St. Paul's and Central London

My mother had long said that she wanted to go to a "big impressive church" whilst she was here in London, so this morning I dragged myself up and out to take my parents to service at St. Paul's Cathedral. (I will also admit to being up for the idea because I am a cheapskate, as the regular admission price is £10 per person, but it's free if you are attending religious services).

I'd been to St. Paul's before for Palm Sunday Services, and while I will admit the place is impressive and echo-y, it's also somewhat distancing, and I find my thoughts wandering off a lot more during service than when I'm attending a smaller church service. Still, can't beat the sound of that organ, and a choir that sounded positively operatic.

Yet, the best part of the entire service was when my father poked me and noted with a hushed whisper as he pointed to his right, "That's Garrison Keillor!" And indeed, sitting just a few chairs away from us in his distinctive red tennis shoes, was the host of NPR's "A Prarie Home Companion." Of course, when I noted this later on Facebook, the immediate first comment was "Who?" which makes me realise that much like when my British friends point out some British celebrity I've never heard of with incredible excitement, the same can apply for middle-American radio celebrities who randomly appear at a cathedral eucharist service in London.

After service was over, we stopped by the Globe Theatre to pick up some tickets to Shakespeare next week, then had some lunch, before making our way over to Tower Hill to check out the Tower of London. Took the requisite tourist photo in front of Tower Bridge (which is not London Bridge, a point of confusion for many tourists), and then got on one of the old Routemaster buses that still runs a "heritage" route past main tourist sights. (These buses are from the 1950's and are the classic red double-decker buses one often associates with London. Although red double-decker buses are still in service, they are all modern and lacking in both soul and the feeling that you might tip over into a horrible car-crash at any moment like you get with the old Routemasters).

Interestingly, at one point we drove past the Iranian Embassy, and were surprised to see quite a large crowd of protesters, all dressed in green, shouting and yelling with megaphones, "Shame on you!" I suppose it deserves remembering that just because our daily newspapers no longer cover every detail of the Iranian election, for many the struggle is far from over.

Made it home and crashed, as it has been quite a day!