 |
| St Mary at Hill Church |
There is something quite magical about being in a building when it isn’t being used for its purpose. It’s like you have a chance to soak it in, listen closer, see if the walls whisper, think about the people who may have walked in the aisles before you. That is exactly the feeling I get when I walk into one of the City churches to volunteer.
In April 2012, I joined Friends of the City Churches and became a Church Watcher volunteer. FCC was started in 1994 and it oversees 16 churches in the City of London, commonly referred to as the square mile. An organisation of over 100 volunteers, they allow the churches to be open to the public by providing 2 volunteers to a church once a week.
 |
| St. Benet Paul's Wharf |
The job is straightforward, but the rewards are endless. Every quarter, there is a Church Watchers meeting where a you find a scrum of volunteers, many in their 60‘s and 70‘s, elbowing each other to sign up for churches they want to watch on days they are available. There is no regular commitment required, but you often find it is hard to get certain churches if you arrive late to the meeting.
As a Church Watcher, I meet my watching buddy just before 11am at the entrance to the church. We either have keys, or we obtain them from a key guardian. Unlocking the church, we head inside and first try to find the lights. This is always a scavenger hunt, as the churches were here long before the lighting; the switches are often in random locations. Most all churches have a kitchen that we are welcome to use, so the kettle goes on and the watching begins. We are asked to keep count of who comes in to view the
church and report the numbers at the end of the day via email.
 |
| The bombed out church St Dunstans in the East |
The time in the church is spent in a variety of ways. While some volunteers bring books or projects to work on, this is often overruled for interesting conversation and gazing around the church. Many a volunteer has stumbled upon a memorial or artifact in the church that will often inspire more research. When visitors come in, you can’t help but step into “tour guide” mode and offer information about the church, the builder, the bomb damage, or other unusual fact not know in general.
 |
| St Botolph Aldersgate Church |
Church watching is entertaining. Often, there are scheduled masses or lunchtime concerts with local talent providing top quality performances free to the public. It is a shame when they are not playing to a full room. Recently, FCC joined Twitter to help publicise these free recitals. You can follow them @ChurchWatchers to see what events are coming up, or pick up a free issue of City Events --the FCC newsletter available at all churches. Audience members are welcomed to bring a lunch and eat in the church.
When 3pm rolls around, it’s time to wash up the tea mugs and pack up the unread books, switch off all the lights, and lock up the church for the night.
Church Opening Scheduleopening times 11am -3pm unless otherwise indicated
Mondays
- St. Martin Ludgate
- St. Mary Abchurch
Tuesdays
- The Dutch Church (2nd/4th Tuesdays)
- St. Botolph Aldersgate (1:45-4p)
- St. Dunstan in the West
- St. Mary Abchurch
Wednesdays
- All Hallows London Wall
- St. Magnus the Martyr (12-4p)
- St. Sepulchre without Newgate
- St. Stephen Walbrook
Thursdays
- St. Benet Paul’s Wharf
- St. James Garlickhythe
- St. Mary Abchurch
- St. Mary At Hill
Fridays
- St. Andrew by the Wardrobe
- St. Botolph Aldgate
- St. Ethelburga Centre
- St. Mary Abchurch
Note: St. Mary Abchurch is the FCC HQ and is open daily
Written by Amber Raney-Kincade is "The American Tour Guide In London",
providing bespoke walking tours and private guiding services in London.
She has lived here for 13 years.
For more info about FOCUS visit:
www.focus.info.org
I would highly recommend an exciting visit to view the mysteries of the Cheapside Hoard at the Museum of London on London Wall. Lying undiscovered for 300 years ‘London’s lost jewels’ were recovered in 1912 on London’s Cheapside deep beneath a cellar. Cheapside contained many goldsmiths at the time selling silver plate, gold and jewellery, and The Hoard forms the largest collection worldwide of beautiful Elizabethan and Stuart jewellery from the 16th and 17th Century.
My favourite examples in the Hoard are a fabulous Colombian emerald and Indian diamond salamander brooch from the 1600s and a unique hexagonal watch formed from one hexagonal natural emerald crystal! I marvelled at an exquisite gold and enamel scent bottle smothered in opals, diamonds, rubies and pink sapphires. Also I came upon an uncut agate cameo of Queen Elizabeth I apparently one of only fifty surviving examples. I admired a sensational gold and enamel pendant comprising two sapphires and a spinel drop from the period and I stood amazed by the 16th and 17th Century dress depicted in the Elizabethan and Jacobean portraits illustrating the phenomenal jewellery worn at the time. The quality of craftsmanship produced due to global exploration was incredible!
Eliz arrived with a large suitcase full of goodies. We all felt like we were little girls who were going to be princesses for a day! There were a lot of the softest pen brushes, palette after palette of eye shadows, blushers, foundations in any possible colour and a range of lipsticks all from different suppliers. 
Eliz chose a model that she would make over, and basically we were copying her. There were 12 of us and our tables were placed in a horseshoe with Eliz and the model in the middle, so Eliz could walk around and advise each of us. She took time to make an individual concealer and foundation colour check and suggested new colour ideas for eye make-up, blusher and lipstick for each of us.
I have brown eyes and I normally go with brown, green or purple colours for my eyes. When Eliz said I should try plum colours or dark blue, I thought that would not work. I did try the plum version and another colleague also with brown eyes tried the blue version, and I must say that they were literally eye-openers for both of us. The colour combination worked beautifully and I had a totally different look! I absolutely loved it. I never use foundation, but Eliz taught us how to use foundation and powder, so it didn’t clot. Also she taught us about brands and why the most expensive brands are not necessarily the best buy. But the best tip by far was how to blend the colours together to get a smoother look.
Easily accessible by tube, you exit at North Greenwich and after a well-posted five minute walk you come to Edmund Halley Way and the Aviation Experience centre which features not only simulators but interaction displays. The baggage handling visual is excellent. The half scale Lego model of the Rolls Royce engine, impressively made up of 165,000 Lego bricks, is amazing.
There are rows of economy class seats to try out and a life size model of the A380 nose cone. This was a good build up and excitement mounted when the overhead departure notice flashed my guys name and he was presented with a boarding pass. We took the stairs in the aircraft model to the second level where we were greeted by the trained staff member who would give needed instructions. After a look at the actual mega size A380 cockpit we took seats at the controls in the A380 simulator area. My guy the pilot, and myself as co- pilot.
Our instructor explained procedure for take -off and landing (flight is static) and asked his choice of airport, weather and time of day. Heathrow and London City in daytime were opted for. Heathrow came naturally to my guy after familiarizing himself with the controls (coordination is important), and he pushed back, took off handily and made an impressive landing. London City was a real challenge. Take off was harder and landing difficult. He nearly demolished some high rise buildings near O2 and had to circle several times before an almost touch down but he found it exciting nevertheless. Returning to Heathrow was fine with time to enjoy the airborne landscape. It was voted a thrilling experience to be tried again… a great gift for any occasion.
It’s been six weeks since Oscar came home with us, and it already seems like he has been with us for his whole little life. He has settled in with the whole family very quickly, and seems to love his new household. You see Oscar is a six year old English springer spaniel. 
Once approved, my youngest son began his almost daily search of the Battersea website to find ‘his’ dog. Every few weeks we would come across a dog that seemed like a good fit for us. We would make an appointment to meet the dog, and inevitably we would come home empty handed. There was always a valid reason: the dog couldn’t live with children, couldn’t live in the city, needed a private garden, had a life-threatening health condition, etc. On one of our visits in October my son broke down in tears and asked, ‘What’s wrong with us, why won’t they give us a dog?’
