Bobbies and Palace Guards

It was interesting to see the British policemen, Bobbies, around town. They do not carry weapons (except 3 that we saw guarding the Houses of Parliament with automatic weapons, one in the back right in this photo) but find it necessary to wear bullet proof vests. They have the same sad crazies in Europe as we have here!

Looking just like toy soldiers we found 2 very young men at one of the entrances to St. James Palace near Buckingham Palace. They can stand for ages without moving a muscle. I would have an itch I couldn’t scratch most of time! As we walked near them they marched in place a couple of times and moved their rifles to the other shoulder. Milo loves that! That might keep them awake and upright for another hour or so.

Even the footmen at the House of Parliament look fabulous. This fellow was at one of the side entrances where the British big wigs enter the building. He greets them and opens doors etc. Very fancy stuff! The United Kingdom takes their monarchy very seriously and has lots of traditions, costumes and rituals that we certainly enjoyed seeing. We liked the double decker RED buses and I didn’t even take a picture of one. Hundreds of them zooming around for tours and just to get from place to place. We liked riding on the top the best.