picture taken from flickr of Prizren, Kosovo.

Photo by David Bailey MBE

Once the war was over, it appears that a Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known also as the FRY, they then took over the governance of this territory, and was it was sorted out it was then passed over to the United Nations, who went on to govern, Kosovo. But it still remained legally the sovereign territory of the FRY after the transfer of authority. Now because of the serious tensions within the Kosovo, it has now become a self-declared independent state, has de facto control over most of the territory. But you will find that in North Kosovo, which happens to have the largest Kosovo Serb enclave or population, happens to be under the control of institutions of the Republic of Serbia, and because of this, Serbia says that it does not recognise the unilateral secession of Kosovo and considers it a UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory, or you could say that the Serbians, believe that Kosovo, especially the north, is still apart of Serbia, and that the United Nations governing within Kosovo is fictional and that they should not be there.

• Learn about Kosovo on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the history of Kosovo on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the break up of Yugoslavia on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the geography of Kosovo on Wikipedia:
• Find Kosovo on Google Maps:
• Find Pristina on Google Maps:
• Find kosovo and her neighbours on Google Earth:

Photo by Queralt jqmj

Photo by PS – Partit Socialdemòcrata d’Andorra

So where is Andorra, well the small country is often known as the Principality of Andorra or in Catalan: Principat d’Andorra, but it is also known as the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, or in Catalan: Principat de les Valls d’Andorra, this is has i have just mentioned a small landlocked country  in the southwest of Europe, it is located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. This is the sixth smallest nation in Europe and there is only an area of 468 km² or 181 sq miles, there was an estimated population of 84,082 in 2009. The capital  is known as Andorra la Vella, this happens to  be the highest capital city in Europe, being at an elevation of 1023 metres. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken. It appears that in the history of Andorra there was a principality was formed in 1278 and also it has a monarch rule where the role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the Bishop of Urgell and today the President of France. The country being where it is has a pretty good tourism industry, which is working well and making the country prosperous, there is roughly around 10.2 million visitors a year and also because of its status as a tax haven. Andorra is not  a member of the European Union, but they use the euro as the de facto currency. The people of Andorra have the 4th highest human life expectancy in the world — 82 years at birth.

Photo by Keith Laverack

Photo by Ariel Ky

Now the location of this land-locked country is found in the eastern Pyrenees mountain range, and you will find it has alot of  rugged mountains, with the highest being the Coma Pedrosa at 2,942 metres or 9,652 ft, and the average elevation of Andorra is 1,996 metres or 6,549 feet. There are three narrow valleys which have a Y shape, they then combine into just one main stream, the Gran Valira river, it leaves the country and go on to Spain and this is at Andorra’s lowest point of 840 m/2,756 ft. The land area of the country is 468 km² or 181 sq mi. Now if you are interested in the geography of Andorra,then this is what i have picked up on Wikipedia, it appears that Phytogeographically, Andorra belongs to the Atlantic European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Andorra belongs to the ecoregion of Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests. Now because of where Andorra is located, you will find it has an alpine climate and continental climate. And because it is so high up this means that there is, on average, more snow in winter, lower humidity, and it is slightly cooler in summer. There are, on average, 300 days per year of sunshine, but this is a beautiful country to visit and have your holidays at, especially if you enjoy walks and drives.

• Learn about Andorra on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the History of andorra on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Capital of Andorra on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Economy of Andorra on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Escaldes-Engordany on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Languages of Andorra on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Latour-de-Carol on Wikipedia:
• Learn about L’Hospitalet-près-l’Andorre on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Culture of Andorra on Wikipedia:
• Find Andorra on Google Maps:
• Find Andorra La Vella on Google Maps:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-country-of-andorra-has-become-a-gem-thanks-to-the-pyrenees-mountains-in-europe/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/this-is-the-illuminations-at-blackpool-lancashire-england-u-k/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/this-is-the-illuminations-at-blackpool-lancashire-england-u-k/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:02:23 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7281 Blackpool Xmas lights
Brilliance Blackpool Medley



Photo by Sleepless in Somerset



Photo by willposh

Well with christmas coming, i thought it would be a good idea to visit, the seaside town of Blackpool, a large town in the north-east of England. This town is very well-known for it’s lights, you could even say that Blackpool is the  English version of Las Vegas in the U.S.A. They usually have an annual Lights Festival, which began back in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn at the seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. It is also known by the locals as The Lights or The Illuminations and it goes on each for sixty-six days, and is normally around late August through until early November, this when the English seaside resorts‘ seasons comes to an end. This has become known as “the greatest free light show on earth”, it is 6 miles or 10 km long and use’s over one million bulbs. The display stretches along the Promenade from Starr Gate at the south end of the town to Bispham in the north.



Photo by Sleepless in Somerset



Photo by The Killer Biscuit



Photo by zund

But that is not the end of this story, because in a separate lights festival, you will find that Blackpool, comes back to life around christmas time, when they have the Blackpool Christmas Lights switched on every year in November. It is very similar to the Illuminations and you will find these lights coming from various streets leading out of  the promenade. On Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve, the Illuminations are switched on non-commercially to accompany the Christmas Lights. It is a fantastic time to be in Blackpool, when the light are switched on. Yes, Oxford and Regent streets lights are amazing, but that is in the south of England, i would say this is the best lights display in the north of England.



Photo by The Killer Biscuit



Photo by johnthurm

• Learn about the Blackpool Illuminations on Wikipedia:
• Learn about a Lights Festival on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Arc Lamps on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Blackpool on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the English County of Lancashire:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/this-is-the-illuminations-at-blackpool-lancashire-england-u-k/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/7273/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/7273/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:42:11 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7273 So the question that we keep asking ourselves is does Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle really exsist, well this particular post should answer the queation and to prove that Father Christmas is still around. Why do people not believe in father christmas, it has been proven that he is alive and well and living in Santa’s Village, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Europe. He is a very busy man, but again is father christmas a man, because some people say he is also an elf, who lives with his fellow elves. But there is some quiery to this fact. But it then leads on to another question, which is where did father christmas meet the elves, and did he live with his family in the beginning in that part of the world, or did he live under the ground like alot of elves do. Well there are so many questions that it would be wrong to try and answer them all now, so what i will do is find out more information and write a post aqbout father and his past. For now though i hope you enjoy this previous post that i did on the 15th december 2008, enjoy!.
This is a satellite image taken on Google Earth of the town Rovaeimi, Lapland, Finland, Europe. Father Christmas’s home town.


This is a picture to show where Santa’s Village is based in Rovaneimi.

There are many of Father Christmas’s employee’s who work all around the world and he really does appreciate the hard work and effort that all of his staff do. As you can imagine there is only one Father Christmas. But the earth is a huge place and so alot of his staff dress up as him and do the work of finding out what the young children of this world want. They then send all the letters by a special post to Santa’s Village, where the Elf’s sort out the post. Father Christmas stays in his village all year round, checking that the toys are correct and ready to play with. The only time Father Christmas leaves Lapland is on Christmas Eve. Now he has some magic dust, that the worlds clocks slow down to zero. So he and his reindeer have enough time to deliever your presents and eat those wonderful mince pies and a glass of sherry. But what Father Christmas does is he puts the sherry in a bottle, to take back with him and stores the mince pies in his coat. We start with a lovely song sang by Mariah Carey on Youtube, “Santa Claus is coming to town”.

Father Christmas became an icon in the 15th century, and went on to become the person we know today. But did you know that Father Christmas was originally a large jolly elf who gave presents. I do also know that the character in the “Christmas Carol“, the ghost of Christmas Present was based on Father Christmas. But he was a large man, but not overweight and he wore a green coat and had a red beard.
He came in while Ebenezer Scrooge was sleeping, and showed Scrooge what was happening in his life. And that is when he saw Bob Cratchit having lunch with his family and little tiny Tim. Bob Cratchit happened to wish Ebernezer thanks for the food on the table, but bob’s wife was not happy with that. Below is a five minute video of Santa’s Village within Rovaneimi, Lapland, Finland, enjoy.

This is a movie video of Santa’s Village, Rovaneimi, taken from Youtube.

Now here is a fact that you may or may not know? Father Christmas originates from Saint Nicholas, but how this happened is a very strange but true story. Saint Nicholas was a very shy man, who wanted to help the poor people of his time, but did not want them to know who it was giving them money. Well, one night Saint Nicholas crept into a garden and climbed up on to the roof, he then dropped some money down the chimmney, not knowing, that a girl had hung up a stocking to dry over the fire place. The money unbelievably dropped right into her stocking. And in the morning when the family woke up they had a bit of a surprise and could not understand what had happened. Saint Nicholas did this to a few homes along the way, and I am assuming he was spotted doing this act one night, for him to be associated with Father Christmas. So remember children if you ever see Father Christmas climbing up and down the chimmney. It was Saint Nicholas who made this happen.

This is a picture of Santa’s Village in Lapland taken from panoramio.

This is another panoramio picture of Santa’s Village in Lapland.

This is a picture from panoramio of the entrance to Santa’s Village in Lapland.

This is a panoramio picture of the real Santa Claus sitting near his fire in his home in Santa’s Village, Lapland

This is a picture of a reindeer crossing the road in Lapland, taken from Panoramio, Could this be Rudolph?.

This is a video of Father Christmas reading the story of “The Night Before Christmas” on Youtube.

Mrs Chrstmas singing her song on Youtube.


Here is a video of Father Christmas singing his favourite song on Youtube.

I do hope that you enjoyed this post as there will be more coming in the new year, so keep reading and coming back to Virtual Tripping for fun and learning. I would just like to thank Father Christmas, Google Earth, Wikipedia, Youtube and you in internet space, as my brother and I would not beable to achieve what we have without your comments and support. So thankyou and we both wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and may good luck bless you all in 2009.

• Learn about Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Mrs Claus on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Rudolph the red nose reindeer on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Rovaniemi on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Lapland Province on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Finland on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Christmas Day on Wikipedia:
• Find Rovaneimi on Googe Earth:li>
• Find Lapland on Google Earth:
• Find Finland on Google Earth:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/7273/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-history-of-the-christmas-elves-on-virtualtripping-com/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-history-of-the-christmas-elves-on-virtualtripping-com/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:30:02 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7245 christmas elves
Arthur Christmas \”Elf Down\” Movie Clip Official 2011 [HD]
JibJab crazy singing elves



Photo by amanky



Photo by alwaysmnky

Well with Christmas vastly approaching , i can imagine it must be hard work being a Christmas elf, these guys live with Santa Claus in the North Pole and they are the major helpers, when it comes to making the presents and getting them ready for delievery. You do not hear much about elves, because they only appear to come out around Christmas time. What do they look like, well they are usually look like  green or red cladded with pointy ears, long noses, and pointy hats. They spend nearly all of their lives in creating toys and gifts in Santa’s workshop, but they do also look after the animals especially the reindeer, which are usually among other tasks.



Photo by lierne



Photo by Cockburn Libraries

So where do these elves originate from, well supposingly, they first arrived on earth, when a  European folklore was written and in this folklore, they were introduced into the Santa Claus tale during the 19th century, this happened in the United States. But there is also a possiblity, that Santa Claus himself may have also been an elf, there is some question on that. So what is the reason for earth to have elves, well it is that the main job for an elf is to make presents and because of this the Christmas elves became a part of an American Christmas tradition that was to go around the world, with Santa Claus. But of course like some of the  American folklore you will find that they often originated from Northern Europe, this was when the settlers brought their own  Christmas traditions with them and that then developed into the American Christmas that was later exported around the world, along with other aspects of American popular culture. But if you look into old English folktales, you will find that they come from the early modern period and that Santa’s assistants can be different. This will depend on other countries traditions, but whatever the elves look like, they are still elves.



Photo by Cockburn Libraries

It has been said that modern Christmas elf, first  appeared in a book that was written and not published by Louisa May Alcott in 1856, it was completed, and called the “Christmas Elves”. There have been engravings from another book in  1873, known as  Godey’s Lady’s Book, this shows the elves surrounding Santa whilst at work. But there was also another book written by  Edward Eggleston‘s in his 1876 work “The House of Santa Claus, a Christmas Fairy Show for Sunday Schools”. So they must be real, because there appears to be books about the Christmas Elves and Santa Claus, and if you believe in Father Christmas, then you really must believe in the Christmas Elves. So why all you children are getting excited for christmas, the poor little elves are working very hard to make sure you get your presnts on christmas morning.

• Learn about Christmas Elves on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Santa’s Workshop on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Elf on Wikipedia:
• Find Santa’s Village, Lapland, Finland on Google Maps:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-history-of-the-christmas-elves-on-virtualtripping-com/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-christmas-drink-of-punch-and-its-origins/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-christmas-drink-of-punch-and-its-origins/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:06:38 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7222 Thane Prince Christmas punch for the family
Hot rum punch



Photo by dreamo

I always look forward to christmas, but one of the things i look forward to is a nice hot cup of Punch. This can be an assortment of drinks, you can either have non-alcoholic or alcoholic punch. This is a very nice drink, it normally contains  fruit or fruit juice.  The name punch came British documents in 1632. Back then most of the drink was known as  Wassail type and it was made with a wine or brandy base. But then around 1655, Jamaican rum became in use and the ‘modern’ punch was born. By 1671, documents make references to punch houses. But the drink was not a british idea, oh no, it firstly came from India and was passed on to England in the early seventeenth century, and then it continued to spread further a field to other countries. Today you will find that the drink is usually served at parties or at the festive season of christmas and people put it in to large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.



Photo by joana hard

There are two very popular and well-known punch drinks, the first happens to be the Bajan (Barbadian) which is a Rum Punch is one of the oldest rum punches in the world. This punch a simple recipe enshrined in a national rhyme: “One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak.” That is: one part lime juice, two parts sweetener, three parts rum (preferably Barbados), and four parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and nutmeg. The other punch is the Planter’s Punch varies, because it contains a much more wider variety of ingredients like rum, lemon juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, soda water, curaçao, Angostura bitters, and cayenne pepper. So it is a much more interesting and tasty drink. So whatever you are doing this christmas, then if you have the chance to try a punch drink, you really must, it may take a short time to adjust to the flavours, but the spices are usually not to strong. So whether you have a “hot or cold” or alcholic or non-alcoholic punch enjoy it.



Photo by ~!

• Learn about the Punch drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Wassail drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Punch Bowl on Wikipedia:
• Learn about a Mixed drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Sujeonggwa drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Feuerzangenbowle on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Hawaiian Punch on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Kompot drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Ti’Punch drink on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Punsch on Wikipedia:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/the-christmas-drink-of-punch-and-its-origins/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november-1605-and-the-gunpowder-plot/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november-1605-and-the-gunpowder-plot/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:32:41 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7170 The Gunpowder Plot – Exploding the Legend (1/8)
THE BBC GUNPOWER PLOT PART 1
THE BBC GUNPOWER PLOT PART 2



Photo by Dominic’s pics



Photo by montpelier

Here in the United Kingdom on the 5th of Novembe every year we celebrate bonfire night, with carnivals, festivals, fetes, torch lights, bonfire fires, roasted chestnuts, toffee apples, jacket potatoes, dressing up, fireworks and partying. But why do we celebrate an event that could have actually caused serious damage to the capitals westminster back in 1605 and could have killed King James I of England and alot of his mps. Well i think it is probably, because the disaster never actually happened, then we can celebrate the night as a success to the british government and King James capturing and arresting Guy Fawkes and the others. There is of course an understanding as to why Robert Catesby and the other plotters,  John Wright, Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, John Grant, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham. This was a religious problem, the catholics of England wanted to put James’s nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as the Catholic head of state. And to stop the protestant from running the country. Back then there were alot of problems between the Catholics and protestants. So the plan was to blow up the  House of Lords while the State Opening of England’s Parliament was taking place on 5 November 1605, as there was becoming a serious and very popular revolt in the Midlands in England. Today as the event never happened we are seen in this country burning a replica of Guy Fawkes on the bonfires, even though the main man involved in this event was Robert Catesby. I do know that  Robert Catesby was shot and managed to crawl away into a room, where he eventually died, he was holding a picture of the Virgin Mary, that and his Gold Cross necklace were taken away from him and shown to King James and the mps. Robert catesby and Thomas Percy, their bodies were exhumed and decapitated. To show the catholics in England that they were to be put through the same way if they revolted against King James and his country. So wherever you are going on this weekend to celebrate Bonfire Night have a really good time and enjoy yourseleves.



Photo by Dominic’s pics



Photo by dionc

Bonfire Night 2010, Lewes

GREAT SCENE – V for Vendetta (finale)



Photo by Veebl



Photo by Dominic’s pics

• Learn about the The Gunpowder Plot: Exploding The Legend on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Gunpowder Plot on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Gunpowder Plot in popular culture on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Gunpowder, Treason & Plot on Wikipedia:
• Learn about Guy Fawkes Night on Wikipedia:
• Learn about King James I of England on Wikipedia:
• Find Westminster and the Houses of Parliament on Google Maps:
]]> http://www.virtualtripping.com/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november-1605-and-the-gunpowder-plot/feed/ 0 http://www.virtualtripping.com/waterford-in-county-waterford-munster-is-the-fifth-largest-city-in-the-republic-of-ireland-europe/ http://www.virtualtripping.com/waterford-in-county-waterford-munster-is-the-fifth-largest-city-in-the-republic-of-ireland-europe/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:17:40 +0000 Mark http://www.virtualtripping.com/?p=7106 Waterford City The Place To Live !!



Photo by Ulleskelf It is a lovely sunny afternoon, here in England, and i thought that it was time to write a post about a very sunny and beautiful city of Waterford the fifth largest city within the Republic of Ireland. This city is located towards the South-East of the country. Waterford City Council is the local government entity for the city and its immediate hinterland. The history of Waterford, starts back  in 914 AD when the Vikings, settled in Ireland and Waterford is also the country’s oldest city. The population count of 2006 showed that there were 49,213; of which 45,748 lived within the city limits, and 3,465 lived in the suburbs in County Kilkenny. But i would have thought that the city has grown over the last five years in population. One of the reasons why Waterford is so popular is because it is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour. Waterford was actually given a motto from a great king known as King Henry VII of England in 1497 after Waterford refused to recognise the claims of the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck to the English throne.The Motto says, Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia, which means in English: “Waterford remains the untaken city”. Poor old Ireland has seen the wars in the past, so it will come to no surprise when i say that Waterford was subjected to two sieges in 1649 and 1650, this was during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The city did well at first and survived the first siege,  but unfortunately it was unable to withstand second siege and the city had to surrender to Henry Ireton on 6 August 1650. Now i like Ireland because it is an historic country and shows it off with the Reginald’s Tower, this has become the oldest urban civic building in Ireland, but not only that but it is the oldest monument, that still has the Viking name on it and because of this the monument is Waterford’s most recognisable landmark. But the building has also become of more interest due to it being believed that it was the first building in Ireland to use mortar.



Photo by savagecabage

This is a picture taken from flickr of the River Suir.



Photo by carrickbeg kate

This is a picture taken from flickr of the River Suir.
The river which flows through the city is known as the River Suir, this river has been around for many a year and has provided a basis for the city’s long maritime history. But if you were to head further down the river suir, you will find it joins with two other rivers known as the Nore and the Barrow and because of these three rivers joinning together, the Irish call it Cumar na dTrí Uisce, which means in English:”The confluence of the three waters”. Like alot of big cities which are located on or near rivers, they often have a port, so this will come has no surprise to see that there is a Port in Waterford, and this port has been a major serivce to Ireland for over a millennium. This port was a major industry for shipbuilding during the 19th century. And the owners at the time were known as Neptune Shipyard, the Malcomson family, built and operated the largest fleet of iron steamers in the world between the mid-1850s and the late-1860s, including five trans-Atlantic passenger liners. Today you will find that the city has become more famous for it’s Waterford Crystal, which is a legacy of the city’s former glass making industry. This dates back to when the manufacturing of  Glass, or crystal, took place between the years of 1783 until early 2009, when the factory was closed down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc. Waterford is the sister city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and Rochester, New York. I would say this has got to be a city of fun and there is plenty to do within Waterford, shops, bars, pubs and places to eat and sleep, so you will be welcomed to the city by the friendly locals.

• Learn about Waterford on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the History of Waterford on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Waterford Museum of Treasures on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Arts Company, Spraoi on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Tall Ships Festival on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Three Sister’s on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Waterford Crystal on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the People’s Park on Wikipedia:
• Learn about the Blaa on Wikipedia:
• Learn about County Waterford on Wikipedia:
• Learn about John’s River on Wikipedia:
• Find Waterford on Google Maps:
• Find Waterford County on Google Maps:
• Find the Republic of Ireland on Google Maps:
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