Parking

A bike chained to the railings outside the Ethiopian Church.

Crossing

Crossing the road at Langham Place. On the left is BBC Broadcasting House and on the right All Souls Church.

Sanctuary

A memorial gate to William Avenon a goldsmith who died in 1631 now sits in the little known churchyard garden of St Katherine Cree church.

Georgian Greek

The new St Pancras church on Euston Rd, built around 1820 based on the Greek Acropolis. These are the doors around the back leading to the crypt.
Delusions of grandeur?

Mannheim by Mark Alexander

As part of St Paul's Cathedral Arts Project two exciting new works by British Artist mark Alexander hang either side of the nave. They look magnificent on the plain stone walls.

I cant think of anywhere else they would look so stunning. Make the effort to go and see these works, there for the summer.

Both entitled Red Mannheim, Alexander’s large red silkscreens are inspired by the Mannheim
Cathedral altarpiece (1739-41), which was looted by Allied forces after an air raid in the Second
World War. The original sculpture depicts Christ on the cross, surrounded by a familiar retinue
of mourners. Rendered in splendid gilt wood, with Christ’s wracked body sculpted in relief, and
the flourishes of flora and incandescent rays from heaven, this masterpiece of the German
Rococo is an object of ravishing beauty and intense piety.

Sword-Rest

On your next visit to London make sure you visit a couple of the many churches in the square mile that makes up London city. I counted more than 50 of them but there may be more. They're kept in great condition largely thanks to the support of the guilds.

St Mary Aldermary is one of the oldest (a church has been on this site for over 900 years) badly damaged after the great fire of 1666 was rebuilt thanks to a wealthy benefactor and an excellent example of Wren's architecture.

The sword-rest is used to hold the Lord Mayor's sword he carries in ceremonial processions. It is placed with the sword handle on the bottom with the tip of the blade pointing toward the ceiling.

This one is unique as it is one of only two wooden rests. Usually they are wrought iron. If you look closely at it you will see the date 1682 half way down below the cross of St George.

Russian Orthodox Church

Not far from the Gunnersbury tube on the District line I stumbled upon the Russian Orthodox Church.
Building began in 1997, with the first service held in 1999. An interesting history can be found here..