5/30 Off to Church and Trying Chiswick again!

Our church attendance might be considered dismal here but we have justified our absent Sundays with Evensong on weeknights at lovely cathedrals.  Well, really, we have been gone from London every Sunday but since we were in Hammersmith this weekend, we were determined to get to church.  When we came here in December for four days to learn all about Ellen and Phillip's house, we arrived on a Sunday morning from the airport, were served a delicious breakfast and whisked off to their church.  So, it being the only one we know here and having enjoyed it in December, we knew that was the church we would attend.  A 15 minute walk - and it's still cool here - in the low 60's - we were there 15 minutes early.  It gave us an opportunity to take some pictures and explore what we hadn't been able to see before.

The church is quite beautiful, cathedral like in its design, and like many English churches using every space available for different activities.  Since most of the churches don't have fellowship halls, coffee is often served at the back of the sanctuary after service, so there was a table with coffee cups and cookies set up and ready.  There was also an area set aside as a book shop and an area for the children who frequently play during the service in the back of the sanctuary.  Might be a good idea for our Session Room!

The congregation is diverse in race and age - lots of children, too.  The service starts with lots of praise singing with a band and words on a screen.  It moves into the children's singing time with guided hand motions.  One of the children took it upon herself to be on the stage with the adult leaders.   I apologize for the quality of this picture ( I took it!) but it was just so sweet that I am moved to add it.  It will bring a smile to your face.

After the service, during coffee and cookie time, we discovered another parishioner you would most likely not find in our churches!  

 

After lunch at home, we decided to try again and go back to Cheswick House, the English Heritage site we had visited a few days ago that was locked.  This time we were positive it was open!  From my point of view, it was worth the trip but I do recall John saying years ago after our second or third trip to England "The hell with the great houses and the cathedrals!  I want to go to the pubs."  So about halfway through the tour, John disappeared!  However, he got enough pictures to convey to you the feel of the house.  This house was built by Lord Somebody to house his art, not his family!  In fact, no one ever really lived here!  It did, however, change the direction of architecture in England because of the Palladian influence on Italian architecture that Lord Burlingon (There! now I remember his name!) saw in the city of Vicenza, Italy on his second Grand tour in the 1700's.  The villas Palladio did in Vicenza were by this time about 200 years old and somewhat forgotten.  Burlington brought this influence back to London and built this villa for his art.  Palladio, by the way, still influences architecture to this day and you can see more reference to his work and influence on Wikipedia.  Also, there is great information there about Chiswick there as well.  Not to draw this out too much, I am going to add several of John's pictures and then we'll go outside.

The octagonal foyer with its huge pieces of art meant to impress the visitors as they entered the villa. It does!

The ceiling of The Blue Room which was the Lord's office.  I don't think I could get much work done in here!

And can you guess the name of this room??  They weren't very imaginative, so I think you probably can.


The house does look like a typical Palladian villa from the 1500's.

Outside, the gardens are contemporary parks for locals to enjoy with their children and their dogs.  It has beautiful trees....

                          ......  for boys to climb in...

and lots of space for families to gather in and dogs to play ... altogether a lovely place for two legged and four legged children to bring their owners!

By the way, this villa may not have been lived in but we knew it was partied in and by evidence of what we discovered by going down another level - one the guide did not point out - it might still be!

That evening John went off to Royal Albert Hall to see Mark Knopfler in concert.  Not my cup of tea  especially with SRO, so I stayed home, ordered Indian food delivered and read my book.  Enjoyed by both!

If you would like to see John's pictures of the concert, you can go to his Facebook page under 'John L'Engle Graham' and/or on his SmugMug album <-just click here.