It was a full day yesterday. After some commitments in the morning, we took the train to London and headed to the South Bank where we spent time at a festival style event to launch 'just walk to Jerusalem'. Walkers set off across Europe, via refugee camps, to arrive in Jerusalem on 3 November. This marks the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. One with unfulfilled obligations which have been shamefully ignored. We were reunited with some of our house rebuild pals, made new friends, enjoyed wonderful music from 47soul, sat in the sun, and wished that it would be possible for us to join the walkers.
Some beautiful words sent them on their way.
".... walk softly upon the earth.
May its beauty surround you
May its wisdom delight you,
Its music invite you
May you love and be loved,
May you know peace and practice compassion."
These were spoken outside Southwark Cathedral, just meters away from the still closed Borough Market where one week ago to the day, people were horrifically and brutally murdered. We stopped in silence to respect and reflect. it has been a very long week in the UK.
My husband and I shared some precious time with friends new and old, before walking on along the Thames walk to Rotherhithe and then moving on to East London for my cousin's 65th birthday party.
Beyond tower bridge, the Thames Walk is devoid of the average tourist and yet still full of interest. We shall return. This view, taken from the docks along the Thames tidal riverbank shows Canary Wharf, and St Mary's church Rotherhithe to the right.
The text is beautiful in word and meaning, and ends:
Rejoice in the earth and all of creation.
Rejoice in life.
Walk softly upon the earth..
take care Helen, i wish you well in this endeavour.
love that great cityscape with it's myriad cranes and derricks pointing upwards. The fencing around the 'works' feels like a barrier which shall not be crossed..
i really like that you've captured differing styles/sizes of buildings, it lends a sense of depth and tells stories of change and ambition.
Living in London, the first thing I notice in your pictures are the cranes. They are so prevalent that I see them every single day and have come to see the beauty in them. Haven't heard of this walk and don't recall anything be mentioned on local news either, but I could have missed it. I like all the different styles of architecture in this shot, from the high rise glass fronted modern office blocks to the brick houses/apartment buildings beneath.
@rvm@helenm2016 I have been poor at responding to comments. I hope you get the chance to do your own exploring on this walk some time having gone to the trouble to look it up. @dizzyd thanks Helen @jorlam I wonder how you knew the full extent of the text. I have all the words. What a great message they convey. Thank you for your considered and careful commenting :) @olivetreeann thanks Ann. I was pleased to show the industrial side too. @ethelperry thank you. I am so glad. @onewing you are right. it is difficult to avoid high emotion over here at the moment. @ivan thanks Ivan.
June 19th, 2017
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I googled your walk - I hope it gets a lot more exposure by the press!
Rejoice in the earth and all of creation.
Rejoice in life.
Walk softly upon the earth..
take care Helen, i wish you well in this endeavour.
love that great cityscape with it's myriad cranes and derricks pointing upwards. The fencing around the 'works' feels like a barrier which shall not be crossed..
i really like that you've captured differing styles/sizes of buildings, it lends a sense of depth and tells stories of change and ambition.
@dizzyd thanks Helen
@jorlam I wonder how you knew the full extent of the text. I have all the words. What a great message they convey. Thank you for your considered and careful commenting :)
@olivetreeann thanks Ann. I was pleased to show the industrial side too.
@ethelperry thank you. I am so glad.
@onewing you are right. it is difficult to avoid high emotion over here at the moment.
@ivan thanks Ivan.