Robin at Stonehenge

Robin at Stonehenge
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, here's Robin at Stonehenge - the ancient stone monument in the south west of England which is thought to have been used for some sort of religious ceremony and was built 2,800 years ago!

We took the picture as we drove past it (hence the fence) on the way down to visit some friends who live not far away. But I'm sure nobody minded that we didn't stop to look properly - the site gets over a million visitors each year!

(Doesn't the phrase 'hence the fence' just trip off the tongue?)

Robin at Bristol City FC

Robin at the Robins
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

This is Robin at Ashton Gate - home of Bristol City Football Club, where we went yesterday. There are 92 professional football (soccer) teams in the four major leagues in England and I'm gradually trying to get around to all of them - this was my 74th out of 92, so I'm getting there....

Bristol City's nickname is The Robins (nobody seems too sure why) and they had a giant Robin mascot wandering about on the pitch. Sadly he didn't come near us, or I would've got him to pose with his namesake!

Naturally, with all those Robin mascots in the ground, Bristol City got a much needed 1-0 victory to climb out of the relegation zone...

Robin at the British Museum!

Robin checks out the Great Court's roof
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Sorry it's been so long between postings, I've been - as ever - quite busy. And although I did go to Italy last weekend with my best pal for his 30th birthday present, I forgot to take Robin with me (I'm blaming the 4am alarm call!)

So, today I thought I'd head over to the British Museum at lunch time to take a couple of pictures.

The British Museum has been open for 251 years and holds a huge collection of Roman, Egyptian and Greek treasures (notably the Elgin marbles, which the Greek government *really* want back).

This picture was taken inside the Great Court which used to be open air (and not open to visitors) but which they roofed at the turn of the millennium. It's made up of hundreds of glass panels and was opened by the Queen in December 2000.

As I can see the British Museum from my desk, I watched them building the roof from the very first day that surveyors came to look in cranes at how they were going to build it. I'm quite attached to it now and it's a lovely place to go and relax in one of the cafes there.

It's also Europe's biggest covered square (or something like that) which makes it very handy for days like today - when it's absolutely chucking it down with rain.

Hope you folks are good.

Robin arriving the British Museum!

Robin at the British Museum
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, here's Robin arriving at the British Museum (see post above). Although it may appear that Robin has grown a human arm, I can categorically deny that that is the case. He still just has two little furry wings.