Comments on: At Westminster Abbey

By: suzy

suzy — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 05:31:35 +0000

I’m SOOOOOOOOOOO happy Betty has been found! I’ve not stopped thinking about her! Sooooo happy. :oD

By: Brenda Winter

Brenda Winter — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 13:39:54 +0000

Just a wee note to say so happy that Betty is back home!
Brenda

By: Carolyn Hooper

Carolyn Hooper — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 02:26:09 +0000

Wonderful post, gentle author……

Yes, the story of Imperialism…… To the fore and very front of mind for many this month……even if we live way down in Australia.

How very sad that all the fine artisans and workers who created a building such as this, have no memorial – nothing to honour them, on display. Perhaps their intelligence and creativity was simply thought of as…….the stuff the plebs did for a living. Humankind continues this line of thinking in 2022….Oh, he’s just a baker or just a plumber.

Carolyn Hooper

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:10:02 +0000

Thanks for the special histories and nooks l didn’t see myself so l may re-vist with fresh eyes. I had already toured Parliament and both my camera battery and my own were flagging.

My magical pilgimage of the Islamic architecture in Andalucía has been reawakened also by these ceilings and the uplifting designs of the mosaic pavement.
Strange that l should chat with the gently spoken poet Seamus Heanney at the Cordóba Poetry Festival and his book arrived in the post this very morning as l read about Westminster’s Poets’ Corner. I too have always been curious about the omissions.

Thank you for the Stop Press for Betty’s safe return and my favourite of her photos with her telephone shower in the bath. Thank goodness.

A baby toad determinedly hopped over the door threshold into my kitchen this morning. She blinked at me with no hurry to return to the garden and from that signal of trust from Mother Nature, l knew all would be well for Betty’s reunion. And so it was.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:04:30 +0000

I’m please Betty has been found ?

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:50:30 +0000

Re Westminster Abbey I recently went to a concert of Montiverdi’s Vespers there which was beautiful and they used various parts of the building very effectively for different soloists but like you I was surprised about how dark and gloomy the building is, especially the black marble columns.

We were seated near the entrance and so I didn’t get as far as the Henry V11 lady chapel which looks stunning – I’ll have to go back as a tourist to see that!

I hope you will be visiting the floral tributes in Green Park as I’d be interested to know your take on a living bit of history… it is very moving whatever your feelings are about the monarchy.

(I of course have added my tribute in banner form…)

By: Venetia

Venetia — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:37:07 +0000

My favourite part of Westminster Abbey are the cloister gardens right at the back beyond the nave. They lie alongside the school and feature dramatic sculptures among the trees and a truly lovely fountain.

By: Robin Houghton

Robin Houghton — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:03:15 +0000

Lovely post, although the black and white photos do make it seem a very gloomy place. I suppose I’ve never thought of it like that. There’s also the beautiful David Hockney stained glass window, worth a mention. I’ve had the privilege of singing the services at the Abbey with my small choir quite a few times and it has always been for me a place filled with life, light and music. I’m always moved by it (and I’m an atheist!) Although I, too, noted the small (and somewhat snitty) memorial to Aphra Behn relegated to the cloister.

By: Laura Williamson

Laura Williamson — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 07:52:34 +0000

So glad Betty is safe and home!

The most moving tomb there for me is the oldest in the Abbey, which I stumbled upon in the South cloister. Gilbert Crispin (c 1055-1117) Abbot of Westminster was the son of a noble Norman family and there is a rumour that he was an arrow boy at Hastings. His “Dialogue with a Rabbi” is remarkable in its time ( and most times) for its civilised and tolerant nature.

The worthy names of young Owen, Sorley, Rosenberg and their fellow WW1 poets brought a lump to my throat.

By: Paul loften

Paul loften — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 07:36:21 +0000

Thank you for bringing this to us. It’s a reminder of my own mortality and lowly status in life. Although it doesn’t bring dark feelings . I am quite happy with anonymity and to return from whence I came .