Religion in London

This morning we woke up in London to a glorious blue sky. We took the tube to the London Bridge station, where we met Syvart, and ambled over to Broughton Market.  We were disappointed to find it closed, but we enjoyed walking through the deserted aisles.  It was an oddly calm space in an otherwise noisy, crowded city.

We eventually found a small coffee/tea/cacao shop within the market where we had our morning scone and drink.

On the way way out of the shop, we stumbled across a parade of worshippers going into the deserted market for a Palm Sunday mass: choir robes, music, incense, palm fronds..............it was all there.

After enjoying a little incense and song, we continued strolling through the city.  We crossed the Thames on London Bridge, took a peek at Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Tate Modern. We crossed back over the river on the pedestrian Millennium Bridge.  We passed through Fleet Street, and many alleys, and secret courtyards including St Bride's Church which is hidden in one of the the courtyards.  We had lunch in the Salisbury Pub near Covent Garden and then we found more religion.

Fortnum & Mason - this is the temple of all things wonderful on earth.

Nothing prepared me for this experience.  Because I was with two of the main men in my life, I kept my visit brief.  I only saw the first floor. It is the ultimate shopping venue for teas, preserves, jams, marmalade, honey, candy, tea cups and much, much more.  Everything exemplifies exquisite taste and luxury.

This palace is a different kind of religious experience.

Amen

Post publication comment from the author:  I discovered that the Queen shops at Fortnum & Mason.  No wonder it is what it is.

Music and Religion in Bath

The Henry House, in Bath, is located in a block of houses built cheek to jowl, that line one full block.  In the center of the block are a jumble of private gardens, accessible only through individual houses. 

Early in the morning, I was awakened from a sound sleep, by a beautiful acapella male voice.  I was befuddled with sleep, and thought at first that it was a clock radio in our room.  Not seeing one glowing on either bedside table, I eventually concluded that the source of the song was outside.  The music continued.  It crescendoed, and eventually softened, and I thought I heard it moving down the street.  Eventually I fell back asleep.

When I went down to breakfast I asked our host Colin about the source of the early morning serenade.  He laughed, and said, "Oh, you heard it?"  He went on to explain that Bath doesn't allow building mosques in the city limits, so there was a mosque in a tent in one of the gardens behind the Henry House.  I had wakened to the call to prayer.  

Sure enough, on the way back upstairs, I looked out the window and saw the tent in one of the back gardens.

The Bath Mosque - in the tent.

As we left the Henry House after breakfast, to walk to the Bath Abbey, I looked down and found this sign.  Colin, was right, the tent in the  garden behind our guest house is a mosque.

The mosque may be in a tent, but it has an official sign.

We strolled through the Bath Abbey as our last experience of this old town, built upon Roman ruins.  The Abbey really is lovely, with very large windows, which make it lighter and brighter than many European churches.  As I was enjoying the light and the architecture, the organist began to practice.  Like the early morning call to prayer, this magical moment was almost enough to make me find religion.