What a Party!

Three Hundred years since St Paul's was completed it now looks as good as it did in 1711. A fifteen year restoration costing £40 million has finally finished. For the first time in that fifteen years you can now see the cathedral without cranes and scaffolding.



The Reverend Canon Mark Oakley, treasurer of St Paul's, yesterday talked about the mammoth project. The state of the art tecqnics used and the beautiful work restoring the art and mosaics.

To celebrate both the completion of the work and the 3 century anniversary, St Paul's is launching the 300th Anniversary Photograph Competition.

Take your best shot of the exterior of St Paul's. You have until 16 July 2011. Upload your images to St Pauls Flickr.

The ten best images will be displayed in the cathederal crypt. The overall winner will take home a beautiful glass vase made especially for the event by Venice-based firm of Salviati & Co

The View is Great

A glass and steel shopping centre with all the same high st chain stores has opened next to St Paul's.

Why? One may ask. Gordon Ramsey is scheduled to open a restaurant on the top floor early next year. I took the lift up to check out progress.

Well I might not like anything else about the place, but the view, well it is simply spectacular.

This will become the new iconic view of London I suspect.

Paternoster Square

The square by St Pauls' Cathederal, Paternoster Square was in medievil times the shopping centre for religious artifacts. Now you'll see city boys and girls from the banking sector and tourists.

Warmer Coat

I must get myself a warmer coat.

Winter and Autumn

What is a little strange about the current cold snap is that the trees are still in autumn. Beautiful golden leaves and snow.

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.

Steps of St Pauls

A rare opportunity to see the steps of St Paul's with out dozens of tourists.

Girl with the White Balloons

Dressed in white holding a bunch of white lilies in one hand and white balloons in the other. A special day perhaps.

Sunday Bridges - Wibbly Wobbly

A view from beneath the millennium bridge. Looking at it from this angle reminds me of how it twisted in the Harry Potter movie.

The pedestrian bridge crossing the Thames between the Tate Modern and St Paul's was built for the millennium but closed almost immediately for modifications to its unstable movement. It was quickly nicknamed the wibbly wobbly bridge which has stuck and continues to be refereed to by locals.

Check out the other Sunday Bridges hosted by Louis Le Vache.

Skywatch Friday - London skyline

A view from the top of St Paul's Cathedral looking out to East London.

Visit other skywatchers today.

Covent Garden Cats

St Paul's in Covent Garden otherwise known as the actors church was built and designed in 1633 by Inigo Jones after whom the two resident tabby cats are named.