After an earlier postponement due to the July heatwave, on Wednesday 9th October Vanessa Fagan led a guided walk through some of the historical attractions of the City of London. Vanessa is fast becoming our resident Blue Badge Guide, having spoken at one of our Club lunches two years ago, and having last year led a similar walk through St James’s.
Members of the Club, their wives and guests, totaling eighteen in all, were treated to a visit to the ancient Roman amphitheatre under the Guildhall, the Roman Mithraeum and the very modern Bloomberg building that stands above it. We also visited the small but beautiful St. Stephen’s Walbrook, the church in which the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren modelled some of the design features incorporated into his later masterpiece St. Paul’s Cathedral. These are all sights that one normally does not get to see, and under Vanessa’s expert guidance the treasures of the City, both ancient and modern, were really brought to life.
The visit was greatly enhanced by the state of the art audio equipment provided by the organisers. This proved very successful, once the users had completed the required technical induction training for their operation.
Many thanks to Phil Parker and Neil Platt for arranging yet another fascinating outing. There will doubtless be more in the future, and I would urge you not to miss them.
Further photographs of the outing can be found in the website Gallery section.
Andrew Fermor
