My big Coronavirus Opening! – St Johns Church in Stanmore.

Last Monday was the first real big step forward in the restoration of normal life in the U.K. with many of the non-essential opening for the first time in months.  Of course I couldn’t imagine anything worse than going in a shop to buy junk but in my own way I had my own big… Continue reading My big Coronavirus Opening! – St Johns Church in Stanmore.

The ruined church of St John the Evangelist in Stanmore

With the never ending lock-down being met with never ending warm weather, I decided to go and join up the dots of my new Stanmore tour which I actually worked out dreamt up whilst writing my blog posts on the area in the last few weeks. For a spot of quirky history and some good… Continue reading The ruined church of St John the Evangelist in Stanmore

Finding the ruins of Whitefriars beneath the streets of London

Most people have heard of that very busy part of London known as Blackfriars but fewer know of Whitefriars.  It should be said that the colour here is nothing at all relating to the skin of the friars but rather the colours of the accruements that they wore.  The Black Friars were Dominican friars whilst… Continue reading Finding the ruins of Whitefriars beneath the streets of London

A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?

Huddled on the the battered coast of Northumberland you’ll come across many an ancient ruin, castle or church.  There is more than enough to spend an hour or so at St Aidan, so named after the saint who died on the spot in 651AD. I first visited this church around 40 years ago and still… Continue reading A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?

The Fig Tree Tomb of Watford

Last week whilst on a little diversion in my local town, I took the time to visit the beautiful and ancient St Marys Church.  It is the oldest building in Watford and in truth following decades of wanton destruction by the local authorities, one of only a handful of interesting buildings in town. Whilst walking… Continue reading The Fig Tree Tomb of Watford

Wesley’s Chapel – The Mother Church of Methodism.

Almost directly across the road from Bunhill Fields Cemetery  which I wrote about last week is Wesley’s Chapel which can be considered as the mother church of Methodism and so I thought I would take a look. I’m not a Methodist but I have an interest in most religions and notable people and there are… Continue reading Wesley’s Chapel – The Mother Church of Methodism.

Thomas Coram in Boston

Last week I took time out from touring to visit two temporary exhibitions at institutions that have very worthy reasons for visiting and yet understandably might not feature high on the list for foreign visitors.  Namely the Kristallnacht exhibition at the Weiner Library  and a special exhibition on Thomas Coram at the Foundling Hospital. Thomas… Continue reading Thomas Coram in Boston

There but not there

Last week whilst in the Sussex town of Arundel, I unexpectedly came across a very moving art installation.  It is something I had heard about a few years ago and fleetingly throughout 2018 but for some reason had not expected to come across it just as I did.  It is known as THERE BUT NOT… Continue reading There but not there

The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!

If you think moving the clock an hour in October is a tedious, weird thing to do that only cheats you of an hour of precious useful daylight in the evening then do spare a thought for our forebears who centuries ago were trying to come to terms with the government stealing 11 days of… Continue reading The day we rioted as the government stole 11 days of our lives!

ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD

Recently when I was in the area for my Hadrians Wall walk, I took a detour to a place I had long wanted to visited.  Not too many miles from the ancestral home of George Washington which I visited on the same trip. Whilst sights such as the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral… Continue reading ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD