London, Day 3

On Thursday we had a leisurely morning. Larry went out and took some pictures of the Royal Crescent Gardens that go with the row of houses that includes our flat.

On Tuesday we had walked through Holland Park, the local big park, and had seen lots of irises. So Larry went there and took some more iris pictures:
He found some other lovely things along the way.

In the afternoon we went to the Foundlings Museum near Russell Square. This tells the story of the Foundling Hospital that was started in the 18th century by Thomas Coram with the assistance of the painter William Hogarth and the composer G. F. Handel. It is a wonderful story, and has carried on over all these years in the Coram Foundati0n. You can read more about it here. When the original hospital was destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, the people of London put up such a fuss that the site was made into a children's park called Coram Fields. There is a sign on the gate that says no adult can enter without a child.

From there we walked to St. Paul's Cathedral. (Yes, Larry it's only 15 minutes - well, 45!) This day would have been my mother's 100th birthday. She was a church organist, and there was an organ recital at St. Paul's that evening. The organist was Henry Faris from the University of Birmingham, and his program was four fantasies by Alain, Franck, Boely, and Liszt. It was really fine. There is also a special connection with my mother and St. Paul's that will have to wait for another posting!

Here is a great shot of St. Paul's from the midst of the new Temple Bar buildings:We stopped for dinner in Notting Hill Gate on the way home. Another nice day.