07.08.09
Revisiting July 6
With all the commotion going on this past week, I forgot that I missed my 8th year anniversary of when I had my last blood transfusion. I got so caught up with 4th of July festivities (I was the designated cook), and then I got so distracted with watching all those Michael Jackson specials and reading all the other news, that I completely forgot my personal Independence Day anniversary. And now that I think about it, my personal Independence Day Anniversary, July 6, falls on the same anniversary day of when Sir Thomas More got beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII’s switch to the Church of England. What a strange anniversary to share. . .
Anyway, I found some of the pictures Brian and I took during our visit last year of the Tower of London. Sir Thomas More was held prisoner at the Tower in 1535 and was subsequently beheaded. While we were there they had a skit of the story of Sir Thomas More’s imprisonment as a result of his refusal to sign the Act of Supremacy, which declared King Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England. As the story goes, King Henry VIII was loyal to the Roman Catholic Church and brutally suppressed the Protestant Reformation. He even wrote the Defence of the Seven Sacraments with the aid of Thomas More in response to Martin Luther’s attacks on indulgences. However, later King Henry VIII wanted to get an annulment from his wife, Catherine, and appealed to the Holy See, who refused to allow the annulment. Actually, the details are quite complicated as Henry VIII had to make his appeal follow various channels and people. The end result was that he was not able to get an annulment, and so began his split with the Roman Catholic Church. Sir Thomas More refused to go along, and so he was imprisoned. The skit at the Tower of London began with a narrator.
I don’t remember who this guy is supposed to be, but he was part of the skit, heheh.
Sir Thomas More was played by the gentleman dressed in red. The woman off to the right played his daughter, and the one on the left played his wife. In this scene they are begging or try to convince More to just accept the King’s decision so that he could go back home with them.
But More refuses and continues to be held in prison until July 6, 1535 when he was beheaded. There was no re-enactment of that scene, heheheh.
Here’s a shot of Brian’s behind as he walked along the Tower grounds. He’s carrying my orange backpack.l
One of the buildings in the Tower is the Armoury House. Along with the old rifles and other weapons are housed the armour of men and horses. This particular armor belonged to King Henry VIII.
These belonged to the Earl of Worcester.
This armor is shown upon an armored horse. There was another room that had lots and lots of armor for both men and horses, including a Samurai outfit that was given as a gift.
Oh, and this reminds me. This armory house also houses the weapons and rifles that were used by the British soldiers to fight in America. The result of that war is celebrated here every 4th of July and is known as Independence Day. America had declared her independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Maybe some time if I’m not too lazy I’ll try to dig up some of the pictures of the rifles we took there as well. Pretty cool the way they store and display them.
Marlakins
