"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" said Samuel Johnson. Thanks be to God I have not yet tired of London.
An unexpected eventuality left me free yesterday evening since a good Franciscan priest wanted to say my Sunday evening Mass. I therefore seized the opportunity to take a rare "Day Off" which I spent in London, staying overnight in town. This morning I took a walk which included a circuit of St James's Park before meeting Sir Dan for lunch. It gave me the opportunity to take some photos of London in the spring.
Here is a view of Buckingham Palace:
the Foreign Office crowned by the Wheel:
a view of Horseguards from the end of the lake:
A wonderful bird is the Pelican
Its beak can hold more than its belly can:
We are shortly to have a Royal Wedding. Here is a venue for a previous Royal Wedding:
The Queen's Chapel was designed by Inigo Jones for the Infanta of Castile on her proposed marriage to the then Prince Charles. In the end, the chapel was completed in 1627 for the marriage of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. It was used as a barracks from 1642 but restored to worship by Catherine of Braganza who established a Friary in the grounds. Sadly, it was given over to "reformed worship" by William III after the "glorious revolution" of 1688.
(Some cab drivers will tell you that the Elephant and Castle was in fact a cockney corruption of "The Infanta of Castile.")
7 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your day off and thanks for sharing the pictures. I've never seen that view of the Foreign Office crowned by the wheel and its really interesting.
@ Father Finigan
Thank you Father for this wonderful 'London City Challenge' Arts Lift, and for not tiring of the City that I love.
The ongoing regeneration of the poorer parts of London, such as the Larner Road Estate where I live, continue to be inspired by your endeavours. As a Londoner born and bred in Deptford SE8 mate, I grew up after the war on bombsites, which became rubbish dumps, and scrap metal yards and which along with the rest of Thames Gateway I have worked to transform into a built environment worthy of your inspired photographic VISION OF BRITAIN. "Jam lucis orto sidere"
Our Lady of the Rosary ( http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2010/10/celebrating-parish-feast-day.html ) pray for us! Amen
PAPA RATZI ( http://www.thepapalvisit.org/ ) ORA PRO NOBIS!
Yours sincerely
Roy Hobson aka Our Lady's "Vesper" ON-LINE +
ROY HOBSON FRICES1990, FRICS1984, Grad Dipl QS
If Catherine de Braganza was married in London - it would have been her fourth marriage ceremony. She was married first by proxy to Charles 11 in Lisbon, then on board ship in Portsmouth (both Catholic ceremonies) then in the Garrison Church at Portsmouth (Anglican) before journeying to London. Enough for the bridezilla-i-ist of brides. She was never crowned Queen since she could not take part in the Anglican Coronation service. She is a bit of a heroine of mine - especially for smuggling Fr Huddeston up the back stairs to receive the dying king into the Church.
Thanks for the correction, Dilly. I made a mistake in reading the notice outside the chapel (now on Flickr here.) It says that the chapel was restored as a chapel "upon the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza" but that does not mean that she was actually married there.
@ Father Finigan
The Symbolism of the Pelican by
FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS makes for interesting reading http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0682.html
Your picture of the Pelicans brought back many memories to me from the time I worked in Pelican House in the London Borough of Southwark.
In the mid 1980's when Nelson Mandela was still residing in the segregation unit of a South African prison, I was appointed as the site surveyor for the Unity Project in the London Borough of Southwark. Pelican House was the site office for this Housing Works, Direct Labour Contract. I immediately added the UB 40 film producer Faith Isiakpere (later Channel 4 & BBC Black Britain too) to the team, and after completion of the building work I introduced Ezra Attia's interior designer Elaine Tomlinson to the project. Both of these black professionals were Addey & Stanhope Old Scholars like me and Adam Afriye the Windsor MP. The last I heard after Faith Isiakpere had completed The Children of Africa film with Mr Mandela, Stevie Wonder and Isaac Hayes etc was that he was working with UNICEF in South Africa.
As an idealistic newly qualified RICS surveyor just returning from a period of retreat at Mount Meleray in Ireland, the dream that I had the night before I started the UNITY project could only be interpreted and described as a BIG DREAM.
A SINNER'S DREAM OF MARY
When I was out a wandering upon the hills so green.
I spied myself a vision of a bright celestial Queen.
(Refrain)
A rosary,a rosary with rainbows all around.
A blood red cross she gave to me upon that hallowed ground.
She wore a crown of silver and in her arms she bore.
A child who was the future of mans peace and not of war.
(Refrain)
A rosary,a rosary with rainbows all around.
A blood red cross she gave to me upon that hallowed ground.
Corpus Christi woman was the lady that I saw.
Build inside she said to me mans inner self once more.
(Refrain)
A rosary,a rosary with rainbows all around.
A blood red cross she gave to me upon that hallowed ground.
Our Lady of the Rosary ( http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2010/10/celebrating-parish-feast-day.html ) pray for us! Amen
PAPA RATZI ( http://www.thepapalvisit.org/ ) ORA PRO NOBIS!
Kind regards
Roy Hobson aka Our Lady's "Vesper" ON-LINE +
ROY HOBSON FRICES1990, FRICS1984, Grad Dipl QS
So glad you enjoyed some of the territories of the Archdiocese of Westminster
Heh. At least according to the provisions of the new code of canon law I do not lose my faculties when crossing the Thames :-)
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