Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Wednesday Window on Provence...errrr...London!

I left you at the end of the Millennium Bridge yesterday...hope the night temps didn't get to you!

You would probably be able to count the steps from the end of the bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral, the Church of England's mother ship, built in the late 17th century - on the same site of an original church built in 604 A.D. and named in honor of the apostle, Paul.  You can see the bones of its English Baroque style (built to a design by Sir Christopher Wren, highly regarded architect in his time - but not without some controversy...true of many artists - after the great fire of London)...
St. Paul's Cathedral, London - Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married here.


What's with the crowd you ask?  Busy tourist day in London town?

That mass of bodies milling around in the front of the cathedral is the US Occupy Wall Street Movement's baby sister in the UK.  A very civilized crowd they were.  (But of course there were!  They're British...stay calm and carry on...)  These folks were listening to speakers and volleying questions...although honestly, it appeared that some were there just to enjoy lunch in the sun around the premises. 

A quick turn to your left and you'll see this...


 
...the temporary housing for the current occupiers who are making peaceful statements against the current status quo.  Not quite in the English Baroque style but functional, non?  And do you see that sign in the background?  It pretty much sums up the movement's mission statement...


All in all, a very peaceful group comprised of a mix of people you wouldn't necessarily see sitting on steps or sharing tents together.  St. Paul's Cathedral has seen its share of controversy around the encampment of this recent movement, but continues to host the group in the spirit of generosity and service to all.

Regardless of your political persuasion, you gotta give a little shout out to peaceful calls for "Power to the People"!
Ciao,
leslie

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you on this! Last night the Occupiers in Philadelphia and Los Angeles were "uprooted" from their encampment...in a supposedly peaceful way...unlike Oakland. Sigh...I give these kids and anyone with them credit for standing up for what they believe in! It is really hard to stay true to what you believe in.

Kris

donna said...

we have our own occupy O.C. camped out in our very own city.....funny thing...hubby and i were going for a walk in our neighborhood and 2 young kids had a tent set up in the front yard, and were playing in it...you know where our minds went....tents are taking on a whole new "personality" these days....thanks m'dear for the concern yesterday... the rib is improving (it's been a trial tho)

la fourchette said...

Kris, rock on, sistah!

donna, funny how those visual anchors get embedded, non? glad to hear the rib is mending...those things are painful and seem long in healing.

sweet dreams...at least when it's this time in your 'hoods!
leslie

You migh also like:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...