Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

>>  Sunday, August 11, 2013

Those of us that grew up around here have always known that Richard III was buried in Leicester.   Of course we knew, they made us learn it at school.  But it's grim round these parts and to be quite frank, if you weren't on the winning team you get concrete poured on your shallow grave and you end up under a car park

All the same, 'The White Queen' on the BBC has whipped my beating heart up in a way that it hasn't stirred since 'The Tudors'. So we poddled into Leicester to see what is to be seen.



The Richard III  'exhibition' is currently near the Guild Hall. (Although for a day out with the kids I would still head off to Bosworth.)


The Guild Hall is a great place, we used to come here fairly regular when I was a child.  It's just this cool Tudor building you can wander around. No ropes, no signage, nada.


It's like the dressy uppy people just stepped out of the room and we walked in.  It's quite bizarre.  Staff anyone?

Anyhoo, back to Richard III. The clever University people worked out where he was buried and dug him up.  They've proved it is him and Leicester is having a field (Bosworth anyone?!) day with it.

I thought it was quite interesting that the skeleton had no feet, they think they were probably lost in the building work of the Victorians. Fancy digging ground so close to a King and having no idea.
After the exhibition and the dig site, we popped into the Cathedral.  The dig just seems to have dug up the War of Roses and Leicester and York are in a tug of bones about where he should be laid to rest.  I'm guessing York feel Leicester's current track record of looking after him isn't looking too great.  But in fairness, he was fairly well looked after until Henry stuck his reformation oar in.  Wolsey died in Leicester too, he's at the Abbey (well, what's left of it!).
And then a most excellent tea break at the Cafe Piero on Loseby Lane.  I thoroughly recommend the casablanca tea and the falafel and humous salad.
Off to the Castle Gardens to see his statue and act like a King going to battle.
I thought we played the part very well.
Cog failed to be impressed.


Mostly Leicester is not pretty.

That is the polite way of putting it.
But parts of it can be fairly nice.

You just have to look real hard!


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