Trip 49

January 21, 2025

Having spent the earlier part of the day perusing the stores along Bond and New Bond Street, Piccadilly and the Burlington Arcade, we planned to attend the Evensong at Westminster Abbey.

Ralph’s sells coffee for £5, but the view from a table outside is better.

Burlington ( is one of the precursors of the mid-19th-century European shopping gallery and the world’s first modern shopping mall) and Piccadilly arcades are across from each other and nearby Fortnum & Mason.

Fortnum & Masons has some construction going on inside; it’s not apparent what type of changes are taking place though.

We took a bus to Westminster to queue for the Evensong ceremony at Westminster Abbey. We were fairly early in line, but the guard was gently asking those in line if the knew what they were in line for … A few people left.

Entry into the Abbey began promptly at 4:30pm (already getting dark) and we gathered before being seated to use the sheet being shared with a QR code for the order of service. Understandably, no photos or recordings.

Having never been inside the Abbey, I was fascinated to walk through and see a few of the tombs and monuments of famous people . Issac Newton’s tomb is at the head of the area where we entered to walk back to the service area. Charles Darwin is also buried there.

I was amazed at the elaborate decor of the interior, the statuary, the intricate design of the choir box. Unlike any other church I’ve been to, the organ of the Abbey is actually situated midway and on both sides of the central nave with a walkway connecting the two parts, which is where the organist is seated. We were seated facing their Rose Window.

Here’s a YouTube of an Evensong ceremony from just a few days ago.