Reunion: White City

Words: John and Louise

Photos: David, except where stated

We started the day with morning prayer at Our Lady of Fatima

Gathering for the off.

Our first prayer stop was at the Polish RC church of St Andrew Bobola:

Here there was a memorial to one of the victims of the 7/7 bombings

We kept close together and didn't need to use many arrows, but for the record Gillian was backmarking while Monica and Francis front-marked.

... caught here as we traversed Ravenscourt Park.

Our second prayer stop was at St Peter's, Hammersmith

... a familiar site to motorists as it is in close proximity to the A4 Great West Road, a fact which influences the children's artwork

when they aren't reflecting on Guy Fawkes

Pilgrims then made a slight detour to St Peter's Square - photographer Louise

Photographer David continues to demonstate his specialism of locating and capturing crosses.

We reached the Thames Path. The tide was out

St Nicholas in Chiswick Mall, the church for our third prayer stop, was shut so it was in the porch that Nick led us in prayers. Our intentions included sick and recently bereaved pilgrims.

The entrance to Duke's Meadows

For the rest of the day we continued to follow the Thames.

The Budweiser (ex-Watney) plant is in the background in the first photo; many pilgrims however prefer the produce of the Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick which we also passed.

We reached lunch

After lunch we crossed Kew Bridge to the "Surrey" bank and took the path between Kew Gardens and the river.

Monica, leading a pilgrimage walk for the very first time, sported a reversible arrow:

A parakeet

A heron - photographer Louise

As we approached Twickenham Bridge, Ann and Francis shook hands on opposite sides of the Kew Meridian, which passes through the old King's Observatory, Kew; this was the Prime Meridian before 1884 when the Greenwich Meridian took over.

Here we recrossed the river

and paused at the memorial to the most senior officer to survive the sinking of the Titanic, Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller.

David captures himself in action

Richmond Bridge where we crossed back again

Tea

Richmond Green

The walk finished at Richmond Station and we caught the London Overground train, with its distinctive seating layout, to Acton Central.

The Alternative Transport Officer had been busy

Now it was dark and the walking wasn't done yet. Across a park:

A mosque - and is that a cross on it?

Catherine joined us in the hall

The organisers at the tea bar

The entrance to the hall

Gillian and Monica had recently had a significant birthday so we celebrated with champagne. Patrick does the honours

while in this shot Francis tackles the non-alcoholic alternative and we see the cork in mid air

The catering team of Alison and Dave ensured that dinner was up to the standard we had come to expect on the pilgrimage:

The post-dinner hymn singing session - photographer John