Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 461
Windsor Castle
Hello Everyone
Does your family celebrate Christmas in exactly the same way every year?
Or do you go to different places and meet up with different people and do different things.
Most families create their own traditions and follow them every year.
This is true of the Royal family. They spend several weeks having a holiday on their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
They open their presents on Christmas Eve. Some of the presents they give each other you might think to be quite modest – that means they are not very expensive. Then they go to church on Christmas Day.
The Royal family have many properties that they live in.
Buckingham Palace is owned by the state. Windsor Castle is owned by the King. lf you have never been there, you may have seen it on the television as the backdrop to royal weddings.
Most of it is open to the public for most of the year.
The castle is a very old one. lt is built high on a hill and can be seen from many miles away. lt looks down on the River Thames and Windsor Great Park where about 500 deer roam freely.
There has been a castle on the site for well over a thousand years but has been modified (changed) and enlarged over the years to be the magnificent structure it is today with living accommodation, chapels, towers, turrets and high curtain walls.
William the Conqueror built the first castle of wood on a hill by the river after he became king in 1066 but then Henry l who reigned from 1100 – 1135 converted the wooden tower and fortifications into stone.
The large circular tower inside the castle was built during the reign of Henry ll in the late 1100s and is one of the oldest surviving parts of the building.
The castle became a permanent royal residence during the reign of Edward lll who began rebuilding the castle after 1346.
lt was a military headquarters for Parliamentarians (against the king) during the English Civil War and they imprisoned Charles l there.
Charles ll planted a magnificent avenue of trees leading up to the south front of the castle. lt is known as the Long Walk. lt is a very famous view of the castle, but the main gate that most visitors come into the castle by is in the centre of the town of Windsor. Windsor is a town some way to the west of London.
The trees were replaced along the 3 mile long Long Walk in 1945.
Many monarchs over the years have updated parts of the castle to change it from a mediaeval fortress into a comfortable palace.
The castle was badly damaged by fire in 1992; and was rebuilt in the years that followed by modern-day, skilled master craftsmen like stone masons and carpenters.
There are many beautiful rooms to see there and magnificent paintings on show.
lt is the oldest inhabited castle in the world, extends over thirteen acres and was said to be Queen Elizabeth’s favourite residence – it was often used as a weekend retreat where she loved to go riding.
During WWll, King George Vl, (Queen Elizabeth ll’s father) was advised by the Prime Minister of the time Winston Churchill not to go to the front line of fighting with his troops because he would be in too much danger.
lnstead, the King was to stay at home and act as a figurehead to keep up the morale of the country through troubled times. He did, however, travel out to meet with troops abroad to thank them for their good work and raise their spirits on several occasions.
The Royal Family visited civilians that had been badly affected by bombing raids during the war and ate the same kind of food that was on ration as everyone else.
ln 1939, the two royal princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret were sent to Windsor Castle to live away from the bombs being dropped on London. Many children were sent out of the city at this time to try and keep them safe. lt was called being evacuated.
lt was suggested to their mother (who was called Queen Elizabeth) that they might be even safer if they were sent abroad but she would not let that happen.
She famously said, “The children won’t leave without me; l won’t leave without the King; and the King will never leave.”
Windsor was quieter than London and there was plenty of space to play.
The Crown Jewels were hidden under the castle during the war for safe-keeping.
When Buckingham Palace was hit by two bombs in September 1940 they destroyed a private chapel and shattered many windows.
Queen Elizabeth later wrote:
‘l am glad we’ve been bombed. lt makes me feel we can look the East End in the face.’
What she meant was that when they visited the people of the East End of London who had had their homes destroyed by bombs being dropped on them, she would have felt guilty living safely tucked away in a comfortable palace when they were suffering so much hardship.
The East End of London was targeted by enemy planes because that it where the docks were situated and they were a place where vital supplies were brought into the country.
A black-out was imposed during the war.
Households had to put thick curtains up so that no light could escape from windows at night. Flying over darkness meant that it was difficult for pilots to see where they were. You could not see where the towns were by seeing them lit up like they are now so they could not become easy to see targets.
But the River Thames has a very distinctive curve in it and when moonlight reflected off the river, any pilot could gauge where he was.
On her eighteenth birthday, Princess Elizabeth signed up with the Auxiliary Transport Service – auxiliary means to help out.
She became an able driver and learned about lorry mechanics. lt was a very important job to help with the war effort. Her younger sister Margaret Rose was too young to join the armed forces.
Many years later, Queen Elizabeth retreated once more to Windsor Castle on 19th March 2020 in the midst of the covid-19 outbreak in Britain.
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And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: What would you call a horse that lives next door?
Bill: Your neigh-bour!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Windsor
The Round Tower
If the Royal Standard is flying above the Round Tower when you visit-
The monarch is in residence
Winston Churchill the Wartime Prime Minister
The River Thames loops down to the south around the Isle of Dogs
Buckingham Palace bombed – George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth the future monarch doing war work
Second Lieutenant Elizabeth Windsor
The Long Walk in autumn
The Copper Horse Statue and a three-mile walk to the castle
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week, Auntie Alice had one of her clever ideas.
She roped me into it so that is how I know all about it.
It came to her after I visited her cottage last week bringing some decorations for her tree that we had bought at the Rocky Bay Christmas Fayre in the town square.
The children had picked out the ones they liked the best and I paid for them.
She had bought some solar-powered fairy lights that could be put outside during the week and wanted them put up on a fir tree that was growing in the garden by the path coming in from the front gate.
She said that anyone coming in towards the front door would be able to see the tree decorated and lit up.
She said the fir tree had grown quite tall in recent years and it was definitely big enough to be covered in decorations.
And there was a smaller one nearer the front door that we could decorate as well.
She wanted me to go up the ladder to put them up on the bigger one by the gate.
She has a large ladder that she uses to pick fruit in the orchard and she knew I had a head for heights – well you have to have when you are a lighthouse keeper!
She said she would hold the ladder and pass things up to me.
And what is more – well, you know how some people recycle their Christmas trees? People leave them in a pile and the council takes them away to shred and turn into compost or something like that.
Well, Auntie Alice went one better.
She made tree decorations out of recycled rubbish!
It might sound terrible but they turned out really well.
She took some cardboard tubes and wrapped them up in the kind of foil they make big bags out of to carry loads of packets of crisps – silver side out of course. They looked like crackers. She secured the ends with white thread.
She covered some small boxes of different shapes with the same foil. They looked like presents.
She had been collecting interesting-shaped, plastic bottles and sprayed them silver to look like baubles.
She tied green sewing thread loops to everything so it could all be hung up.
Of course, because of the materials she used, everything was waterproof in case it rains, which it probably will, and in case it snows, which it might, you never know.
She had enough decorations with a matching silver colour scheme to cover the two trees – and all it cost her was the price of the lights, spray paint and a few bits of thread and sticky tape.
After we had finished, I put the ladder away and stayed for supper. I wanted to see what the tree looked like lit up in the dark.
It was very pretty I must say, and well worth the effort.
It will be a lovely surprise for the children when they came round to see her next.
They aren’t expecting it at all!
How are your preparations going?
Have you got all your decorations up yet?
Is it snowing where you are?
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Quick Quiz
What are these phrases mean?
- to build castles in the sky
- An Englishman’s home is his castle
- king of the castle
- king of the road
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE PARTY CLOTHES FOR CHARACTER DOLLS
The patterns for the dolls are on Blog Post 427 along with their school uniforms.
DRESS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pale green dk yarn cast on 16 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 10 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 6 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 6 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew shoulder seams and side seams
Tie a tiny bow into the front of the dress
TROUSERS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and grey yarn cast on 14 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows stocking stitch
Slip 1 (p1, k1) repeat these 2 stitches to the last stitch purl 1
Repeat the last row once
Cast off rib-wise to give more stretch to the top of the trousers
TO MAKE UP
With right sides together using over-sew stitching
Sew up the front and back seam of the trousers on the part that will fit onto the body
Sew along the inside leg seams with right sides together using over-sew stitching
Turn the garment the right way out
TOP BACK AND FRONT (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pale green dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 4 rows of garter stitch
Change to purple yarn
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and purple dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Change to pale green yarn
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit4 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew shoulder seams, the tops of the sleeves to the shoulders, the under arm seams and the side seams
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
- to build castles in the sky – to dream unrealistic dreams
- An Englishman’s home is his castle – to be in charge of your own territory and choosing very carefully who comes into your space
- king of the castle – the most important person in a group
- king of the road – a homeless person
