A Super Sunday in London: Churches, Friends, Shopping, Pub Grub...

 A Super Sunday in London: Churches, Friends, Shopping, Pub Grub... 

London

Sunday, May 8, 2022

    Another fabulous day saw me packing it in furiously. But then that's the story of my life: not just when I am in London, but in general! So, I awoke at 5.00 am, did some blogging, showered, went down to breakfast (a tad later than usual--so saw more traffic at the buffet bars: feasted on a Full English Brekkie for I will never tire of English bacon and bangers) and went walkabout!

Visit to my Former Parish Church of St. Etheldreda's:

    I walked briskly to High Holborn and jumped into the 8 to ride it two stops to Holborn Circle. From there, I walked to Ely Place, having the area entirely to myself as the rest of London snored during a weekend lie-in. It was past 9 am, but I was only there at St. Etheldreda's Church for a visit (for old times' sake)--I had been in contact earlier in the morning with friends (early risers like myself) and had fixed to meet them for Mass at their church at Knightsbridge. I was happy to get the last bits of Mass and to see Fr. Tom Deidun at the altar--yes, still there after all these years. Priests are never transferred in the UK or the US (unlike in India). 

     Praying at St. Etheldreda's is always special for me. For one thing, it is eerily historic! Dating from 1250 when the Bishop of Ely (then the most powerful prelate in England) received permission to build a church at Hatton Gardens, it is considered the oldest Catholic Church in the UK as it was the first church to return to Roman Catholicism (in 1620) after the horrors of the Protestant Reformation had subsided. Shakespeare might have worshipped here but Queen Elizabeth I most certainly did, in her younger, pre-Queen days. Of course, the neighborhood has changed enormously since the 13th century (this is, of course, one of the oldest parts of London) but the church itself is exactly the same--the imposing stained glass windows, the statues of important lay people from the Renaissance high on the walls, the old Baptismal font, etc. St. Etheldreda's earthly remains are on the right hand side of the high altar. I am always thrilled when I realize that the oldest Catholic Church in England was once my parish!

A Nostalgic Walk Around Holborn and Farringdon:

    With my visit done, I decided to take a walk around my previous stomping ground (I would only be meeting my friends at 10.30 am and had about an hour to kill). So off I went, past Hatton Gardens, towards Charterhouse. Along the way, I passed by the Victorian Central Cold Storage building which is now defunct as the famous Victorian Smithfield Meat Market (which had been in business for at least 200 years) closed shop. I recall waking at dawn, when I lived in the building across the street, to be part of the bustle of butchers and restauranteurs selling and buying stock for the day--not a pretty sight, but one of those weird London experiences that only insiders can have! I took a lot of pictures of the beautiful building because I love its dimensions and ornate wrought-iron cladding and decorative details.

    Then, I walked further into Charterhouse Square to take pictures of the Carthusian monastery that dates back seven centuries. Jam packed with religious history that spans Tudor, Renaissance and Reformation times, it is still a working monastery and has about 10 monks still in residence. I once had the privilege of getting an insider's tour of the premises from one of the monks (please look at a past blog post here) and had loved every second of it. Queen Elizabeth I prepared for accession to the throne from this venue.

    The Charterhouse Monastery overlooks Charterhouse Square which is famous for one more thing--less historic, more cultural: On it stands the modern Art Deco building that is the facade for the apartment of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in the TV series starring David Suchet as Poirot! I took a few pictures on a glorious day when sunshine filled the square and then made my way on.

    Of course, I had to go along Cowcross Street where I had once lived in a converted warehouse, occupying the entire floor of what, in New York, we would have been called a 'loft'--all 6000 square feet of it! Sadly, the friends who had given me their London pied a terre to live in for 3 months, no longer own it. But nostalgia was rife as I walked alongside it and took pictures of The Castle pub at the corner which also functions as a pawn shop, has a license to do so and proudly sports the three hanging golden balls that proclaims this fact. The story goes that one of England's erstwhile kings (I forget which one), in disguise during his more profligate days, entered the pub and into a gambling match with a bystander. He lost everything and in desperation left his watch as collateral with the publican. The next day, he returned with the money to claim it and walked out with it. The next day, he sent the publican a license for pawn-broking (as indeed that was what he had done--he had pawned his watch on the gaming tables). This makes The Castle the only pub in England that also doubles as a pawn shop! And this was once my 'local'! How cool is that???

En route to Knightsbridge:

    Well, just as I was musing upon all these things, Farringdon Tube station, entirely spiffied up to function as one of the stops on the new Crossrail that will be christened the Elizabeth Line, loomed in front of me. I jumped into a Metropolitan line train to get to St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, for Mass at 10.30.  I was actually going to meet my friends at the entrance to their building in Chelsea and we were supposed to walk to church together. But I soon realized that I would never reach there on time. I phoned them and told them to carry on and that I would meet them directly in church. And that was what I did.

    I had forgotten how disrupted the public transport is in London on a Sunday, but, nevertheless, I soldiered on. At Great Portland Street, I got off and jumped into the Circle Line train. I then got off at Edgeware Road to connect to the Piccadilly Line to get off at Knightsbridge. This I did, with a whole lot of annoying delays.  At South Kensington Station, I realized I could take a bus to Wilton Place where St. Paul's Church is located. And that was exactly what I did. A bus heading towards Hyde Park Corner came along and I got off just steps from the church. As my friends Michael and Cynthia were entering the church, so was I! They were flabbergasted...but you can only do this kind of transportation juggling if you know London as well as I do! We had a fond reunion (and, thankfully, we can now hug with impunity!) before we entered the church. There, I promptly met my friend Sarah who came across to hug me and say Hiya and Welcome to London.

A Mass to Remember:

    It is only when I am back in an Anglican Church for a sung service that I realize why I love Church of England worship so much and why I have such a hard time with church services in India. Everything about these churches--from their interior grandeur (this one is also neo-Gothic) to the splendour of the choir (music is an essential part of Anglican worship), the dramatic homilies from brilliant speakers that craft them with wit and humor and thoughtful quotations, the amazing sense of spirituality that engulfs me when I am in the company of worshippers who participate loudly and sing lustily and have no qualms about being a very vocal part of the service, are all the aspects of worship I miss in India. 

    There was a Baptism scheduled and I was surprized to find that the baby was almost two years old! I don't know if this is customary in the Church of England or whether the parents simply waited Covid out! Anyway, we all renewed our Baptismal vows with the baby's parents and then the service proceeded. New musical compositions were being tried out this morning with the composer, Kerensa Briggs, actually sitting in the congregation with us and listening to the power of her own stupendous work! 

    Mass done, there were drinks served to encourage socializing, but since I knew no one except  my friends, we decided to move on. Michael and Cynthia had invited me to their place for lunch and I thoroughly enjoyed the 15 minutes' slow stroll to Cadogan Square in Chelsea for we passed by the tony shops and restaurants of Belgravia and the home of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, last Viceroy of India, and his wife Edwina. I was most excited and took a picture in front of it. One of my favorite students (who now lives here in London) had once asked me for a recommendation so that she could apply for the Lord Mountbatten Prize. I had given her a glowing reference as she is one of the finest students I have ever taught, she got it, came to London, met her husband, had two children and remains a close friend! Llew and I will be having dinner with her family later in our stay. She always tell me that but for my course, she would never even have heard of Lord Mountbatten!   

    We arrived at Gloucester Court soon enough where my friends put a G & T in my hand and bustled around to put a simple soup and cheese meal on the table--sweet corn soup with buttered toast and cheddar cheese, lots of nibbles (peanuts, crisps, mango chutney, etc.--a real ploughman's lunch), a Quiche Lorraine and dessert of delicious fresh fruit salad. We had the best time as we caught up on so many things in our lives. What a great time I have every time I am with them! They are my closest friends in London and Cynthia and I consider ourselves to be sisters!  Eventually, however, I had to leave as I wanted to make the most of a gorgeous day and shopping on the King's Road at Sloane Square beckoned. I decided to be a cool Sloane Ranger for just a little while!

Becoming a Sloane Ranger:

    And so I walked down the King's Road on a day when a lot of other people had the same idea--everyone was enjoying the warm sunshine (I actually had to peel off my jacket). Chelsea has special significance for Llew and me as his brother had lived on Redesdale Street in a gorgeous house when he had been posted to work in London, many moons ago. For three years in a row, Llew and I had spent part of our summers in Chelsea and became well acquainted with its retail offerings. I bought a pair of ear-rings in one shop and moved on towards World's End to buy a bone china mug in another. Cynthia had directed me to a hair dresser she uses called Mahi in a salon called Greema's Hair Salon, but when I reached there, I discovered that Mahi would next be there only on Tuesday and that I would need to make an appointment to see her. I badly needed a haircut and I thought that London would be a great place to get one!

 Bits and Bobs on a Sunshiny Day:

    I them hopped into a bus getting back to Central London and thrilled, once again, to the joys of being on the King's Road. Just before leaving Sloane Square, I entered Peter Jones (Department store) as I needed a glass and chrome pump dispenser for liquid hand soap in my bathroom in India. However, the ones I saw were too plain and I will keep looking.

 By the time it arrived at Piccadilly, I had decided to hop off to see the special exhibition of English bone china manufacturers at Fortnum and Mason which is also one of my favorite shops in London. And that was what I did. I got off at Green Park, walked past the Ritz and arrived at my destination only to find a fabulous exhibition to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in the shop windows. They were simply splendid. I surveyed the offerings on the ground floor, of course, but I was mainly interested in the exhibition on the first floor--an absolute treat for any lover of painted porcelain and fine bone china. There were a couple of antique tea sets on display and for sale and I was sorely tempted to buy a Tea for Two set! But then I thought about what my current collection of porcelain teacups has meant--they will only be given away some day! So, I decided to restrain my impulse and move on. 

    I had the best time as I moved through the luxury items on this floor, curbing my enthusiasm at every turn. Eventually, I left the store and hopped into another bus to get back to my hotel as I thought it would be good to get a bit of a rest. I had chatted on the phone with my friend Rosemary whom I be meeting for dinner and we decided it would be at Bill's on Kingsway in Holborn. So back on the bus I hopped, got off at my hotel and had a very brief lie-down, but sadly no nap.

Dinner with Rosemary:

    I was at Bill's on schedule (only to find it temporarily closed--Covid has a lot to answer for!). After a fab reunion (she is one of my closest friends in London), we decided to try The Shakespeare's Head pub next door where they had a good deal: an alcoholic drink and a burger for under 10 pounds! It was indeed a steal and we had the same except that Roz had a glass of red wine while I had a pint of Guinness as I love it as a draft stout. Over our meal, needless to say, we gabbed nineteen to the dozen. Roz caught me up on all the doings in her life and we resolved to meet again (we will probably stay with her for one night just before our departure) once Llew gets here.

    We parted company at 9.00 am as Roz had a whiles to go to Battersea where she lives. And with that, as twilight fell most charmingly over the rooftops of the curving buildings on High Holborn, I made my way back to my hotel at Red Lion Street. 

    It was not long before I readied myself for bed and went straight to sleep. It will be my last night alone in the hotel as my friend Amy arrives from New York tomorrow to spend the next few days with me. I cannot wait to see her again!

    Until tomorrow, cheerio...