Dear Leeneia,
                Thankyou ! Yes, the gardens were truly lovely ,a beacon of hope and,dare I say it,continuity in theses troubled and angst-ridden times -----a bit like the Royal Family ,really,although some of our fellow Mudcatters would seemingly prefer otherwise !!
          There are beautiful trees,and shrubs,and flower-beds,and lawns,and a splendid lake in and on which ducks,coots,moorhens and grebes live and breed ! And the Queen's "Summerhouse" is quite delightful,and through its windows one can see some of HM's intimate things,like her Croquet -set,chairs,things to do with her dogs, etc.---really quite charming . Further on, one discovers a small garden porch,surrounding a bench,in a veritable bower,in fact,on which we saw an elderly couple sitting,wrapped up in each other's company,oblivious to our inquisitive glances;--- ,again,most charming !
A seemingly little-used tennis-court is the salient feature of the Hyde Park (and noisy )end of the garden, after which one is drawn back to the lake ,the predominant lake,once more.All of the trees,shrubs,and plants are labelled most comprehensively,and some are obviously of some great antiquity.In all, a most pleasant ,calming,and relaxing experience,and what a privilege to have been allowed to share it, although I am glad that " The Leveller" was not there ----imagine his reaction to all these nice things that his father,etc,did not risk life and limb for !! But that's another story !
   Meanwhile, I should like to say to "Manfred", that there was never ANY danger of my Father killing him, as 214 squadron did not drop bombs,at least in 1944-45----they only disrupted Freya and Wurzburg radars electronically,and dropped "Window" to confuse the enemy.I think my Dad was pleased about that (not killing anyone)---I know I am !How about you, "Leveller" ???