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Good morning, Elle!
But it's not!
Heavy rain here.
Yes, we discussed Sophie Scholl and the White Rose before.
I have found out a little bit more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's time in London.
The church he preached in was in Sydenham.
I think that is not far from Forest Hill?
Yes, his statue is in Westminster Abbey, there is one of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, too.
She was Tsarina Alexandra's sister.
I just discovered that her statue in in Westminster Abbey, too.
I do not know if I could get a book on her, though?
Again, I am unsure, but she may have been related to the Duke of Edinburgh?
Anyways!
I am home for the day!
I was out in my motor earlier and there are roadworks everywhere!

Good morning Elle and Rusty!

A rather nice day here - just right for you Elle.

Thanks to your enquiring mind Rusty, this thread offers a
wealth of information and whether I retain all of it or not, it
is interesting reading anyway! Thank you.
BTW, having just googled, I read that The Grand Duchess was indeed Prince Philip's great-aunt!
I am sure you knew Elle?

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, Sydenham is right next door to Forest Hill!
And also next to Crystal Palace , where the Park and the Athletics Stadium is situated.
You will have seen the Stadium on television, and no doubt watched many famous athletes compete there.
My previous dog and I met Kelly Holmes there , being interviewed in the pouring rain on the bridge.
Dame Kelly had to smile and pretend she wasn' t wet through!
A very nice lady...she stopped her interview to pat my dog and talk to me!
Yes, I knew about the Duke of Edinburgh being related to the Romanovs, although I couldn't have named the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
Wasn't there something at one point about Prince Philip's DNA being used to indentify (possible) past Romanovs?
It is now pouring with rain here too...and we shall have to head out later this afternoon to visit the cat!




Hello, Pigale!
Yes, your weather sounds infinitely better than mine!
It is very wet here...
I shall come and stay with you!
No, I didn't know specifically about the Grand Duchess , altho' I was aware of Prince Philip's being related to the Romanovs.



Chris, you will know all about Sydenham - it is only a stone's throw from Dog Kennel Hill, where you used to live!

Hi elle
Pretty long throw! We could see the masts of Crystal Palace from our windows, though.
Crystal Palace, of course, was just a part of Sydenham until the Great Exhibition glasshouse was moved there from Hyde Park in 1854 (actually I found on checking the date that the area was Penge Common, not Sydenham at all!)

Hello, Chris!
I think Penge Common was a part of North West Kent and North East Surrey until later the boundaries all changed.
It now comprises all of Anerley , most of Penge and I think part of South Norwood?
The "Crystal Palace" was relocated to Penge Place,
This later became Crystal Palace Park.

You are welcome to come and stay anytime Elle, but give me
plenty warning so that the place (garden and all) is tidy!

Hello, Elle!
Dame Kelly seems a very nice person, I've always thought!
My recollection is that Prince Philip agreed that Russia could use his DNA to possibly identify the bodies of two children whose bodies were found in a field.
They were thought to be the bodies of Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexei of the Romanov royal family.
I have not heard any more about that.
i wonder who decided that statues of Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (there are others, too) should be placed at Westminster Abbey?
On whose authority was it done?

Hello, Pigale!
Thank you for your complimentary remarks!
I just like finding out about things.
Very boring to most folk, I'm sure!
These are awful wildfires in France.
I hope you are not near them?

Some more useless information, for what it's worth. There used to be a proper (but not Formula1) motor racing circuit at Crystal Palace.

And Motor racing at Crystal Palace Park has, in fact, recently been revived and has operated there in the last few years (although not this year, for some reason)
You can Google this for more info.

I hope Pigale is safe, but I believe she is a long way from the affected area.
I have been constantly in touch with my cousin who lives in the Var (Cavalaire)just half an hour away from St Tropez. She is very scared seeing all the fires raging not far from her village. She was prepared to evacuate together with her cat, , when the wind suddenly changed direction and this morning she said
"I can see smoke behind the hill at the top of my road. It's not thick, so probably drifted from Bormes. So much devastation is heartbreaking" .