Of Music and Morris

Being a Sunday, I felt the need to attend church. The day before, Alistair had kindly checked the musical line-up at Westminster Abbey for me and I settled on the Matins service as the one to take in. I arrived about 45min early as I expected there to be a sizable crowd - however, most Londoners seemed to have a prior engagement with a 10K run around central London that snarled traffic even more than the parked tube and rail service.

Again luck was with me. More so when I started chatting to an Italian fellow who arrived just ahead of me. He informed me that we could sit in the choir stalls next to the choir! What a treat, especially since this was the last day the resident choir would be singing prior to their holiday break! I landed in one of the lovely old oak stalls, front row on the north side (cantoris) mere feet away from the organ pipes and an arm's length from one of the young boys who had a brief solo. Thankfully nobody (ie me) sang except the choir. Couldn't take photos inside the church (it was a religious service, after all) and was hustled out once Matins ended so that folks arriving for the next service could be seated. Did, however, manage a quick peek around. Since I had been to the abbey on my two prior trips to London, I didn't feel too cheated by lack of tourist time. However, in future I will take friend Don's advice and ask to be permitted to use the "necessarium" (the Trafalgar tour guide's word for toilet) which will allow plenty of time to view the various windows and statues of Westminster both coming and going from the convenience. For this trip, I opted to take some time in the surrounding cloisters, themselves rather intriguing sights.

It only took a minute to glance around the area surrounding Westminster Abbey. Most of the notable buildings were under wraps, being primped and preened for the world's arrival when London hosts the Olympics next year. I did, however, manage this shot of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background. Didn't bother taking time out to ride the Eye - too much to do! And I had trotted around much of Westminster on earlier visits so gave it a miss this day. Would have been difficult in any case due to the barricades for the 10K run and the construction scaffolding/barricades beyond that.

Another of my "bucket list" must-do sights was William Morris's famed Red House in Bexelyheath in south east London. With the tube and rail lines were down, so I was forced to take buses across London so really had to hoof it after leaving the abbey. The lack of tube/rail service provided a wonderful way to take in the scenery, and also a way to observe the common Londoner on their home turf. There certainly appears to be something of a class thing when it comes to buses - the more affluent take the tube, the less-so take the bus. Whether this is true or not, I can state that I have rarely encountered so many ill-behaved children in my life! Screaming, whining, foul back talk to their harangged mothers, it was all a bit much. Especially as I had no transport alternative. That said, the elderly passengers were both delightful and entertaining especially when they learned I was from Canada.

En route to Bexelyheath, I passed through Blackheath, one-time address of both my good friend Donna and  CBC radio heart-throb Jian Ghomeshi (although they weren't there at the same time). Blackheath is a lovely place with a wide heath surrounded by quaint little shop-lined streets all in close proximity to the Thames. The drive through the town was a welcome distraction given the 2-1/2hr trip that would normally have taken 1/2hr if the rail service had been operating. The cloud broke through the silver lining, however, when I reached Bexelyheath only to find no buses went anywhere near my destination. Another couple on the same bus was also heading to the Red House, so we agreed to share a cab. After waiting 45min for a cab that didn't appear, I set off to one of the local shops to call a car from another company. It arrived in under five minutes! Note to self: do not use the cab call phone outside the rail station at Bexelyheath.

The Red House was well worth the trouble it took to get there.

As an unexpected bonus, I arrived on a day when the surrounding garden played host to an Arts & Crafts fair. The queue to tour the house was long, so I fortified myself with a cream tea and a poke around the garden and various sales stalls and displays. One step inside the door and I remembered why a visit to the house was on my "bucket list". Here is one of the stained-glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones:

I believe William Morris did these windows himself:

This stunning embroidery was by Jane Morris, William's wife.

Although there are few pieces of original furniture, many of the other original stained glass windows and some of the wall paintings remain. The house is also kitted out with lots of Morris-designed fabric and wallpaper, some of which are modern productions. This view of the main stairway shows the lovely wood, original (I think) light fixtures, and wallpaper (also original, I believe).

One of the most intriguing features of the house is a pair of French doors on which several occupants and guests of the house etched their names. If you look closely, you can see the signature of William and Jane's daughter, May Morris.

 It was very difficult to get many other decent photos of the building, inside or out, due to the crowds of visitors also craning their necks to see all they could as well as the numbers attending the Arts & Crafts fair on the grounds. But I enjoyed myself just the same. Had delightful chats with several people who were architecture history students (one from Berlin), Morris fans (a jolly little Englishman pointed out May Morris's signature on the window), artists and artisans showing their wares at the fair, and just plain folk like me enjoying it all. The weather was slightly overcast, so the say wasn't too hot or too bright. The gardens were lovely. All in all a very fun day.