English bluebells

We visited the U of Birmingham's botanic gardens yesterday. Here are 2 shots of the gorgeous bluebells that are blooming all over now.

Ludlow Castle

Today was my solo excursion to Ludlow, recommended by my maven of all things olde and English, Anne. The castle remains are pretty impressive although I think they could do a better job of labelling the spaces. The oldest parts date to the Norman period -- like the keep pictured here. More on the castle here.

Roman ruins in Caerleon

The amphitheatre. Site of legionaries' drilling, as well as who knows what horrible spectacles the Romans enjoyed so much. Also, thought to be (one of) the site(s) of King Arthur's Round Table. Yeah, that Round Table.

Can I buy a vowel?

We're in Caerleon, Wales, the first stop on Phil's speaking tour of the UK, 1-14 May. We're staying at the Priory Hotel, a former Cistercian monastery. Caerleon was the site of a Roman fortress that was the home of the second Augustan legion from 75 CE until about 290 CE. The Welsh language is inscrutable to someone whose second language is Spanish. This is a great example of its inscrutability.