Yesterday began with the normal rush to have breakfast done in time for Jane to head up the hill on the bus in time for her to get the mill that is Lambeth and all that involves. Each day is somewhat calmer in getting started, although I am usually out the door by around 9.30. Yesterday I was off a bit earlier than that as I had to catch the train to London. I got myself all prepared in time, and with lots of time to spare to buy my ticket and arrived at the station only to find the ticket booth closed. The only other member of the station staff said to me, and the many other people waiting to buy tickets not to worry as the ticket salesman would be back in time. Needless to say that he wasn't and along with others I had to scramble to get a ticket from a machine at the front of the station. While I was buying my ticket the train pulled into the station, and I managed to get on with a minute to spare. The best laid plans nearly come undone. Other than this little hurdle I had a really good day.
The train journey was as pleasant as it has been the other times that I have headed into London. My goals for the day were to go to St Paul's Cathedral and then to go to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory. The train got into London just after 11.30 and I headed off to the cathedral from Charing Cross. It took about 40 minutes to walk there. As I walked up Ludgate towards the Cathedral I was stunned at the presence of the building has over the streets around it. It is a truly imposing building in a way that the older cathedrals that I have visited didn't seem to have. They are all beautiful and stunning and clearly set out to do what their builders wanted them to do, but there is something at St Paul's that is almost overwhelming. And this is all before I have even got in the front doors and paid my 10 pounds to get in.
Just after I had walked in the doors and was just starting to get an impression of the space inside the Cathedral, there was an announcement that a communion service would be starting in 10 minutes and that all were welcome to join in. Well I wasn't going to miss out on that. While the service was not meant to be anything other than a normal daily communion service it was very special to be able to worship under the dome in St Paul's Cathedral, London. While I was sitting there waiting for the service to begin, I was able to take in some of the different things that make up the interior of the Cathedral. Again, the inside is truly beautiful, very Roman in style, almost unanglican you could say, but I loved it. disappointingly, the service was just rattled off the priest who was taking it, leaving no space for anyone pray during the liturgy. It was all over in 20 minutes flat and that included at least 60 people receiving the sacrament. For all that though it was worth putting up with someone almost going through the motions to have worshipped in that place.
After the service I was able to take my time and wander around and discover all the many things that make up this most amazing place. This took quite a while to get around. To finish off my time in St Paul's I was able to walk up all the staircases that take you to the golden gallery which almost at the very top of St Paul's. 500 steps to get there and going through two other galleries on the way. One is inside the church, called the Whispering Gallery and is at the point where there the dome meets the walls. The next two are outside, the first being the Stone Gallery which you walk around the outside of the dome, which is 119 steps above the Whispering Gallery and then anther 152 to get to the top. With the 258 to get from the floor to the Whispering Gallery, that is over 500. I was a bit puffed by the time that I got to the top, and a very kind man took a picture of me looking out over London. Proof for you to see.
This had all taken so long that my plans to get to Greenwich had run out of time, as I had to get back to Canterbury so that Jane and I could go and have dinner with all of the Australian Bishops. I don't know, you go to anther country to avoid the people you work with and get stuck with them anyway. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening, catching up with Bp Paul Richardson who was on the same table as us, he was an honourary Australian for the night. We headed off when enough red wine had been consumed and the all the unplanned speeches began.
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