Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral is situated close to the Thames near London Bridge. It is believed that there has been a church here for over 1000 years. Prior to that there was a Roman villa.  In 1977 a well was discovered beneath the choir, it contained a pagan statue believed to have been put there in the fourth century.

The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee by Leifur Breidfjord.

Outside in the graveyard was a temporary stained glass installation for Christian Aid. Named the Beacon of Hope, it was difficult to photograph, due to the position of the sun, so I took these photos of some postcards of the installation.

New Year's Day Parade

  It was a mild day so I decided to go and watch the New Year's Day Parade in central London. It has been a few years since I was last at this annual event. Covid, of course, has meant the cancellation of the event in recent years. The parade had already started when I arrived but I was still not prepared for the number of people lining the streets. It was impossible to see anything along the route.

Having been to the event before I know the side streets where participants have to wait before they join the main parade. This is where all the rest of these photos were taken.

Most of these marching bands are from the USA. As well as travelling over here for the parade they take part in other concerts etc.

I lost count of the number of different bands waiting to move from their position around Berkeley Square.

I would like to have seen much more of the parade, but there were far too many people watching to allow me to get anywhere near. In future I need to be there much, much earlier.