123:Buckley the Beefeater

My one Sunday external student is on holiday in Portugal so I have had the rare luxury of not having to cross the threshold. As a consequence your "roving reporter" has not done any roving today. 
I have been searching my archives for a suitable picture, and came up with this one instead. It was taken in St. Petersburg in July of last year when I went to visit my friend Chris, who was doing his Iron Curtain bike ride
The frame was standing in front of the Tower pub, just off Nevskiy Prospekt. There were two frames and you pick whichever one you want to stick your head through and make a fool of yourself. I chose the Beefeater rather than the Queen!! 
These gentlemen, and now there is a lady as well, have been guarding the Tower of London and the Crown jewels since 1485. Nowadays they are a major tourist attraction and have the ability to amuse and entertain the public.



I myself was eligible to apply to be a Beefeater or, to give them their correct title, a Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London. To apply you need to have served for 22 years in the Armed Forces, and to be at least a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) or a Warrant Officer (WO), and to hold a Long Service and Good Conduct medal. I can tick all those boxes. But my career developed in a different direction and now here I am teaching, and blogging.