The pictures will be in various albums, including some new ones. Not all my shooting was related to the premier of the new Bond movie, Casino Royale. There will be some from around London, including the London Eye, the Zoo, etc. Also we had some side trips outside the city. Click on "What's New" in the left column or look for the "new" flags.

Check in often and be sure to leave comments and Guest Book entries.

The last official gathering of the Bond In Britain group for 2006 was the dinner at the Reform Club in London. This is perhaps the most exclusive, private mambership clubs in the world. It was already considered historic when Charles Dickens joined. The central gallery and entrance hall are where the fencing sequence from "Die Another Day" was filmed. Sorry, no pictures allowed in the club.

Friday - Departure time for us. We took a taxi to Victoria Station at 08:30, then a 30-minute train trip to Gatwick Airport. The plane was scheduled to depart at 12:30, but because of bad weather on the continent, it was delayed in arriving in London. We got off the ground about an hour late.

Finally arrived home about 20:30 Eastern time. 08:30 London time would have been 03:30 Eastern.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Most of the day was free to do as we pleased. We took it fairly easy--had lunch at Harrod's, in the Green Pub. We have had very good food wherever we went in London. Went back to the hotel to rest up for the big evening.

Went to dinner at the Ruby Blue, just a short walk from the Odeon West End, where we were to attend the Casino Royale premier. More good food and drink.

For security reasons we had to be in the theater as early as 18:30. We were able to watch the arrival of all the stars and finally the Queen prior to the 20:00 start of the premier.

I will comment briefly now on the movie itself and give more detail later if requested. In my opinion Casino Royale is one of the best Bond pictures ever. It is rougher and fast moving. The 144-minute running time went by very fast. The story in Casino Royale goes back to James Bond's beginning as a double-O agent.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
A free day. We spent most of it at the London Zoo. We were a little disappointed in this zoo. It is old and many parts were closed for major rebuilding. This zoo is not large and the major development of better zoos in England seems to be going on outside the city. I did get a few good pix, however, in spite of the grey day.

Wednesday night we went to see the musical Spamalot. We were luck to get tickets as there were only about four pair remaining. Enjoyed the show very much.

Thursday, November 16, 2006
Visited Turnbull and Asser the tailers for all the James Bonds all the way back to Sean Connery in Dr. No. Then, lunch at Harrod's and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of their 72 windows celebrating the opening of Casino Royale.

Later this evening the group will get together for our last dinner together on this trip. It will be at one of the most exclusive clubs in London--the Reform Club. More on that later.

Check my albums. I managed to post an advance view of a few pix. The album name, BIB2006. Here is one:

Left by chartered coach for Windsor and a visit to the castle. The tour started with the outside of the castle, which was very impressive. Inside, however, defies description. The interior part of the tour starts with Queen Mary's doll house, which was a gift to her after she became queen because it was known she collected miniatures of all descriptions. The doll house was perfect in every detail including electric appliances and running water.

From there, we toured the Royal Apartments, including the part destroyed by fire in 1998 or 1999. Yoy would never know there had ever been a fire. The reconstruction and restoration was perfect. It would take me too long to describe all the rich beauty and opulance we saw today. Suffice it to say it was bordering on overwhelming.

After the castle we went over to Eton College for a guided tour. Note, the term college as used here is not the same as in the US. Eton is high school level institution with extremely high and strict standards. Most of its graduates get into the most prestegis universities without a blink of the eye. The part we toured was built starting in the 1400s through about the 1600s. One impressive room is claimed to be the oldest classroom in the world. Another room, the dining hall, was the inspiration for J K Rowling's dining hall in the Harry Potter books.

Tomorrow, free most of the day, then the big event--the world premier of Casino Royale. We will be going to a dinner at the Ruby Blue restaurant before the premier, which is located very near the theaters. The rest has to wait for tomorrow's report.

Still have not found where I can upload pix. You may have to wait until I get home.

Cheers.

Spent all day outside of London. Same charter bus took us northwest of the city. First a visit to the grave of Ian Flemming. Since today was Remberance Day (similar to our Memorial Day, but the Brits take it seriously) this was very appropriate. Flemming was a war hero during WW2 long before he was an author.

Next stop was the tiny town of Castle Combe that looks very much as it did in the 1400s. Had an excellent lunch there, then walked around the town.

The final stop of the day was at the home of a collector of many of the actual props used in many of the Bond films--lots of fake weapons, the clown shoes worn by Roger Moore in Octapussy, the license plate from the BMW Z8 that was cut in half in The World Is Not Enough, and many, many more items.

Returned to hotel then went out to dinner at a nearby Greek restaurant. Food excellent.

I have been using the internet terminal at the hotel, which does not have the capability to upload picture. I will try to find an internet cafe where I can do that. There are two or three in the neighborhod. Have shot over 100 pix already.

Got to Newark airport in plenty of time--found out plane not available, had not arrived from Paris--new departer time 21:00 instead of 18:50. Met two other couples from our group who were booked on the same flight.

Plane arrived from from Paris about 20:30 and was ready to board by 21:35. After take-off pilot said we would land at 08:06, London time. We did, within one minute. Got through imigration and customs and took trail from Gatwick airport to Victoria Station in the heart of London--taxi to hotel--Henry VIII. Arrived there about 11:30, room was not ready, so we went out to lunch. Found a great pub about two blocks from the hotel--the Black Lion. Excellent food.

Rain that evening so we walked around the neighborhood a bit.

Saturday - 11/11 - Took underground to Charing Cross station and walked across the bridge to the London Eye. Rode that and took the Thames boat ride. Both are sponsored by British Airways.

Evening - met with group and took charter bus back to the river for dinner on the TS Queen Mary, a restaurant tied up on the north bank. Today was the celebration of the new Lord Mayor taking office, so we had a close view of the fireworks. Great dinner. After dinner we were treated to a visit from actor Christopher Lee.

Pix later. Cheers!!

...so I expect my next dispatch will be from London. Pictures will go into BIB2006 album temporarily. I am sure they will need some electronic darkroom work before final release.

This poster is: © Eon Productions

Packing is nearly completed and last minute arrangements in place. We will leave Southbury at noon tomorrow for Newark airport for our flight to London Gatwick Airport. Expected arrival there about 07:00 on the 10th. We should arrive at the Henry VIII Hotel somewhere around noon, I would guess.