Postcrossing Meeting in London

 May has begun with a Postcrossing meeting in London. Laerke and Raquel were there and sent me these cards. 

Neil Turner Photolibrary ©

This is the Lord Bute's Bedroom in Cardiff Castle, designed by William Burges, 1873-79. 

 The bedroom is in Bute Tower. Bute's bedroom has much religious iconography and a mirrored ceiling. 

Photo © Paul Felix

Tower Bridge has a fascinating history, which is explored in full in The Tower Bridge Exhibition. Here are a few interesting facts you may not have known:

1910 - the high-level walkways, which were designed so that the public could still cross the bridge when it was raised, were closed down due to lack of use.

1912 - during an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly between the bascules and the high-level walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident.

1952 - a London bus driven by Albert Gunton had to leap from one bascule to the other when the bridge began to rise with the number 78 bus still on it.

1977 - Tower Bridge was painted red, white and blue to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. (Before that, it was painted a chocolate brown colour).

1982 - Tower Bridge opened to the public for the first time since 1910, with a permanent exhibition inside called The Tower Bridge Experience. - in: http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/BridgeHistory/

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