Tuesday 11 May - London

I returned to London to spend some more time at St Paul's Cathedral and see a bit more of the city. As with every other cathedral I have visited, there is the ongoing work of restoration.

Temple Bar, the only surviving gateway to the city of London. Christopher Wren designed it and it stood in London for some 200 years before being dismantled and moved to Theobalds Park, Cheshunt to form a grand entrance to a country estate. The project to return the gate to London was started in 2001 and completed in 2004 retaining 95% of the original stone work.
I came upon this gate quite by accident, not knowing it even existed.

The statue in front of St Paul's is of Queen Anne, who was said to be over fond of alcoholic drinks. She had 17 children, with only 11 surviving to adulthood; and you wonder why she drank. The statue doesn't face St Paul's; Queen Anne's back is to St Paul's and her head turned slightly to the right. Legend has it she was looking longingly at a pub that use to sit on the corner. Some place where she could have a quiet pint away from all the children.

This is one of two 'illegal' photos I took as I was climbing the 528 steps to the highest point of St. Paul's open to the public. I did take a break part way up to view the whispering gallery which was so noisy with people trying to whisper so someone on the other side of the gallery would hear them clearly.

The whispering gallery - I downloaded thses photos from the web. It is approximately 132 feet across.

The view from the top of St Paul's. The Millennium bridge across the Thames.

A closer view of the Millennium Bridge.

From my viewpoint I believe I am higher than the London Eye, the large Ferris wheel to the left of the photo.

The other illegal photo.

The massive front door of the cathedral only opened for special occasions.

I attended the 12:30 Eucharist in the Nave. The attendants were vergers and the priest was proceeded by a verger carrying his staff of office. He held the silver rod out in front of him grasping it much like one would grasp a baseball bat. He looked to be prepared to hit anyone aside who might approach the priest.

After St Paul's a quick lunch and a bit of a walkabout. The ship below is HMS Belfast, a light cruiser that took part in the sinking of the Scharnhorst, a World War Two German Battleship.

The creature atop the concrete block is the symbol of the city of London and denotes the boundary of the one-square-mile city.

Tower bridge from the quarterdeck of HMS Belfast.

I will not bore you with photos of my tour of the ship, save for the bell.

A wonderfully intricate sculpture entitled The Navigators in the Hays Galleria.

Thus ends my second trip to London.

Now for a Cornish Pastie at King's Cross and home to Abbots Ripton.