How are these biscuits connected to the church below?
From www.lookitcookit.tumblr.com
The top picture shows a plate of English biscuits: chocolate and plain digestives, custard creams, ginger nuts and bourbons, with a few odd pieces of lemon cake. The photo below shows the church where this snack was served.
I have to admit here that this post really has little to do with food. The biscuits were served with coffee in one of the oldest churches in London, St. Clement Danes, situated in the City of Westminster, outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand.
The church is sometimes claimed to be the one connected with the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’ and when I arrived the bells were actually playing the tune associated with it.
I was invited (with many other residents of my local borough Westminster) to celebrate with some of the original officers and men of the Royal Air Force. We were all there to commemorate the centenary of the RAF.
Inside the church, with its ornate baroque celing, we heard the history of the airmen who played such an enormous part in the defence of Britain during the war. We also learned about the origin of the building.
Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren (the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral). The Wren building was gutted during the Blitz in the 2nd World War but in 1958 it was restored to its original magnificence and designated the central church of the Royal Air Force.
Outside is a statue of Sir Arthur Harris, the Marshall of the Royal Air Force at the time. Below his name are these words:
“In memory of a great commander and of the brave crews of bomber command, more than 55,000 of whom lost their lives in the cause of freedom. The nation owes them an immense debt.”
For anyone old enough to remember the wartime, this was a moving event - one that was followed by a delicious and elegant lunch held at the RAF Club in nearby Piccadilly.
