London tour
Canon William Marshall

Though London is well known to most people, for those fifty or so of the Friends of Christ Church who went there under the capable leadership of Terence Read it was an enlightening experience, as we learnt new thing about one of the world's greatest cities.

It was a dark and early start as we made our way to Dublin Airport on the morning of Friday 10 October 2003. On arrival at Heathrow the coach which had been arranged for us brought us to our hotel in Richmond overlooking the river Thames. During the weekend many of us took the chance to walk down to the river and along its banks. One of the many good features of this tour was the amount of free time we had for activities of our own choice. Friday afternoon was free for such things as a visit to Kew Gardens. Our first day ended with Compline in our hotel conducted by Canon Herbert Whyte.

Richmond is some distance from the centre of London, but our coach journeys in and out had their own interest as we traveled mostly along the banks of the Thames with its many bridges and buildings of historic interest. Terence kept us well informed of places to look out for.

A tour of St Paul's Cathedral had been booked for Saturday morning. Probably most of us had been there before, but I think everyone must have learnt something new from our informative guides. The west front of the cathedral was swathed in scaffolding for a multi-million pound restoration project. There happened to be a naval wedding being celebrated in the choir, appropriate to the cathedral connections with Nelson who is buried in the crypt. Our guide gave us interesting details about Nelson, Wren and Wellington who are all buried there. It was a thrill to climb up to the whispering gallery in the dome and to the outer gallery from which there were superb view of London.

On the Saturday afternoon we had the option of going to a performance of "Twelfth Night" in the reconstructed Globe Theatre. It was an intriguing prospect to see a Shakespeare play performed as it was in Shakespeare's day, but many of us baulked at the thought of sitting on hard benches without back support (though I believe more comfortable seats were available).

A Friends' October tour always includes cathedral worship on the Sunday and this time Southwark Cathedral was our venue. At the Sung Eucharist we were impressed by the standard of worship, the vibrant worshipping congregation (many of whom were black) and the welcome we received. We had lunch in the refectory and were given a guided tour of the cathedral with its many historic connections.

The final day of the tour was mostly filled with a visit to Hampton Court Palace, where English history really came alive for us, starting with Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII in the sixteenth century and continuing through the centuries till it ceased to be a royal residence and was opened to the public by Queen Victoria. It is a truly vast complex of buildings, enlarged by William of Orange till it was bigger than Versailles one in the eye for his great rival, Louis XIV. Space does not allow an adequate account of the magnificent gardens, the priceless art collections and the quadrangles reminiscent of Oxbridge colleges. But it would wrong to omit mention of the Chapel Royal with its Tudor fan-vaulted ceiling, its Grinling Gibbons reredos and its fine Victorian stained glass, replacing that smashed on Oliver Cromwell's orders. The Chaplin is from Dublin and known personally to some of our party. He and his deputy made us very welcome, telling us about the Chapel Royal and answering our queries. They conducted the service of Itinerarium in the Chapel for us to send us on our way, a f fitting conclusion to a memorable visit. The Friends are greatly indebted to all who planned and organized the tour, especially to Terence Read whose knowledge and expertise made it so informative and enjoyable.