St. George in the East
Walking round London, you often come across surprising buildings, gardens or other sites.
I was in need of a drink and the courtyard of this church was selling tea, coffee and cakes in aid of a children’s hospice, Richard House.
Note the excellent information board from English Heritage. We need a lot more of these!
So I went in and had a cuppa.
St. George in the East was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, who also designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard amongst many other famous buildings.
The church was badly damaged in the Blitz and a new interior was built inside the shell of the original.
The Bombed-Out Church
Liverpudlians always know St. Luke‘s as the bombed-out church.
Urban Strawberry Lunch now use the church as an event space, with music, films and other events.
When I go to Liverpool, I always walk up past St. Luke’s and pay my respects to all those who died in the Second World War.
I know C felt this was one of her favourite places and although I didn’t shed a tear this time, I did think of her when I passed. It may not be as well known as Coventry, but to me this church is an important memorial to those who died.
Walking Around Clare
Before and after the Tour of Britain, I had a chance to walk round Clare, which is a pleasant village dominated by a church, that is very typical of the Stour Valley.
St. Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth
St. Nicholas in Great Yarmouth, is the largest parish church in England. Sadly, it was closed when I arrived in the afternoon on the way back to the station, but I was still able to walk in the churchyard.
The Crypt at St. Martins-in-the-Fields
St. Martins-in-the-Fields is one of London’s most famous churches. It sits in the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square and you can see and hear the church in the video I made when I was on the Fourth Plinth.
The crypt contains a nice cafe and is now entered through a new entrance to the north of the church.
The Entrance to the Crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
It is worth a visit.
A Funeral
As you get older, you always seem to go to more and more funerals. They are changing though. Or at least those in the Church of England are, as I have no experience of a funeral service in another religion.
In some way I first sensed the change when Alex died. I had known her for some years and it was on her recommendation that my late wife went to the oncologist, Professor Davidson. Alex, a confirmed atheist or at least an agnostic, had planed the funeral with the vicar, who happened to be married to her best friend. Despite being a funeral, it was in some ways a joyous occasion, with popular hymns and songs, everybody in colours and the ladies in hats. The vicar even blasphemed from the pulpit.
When my wife died, she gave her body to medical science and we didn’t have a funeral at all at the time. We just had a gathering at the house and those that wanted to said a few words. It worked for us.
Yesterday, I went to Christine’s funeral, who was a cousin of my late wife. Not sure what the relationship is, but she came to my wife’s memorial service in Southwark Cathedral. In fact she sat next to me. So in addition to everything else, she deserved my respect and I felt it was essential that I go.
The funeral service was in Minster Abbey on the Isle of Sheppey. I had actually attended two other funerals there of Christine’s mother and sister.
It is a lovely old parish church, founded in the 660s, that is one of the unknown gems of England. Sheppey is not an island noted for very much, but a trip across the bridge from the M2 is worth it, just to view this church.
The church was packed and it was a good service, with a wonderful speech from her sister. It must help friends and family, when so many people come and I would hate to be a lone mourner at a funeral.
It was followed by a cremation at Bobbing. Crematoria of my past, tend to be soulless and depressing places. But this one, which was opened only a few years ago, had been designed to make the passing of someone dear to you, a better experience. That is if there is one!
I shall remember the chapel with the sunlight streaming through the window, until the day I die.
The Oldest Circle of Church Bells in Christendom
This news item on the BBC surprised me. Partly because a complete set of bells had survived from the fifteenth century, but also because they were in Ipswich. Locally, they are called Wolsey’s Bells, as the famous Cardinal would have heard them in his childhood in the town.
They are in the church of St. Lawrence, which has been restored as a community restaurant and gallery.
Churches in Old Goa
I’m putting up some of the pictures of my holidays in the last few years.
These are the churches in Old Goa.
It is a World Heritage Site and well worth visiting.
The Anonymous Widower 