The Saxon Steed, The Coat of Arms of Lower Saxony.

I'm living in Niedersachsen, Lower Saxony and the favourite heraldic symbol of the Saxons is a White (Christian) Horse, said to orignate from the Saxon leader Widukind.  When Hannover and Brunswick formed the new state of Lower Saxony in 1946, they adopted the White Steed as the unofficial Coat of Arms.  There are many references to it in Braunschweig, a Weisses Ross (White Horse) shopping centre, a chemist, a hotel, cafe and  a restaurant.  The photo (right) shows a building with this coat of arms on the roof gable, a white horse on a red background.

I took these photos between rain storms at a Senior's Day,  and the bottom picture  sums up the general feeling of the morning!   It was a shame, as the band on the stage was playing a selection of popular music, including Kalinka, the famous Russian dance and song.

The skies have been looking very angry for the last few days. We had a storm and torrential rain on Wednesday evening, the same on Thurday and a repeat performace today.  However a heatwave is on its way, 26c to 30c is forecast for next week.