St Paul's Cathedral

Isn't it amazing how different today's photo looks from yesterday's, althought they are taken in exactly the same place. I make no apologies for repeating the location, St Paul's must be one of the most beautiful spots in London.

The figures around the base of the statue of Queen Anne (yes indeed, Anne, not Victoria, sorry all!) are intended to represent England, France, Ireland and North America. The more acerbic commentators of the time made much of the statues position facing away from the cathedral, and the Queen's renowned like of a drink or two:

Brandy Nun, Brandy Nun, your're left in the lurch
Your face to the gin shop, your back to the church.

I'm off walking in Shropshire over the weekend - back soon.

Queen Victoria Queen Anne

This statue of a younger Queen Victoria Queen Anne that stands outside St Pauls Cathedral and is unusual for the gilded orb, sceptre and crown. Which may be why this statue is fenced off.

It is a bad (!!) copy of the original by Frances Bird, erected in 1712 to commemorate the completion of the Cathedral. The original can still be seen in St Leonard's-on-sea.


I'm off walking in Shropshire over the weekend - back soon.

Anthropomorphication

Walking across the Millennium Bridge the other night, it struck me how much St Paul's Cathedral echoed the shape of a person. That's all.

What makes life meaningful?

This week, the dome of St Paul's Cathedral is being used as a canvas for an artwork commissioned by the Dean called The Question Mark Inside.

"The project seeks to answer the question: ‘what are the things that make modern life meaningful and what does St Paul’s mean in that contemporary context?to us in 2008?'. A stream of possible answers will appear as text projections onto the South elevation of the cathedral dome, the West Front at Ludgate Hill and inside onto the Whispering Gallery. The Question Mark Inside marks the 300th anniversary of the topping out of the Cathedral."

(Don't read anything into my selection of this word - one among many in several languages - I was having great difficulty with my little Canon, this one has the least camera shake)

London Wildlife

I spent most of Sunday walking London streets, and so I have several photos to share, some quite OK. But I'm tired now, and a chicken is always a chicken. If this leaves you with a hankering for more of London's flora and fauna, you can do no better than this.