London and the show Wicked : )

My daughter and I went to London Saturday for an overnight to see the show 'Wicked', it was lovely sending time with her, it was a treat for her 30th birthday which was at the end of august.

The show is an interesting prequel storyline to Frank L Baum's
'wicked witch' and The Wizard of Oz.
It's not as much fun as 'Mama Mia' but it is an enjoyable piece of theatre and elements of the original story pull together very cleverly!

I'd taken her for a theatre fest for her 21st and then we saw Phantom of the Opera and Mama Mia. We both love musical theatre and Wicked is on at the Appollo theatre in Victoria.
Just look at the divine plaster work on the walls and ceiling and yes its a wonderful shade of lilac, though whether its because of paint or clever lighting, I don't know. I managed to take a pic of the stage before the show but your not allowed to take pics during of course.

Before we went in to the theatre, we wandered into the Westminster Cathedral nearby, which is a really quite an ugly building if I'm honest. But it is surely the most stunning place to go and see.
It's as if you've stumbled through a portal to a Persian Palace.
It is surrounded by high rise modern offices and shops, a piece of cultural beauty, tucked behind the crass modern.
If you get chance, do go see it, its spellbinding inside and a magnificent mosaic haven.

http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/

I've said before that I'm not religious, spiritual yes, I'd like to think in tune with Mother Earth and the moon, but there was the most incredible presence of calm in this building.
Now whether that was a religious entity or the totally divine artwork,
I doubt I will ever know.
But it's the kind of place where folks go to sit - and they were, locals by the looks of it too, they just sat and were silent, or reading gospels or silently mouthing prayers, oblivious to those of us with cameras and mouths agape.
I'd go often if I lived there just to relax and wind down.

All this is mosaic'ed, teeny tiny what looked to be maybe half to one inch squares!
Silver and gold (actually plated I would think rather than simply glitzy) - it was mind boggling.
There was also every possible marble colour and pattern that I think exists anywher ! Stunning. Get it? Stunning.
What a hidden gem. Do enlarge the pictures.

 

just look at this peacock!

How the hell did they do this? on a gantry of scaffolding like Michelangelo I guess?

 

all mosaic remember!

 

below was the most beautiful pinky lilac colours

 

a whole new interpretation of shell patterning, alive with old gold

 

My lovely daughter Tylah, who 30 years ago was with me at St Clement Danes the RAF church, which is in the Strand 

where it meets Fleet Street.

We went back for a look see, she didn't recall being there before lol

but then she was about 3 months old.

 She, like her brother was christened at this church.

 

 

aircrew being rescued in bronze and nice to see a female shown

 

This below was so touching

 

The crypt is in the basement and this is where both Mitchell and Tylah were christened, 20 or so months between.

It was nostalgic for us because back then, on each occasion although neither would remember, their dad was there.

He died when he was 40 in 1996, when Mitch and Tylah were

14 and 12 years old.

( He'd left me about 6 years before that so we all lost him twice over. )

There was a christening taking place upstairs in the main church,

so we couldn't go in there, which is a shame because

it is lovely to see.