London by Boat Songs of Praise

I've got the wind in my hair, the waves are gently lapping.

Join me on this special journey

as I uncover the stories, the people and the places

that have made London one of the greatest cities in the world.

Yes, it's time to mess around on the river.

I'm doing London by boat.

Coming up - along with the hymns this week,

we'll have stories from the UK's biggest city

and our music comes from some of London's finest churches,

and can you guess which bridge across the Thames

inspired the poet William Wordsworth?

At 215 miles long and flowing through nine counties of England,

the Thames is one of the most famous waterways in the world.

And for the millions of tourists who visit London every year,

no trip is complete without a sightseeing cruise

through the heart of the city.

You know, in all the years I've lived in London,

I've actually never been on a river cruise - I'm very excited.

Over the next half an hour, we'll be passing

some of London's most famous religious buildings.

It's rather apt that we start with the capital's oldest cathedral -

that's Southwark.

Every stretch of this river is a reminder of our history.

Its palaces, theatres

and churches have been places of inspiration for centuries.

I'm setting sail with Christopher Winn -

London resident and Thames enthusiast.

-Are you a big fan of the river?

-I love the river.

There's a most wonderful sense of openness

and peace and quiet on the river,

and you get a different perspective of all the landmarks.

Because the river was so important to the growth of London,

all the iconic sights, you can actually see from the river.

-I've never done this before.

-It's very exciting.

-Also, I've never been this close to Tower Bridge.

-There it is.

Possibly the most recognisable bridge in the whole world.

It's the only bridge over the Thames that opens, and of course,

it opens because when it was built,

the Pool Of London, which we're going through to now,

was still a very important working port,

and they had to get a lot of tall ships under here.

It used to open about 20 times a day and in fact, in 1952,

a number 78 bus was going across the bridge

when it began to open and he had no choice but to accelerate

and leap over the gap which he just made.

Fantastic.

One of the most celebrated sights from the river

is the Tower Of London.

Building was started by William the Conqueror in 1078

and it's perhaps one of the most famous prisons in the world.

-If you see there, that is Traitors' Gate.

-Oh, I see.

That's where people to be executed used to go into the tower and never come out again -

Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Sir Thomas More.

Of course, Sir Thomas More, once he'd been executed,

his head was put on a spike and put on London Bridge

and that's where we're heading now.

There have been lots of London Bridges since.

In 1014, when the city was owned by the Danes

or they occupied the city,

King Aethelred the Unready sailed his fleet up

and tied his boats to the wooden supports of London Bridge

and sailed away, bringing the bridge down behind him.

-That's where you get the nursery rhyme London Bridge Is Falling Down.

-Ah, right. I never knew that.

-I'll be singing that all day, now.

-I hope so.

And our next hymn comes from the Queen Elizabeth Hall,

a little bit further up.

Yes, that's further down in the Southbank Centre,

much of which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951,

and the Queen Elizabeth Hall was added in 1967, I think.

-It's a great venue.

-The Southbank Arts Centre is the biggest arts centre in Britain.

-Is it really?

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

# Just one voice

# Singing in the darkness

# All it takes is one voice

# Singing so they hear what's on your mind

# And when you look around

# You'll find there's more than one voice

# Singing in this darkness One voice

# Joining with your one voice One voice

# Each and every note another octave

# Hands are joined and fears unlocked

# If only one voice

# Started on its own

# We need just one voice

# Facing the unknown

# And then that one voice

# Would never be alone

# It takes just one voice

# Da, da, da, da, da, da, da

# Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

# Da, da, da, da, da

# Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

# One voice

# One voice

# Singing in the darkness

# All it takes is one voice

# Shout it out and let it ring

# Just one voice

# It takes that one voice

# And everyone

# Will sing... #

# One voice

# Singing in the darkness

# All it takes is one voice

# Shout it out and let it ring

# Just one voice

# It takes that one voice

# And everyone

# Will sing

# We will

# sing. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So, we've been under Tower Bridge, London Bridge

and now we're approaching what was Wobbly Bridge.

It will always be known as the Wobbly Bridge.

It's created a lovely space because it's connected the City

to the South Bank in a way that it wasn't before.

And again, that idea of ancient and modern.

You've got the Tate one side and St Paul's Cathedral the other.

Yes, Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece.

38 years it took to build

and he was 78 by the time it was finished in 1710.

Love the idea that it's right in the heart of London, as well.

It is. Very much so. It's been there since 604.

That's when the first cathedral was put there

and it's on Ludgate Hill which is the highest point in the city,

so it rises above the city

and you have this magnificent dome which is 365 feet high to the top.

I've been up it.

-It's a wonderful view.

-I could definitely feel my calves.

Indeed, it's quite a scary climb up there.

But also, it's a huge statement of faith, as well, isn't it?

God's here in this busy hustle and bustle.

Despite the fact that these modern buildings are around us,

it still rises above.

It's the first thing your eye is drawn to.

It reminds me of the difference between spiritual

and material wealth - that they work together.

St Pauls Cathedral is one of London's most iconic images,

dedicated to the saint without whom many believe

Christianity would never have become known to the Western world.

But who was St Paul?

2,000 years on, why is he still such an inspiration today?

St Paul came from an area we now know as eastern Turkey.

So, it's to Turkey that pilgrims travel to discover more

about the life of this man.

Last year, Pam joined a pilgrimage

to explore what remains of two cities Paul knew well -

Ephesus and Miletus.

Ephesus was really important for Paul.

He really wanted to get there. It was the largest metropolis around the Aegean - some 250,000 people.

Major trading port

and many people would be coming in to that city,

so he wanted to get there.

It was a strategic place and it was a really important part of his strategy.

He describes his ministry there

and it's clearly been really, really tough.

It is almost a near-death experience.

He also talks about having to face wild beasts in Ephesus.

Almost certainly that's a metaphor -

he's not literally facing wild beasts,

but it describes the opposition which he's under.

South of Ephesus along the coastal route is Miletus.

It was here that Paul bid an emotional farewell

to the leaders of the church in Ephesus.

It's been eye-opening for me to come to Turkey with a group of pilgrims

to follow in Paul's footsteps

and visit these ancient sights.

Paul travelled thousands of miles, but we've seen just a tiny fraction of the distances he covered.

I think he must have been a marvellous man.

We've been sitting in a coach

for four or five days already on this pilgrimage

and we've done such distances.

I don't know how he could have possibly done it by foot or on a donkey or whatever.

It certainly makes things come vividly alive

to stand where he stood and where the early Christians stood.

That's the Ionic Stoa there, where all the processions started.

The spate of all these trails and shipwrecks and beatings

and all that, he still pressed on towards the goal,

towards the prize, and the prize would be eternal life with Jesus.

It must have been an incredible journey

fraught with all kinds of dangers,

difficulties, problems, hardships along the way,

which Paul alludes to in some of his letters.

So, my admiration for him has increased

as we have traced some of his steps.

The account of Paul meeting the Ephesian elders in Miletus

is a very moving account in the New Testament.

It's described in Acts, chapter 20. Paul's speech is there.

It's moving because he knows that it's going to be his last time with them.

He's convinced that he's going up to Jerusalem

and then on to pastures new.

It's goodbye to all his seven years of working around the Aegean,

and he knows that hardship is awaiting him.

He's often going into places where the name of Christ has never been heard of before,

he's going into cities which are full of pagan culture,

and he's going almost single-handedly,

determined to bring a new message into that location,

convinced that God has done something in Jesus which is for all people.

I love this part of the Thames cos you've got the grandeur of St Pauls.

But, if I'm right, isn't that St Brides?

-That is indeed St Brides on Fleet Street.

-The tiny spire.

As you see, it's got a very distinctive shape.

In the 17th century,

a pastry cook who was working on Ludgate Hill opposite the church,

looked up at the spire

and got inspired to make a cake for his daughter's wedding,

and he made it in the shape of the spire

and that's why we have wedding cakes tiered like that,

in the same shape as that spire.

Of course, a very important wedding took place not far from here.

Indeed it did. Wasn't it a most marvellous day?

-That was showing London at its best.

-Absolutely.

We're so good at pomp and pageantry in London.

All the buildings lend themselves to this wonderful pageantry.

Does the Thames have a royal connection?

It has an incredible royal connection because

there are lots of palaces on the river,

going from Windsor to Whitehall

to Westminster Palace down to Greenwich, Richmond Palace,

and the kings and queens used to progress between their homes

in great state, in their state barges along the river

which was the safest and the quickest way to go.

Further upstream, Windsor is now home to the oldest

and largest inhabited castle in the world.

But, for visitors to the castle,

the real surprise is the magnificent St George's Chapel,

and it's the setting for our next piece of music.

# Oh, grant it, Heaven

# That our long woes may cease

# And Judah's daughters

# Taste the calm of peace

# Sons, brothers, husbands

# To bewail no more

# Tortured at home

# Or havocked in the war... #

# So shall the lute and harp awake

# And sprightly voice sweet descant run

# So shall the lute awake

# So shall the harp awake

# So shall the lute and harp awake

# And sprightly voice sweet descant run

# And sprightly voice

# Sweet descant run

# And spri-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah

# Ah, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

# Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ightly voice

# Sweet descant run

# Seraphic melody to make

# In the pure strains of Jesse's son

# Sera-ha-ah, ha-ah, ha-ah Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

# Ah-ah-phic melody to make

# In the pure strah-eh-eh-eh-eh

# Eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh Eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh

# Eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh Eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh

# Eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh strains

# In the pure strains of Jesse's son

# Sera-ha-ah, ha-ah, ha-ah Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

# Ah-ah-phic melody to make

# In the pure strains

# Of Je-eh, eh-eh, eh-eh Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh

# Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh

# Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

# Eh-eh, eh, eh-eh-eh

# Jesse's son. #

-And the view every tourist comes to London to see.

-Indeed.

There it is, Big Ben.

Probably the most famous clock in the world.

In fact, Big Ben refers only to the great bell of the great clock.

-OK.

-That is the actual bell is called Ben,

and it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall

who was the commissioner of works.

Or possibly, a story I prefer, it was named after Benjamin Caunt

-who was a heavyweight champion of the time whose nickname was Big Ben.

-Oh, really?

-Indeed.

What about the House Of Commons? Magnificent.

Magnificent Houses Of Parliament.

Of course, this is new, this was opened in 1852.

It's on the site of Edward the Confessor's

Palace Of Westminster, so it's known as the Palace Of Westminster -

the oldest royal palace in London.

And the big square tower, the other side, the Victoria Tower,

-was the tallest building in the world when it was first built.

-Really?

It was. Extraordinary.

It's got a copy of every single law and record that's been made

since the 11th century, inside it, now.

It's a sort of modern Tower Of Babel, you could call it.

-Do you know what? I'm glad I turned up today.

-So am I.

-I always enjoy telling these stories.

-It's a great story.

The building we see today was designed by Charles Barry,

after a fire broke out in 1834,

destroying almost all of the original Palace Of Westminster.

One of the few structures to survive was a glorious underground chapel.

St Mary Undercroft isn't normally open to the public

but it still holds regular services for MPs,

members of the House Of Lords and their families.

Last year, I met Lady Patricia Scotland,

who's a worshipper there.

-What a jewel this place is.

-It's absolutely beautiful.

It's a church right in the heart of Parliament

and it's just a pool of calm and an opportunity to come in prayer.

I think it's a very special space.

And it's really wonderful

because you see people that you never imagined would come

and go, "Oh, hello."

How do you feel when you're praying here?

Erm, really touched, actually,

because you have a clear understanding

that God is in the centre of all we're doing.

Every time Parliament starts the day, it starts with prayer.

Yeah, many people would imagine that, you know,

Parliament and God really wouldn't go hand in hand.

I think in this space,

there is no party, there's just one body

and that's the body of Christ and being able to acknowledge

that we're all part of it and we are all part of the solution

and there's a great deal we can do by working together.

Patricia Scotland's career reads as a series of firsts.

The first black woman to become a QC,

the first to become a government minister,

and the first female attorney general.

Born in Dominica and brought up in East London,

she didn't always feel quite so part of the establishment.

I was one of ten children,

and my mother was a very devout Catholic

and my father was an equally ardent Methodist.

And I think my parents found it quite hard

when they first came to England

cos at that stage, it wasn't necessarily as welcoming

as they thought it would be.

And their faith was a very strong part

of how they got through all of those things.

Some public figures find it difficult to own up to being a Christian, if you like.

Why do you think that is?

I think it's because it makes lots of people feel vulnerable,

and that you could be subject to attack.

There's a feeling that more might be expected of you

or that if you make decisions, people will challenge them

and look at them through the prism of the faith that you purport to have.

It's never really been an issue for you, though, has it?

No, no, it hasn't.

I think I've never hesitated from giving the credit where credit's due

and the credit always goes to God.

The things that I've done which are good,

I know have been through his grace.

The things that I've done that aren't so good,

I know they're usually down to me,

so faith has been very much part of the living, breathing fabric

of my life and who I am.

If I'd known we were coming this far up the Thames,

-we could have popped in to see my fellow Welshman at Lambeth Palace.

-Indeed.

There it is, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Since the year 1200, I think, was when they first moved there.

And in fact, I grew up there. I had spent some of my formative years there

-in the Cranmer Tower where Cranmer compiled the prayer book.

-Wow.

-I like to think that's where I get my writing skills from.

-Not a bad place to grow up, eh?

No, and it was next to the river, which is where my love for the river comes from.

-It's obvious that you really do love the Thames.

-I do.

I love the space, I love the open air,

there are so many fascinating characters and stories

and so many things I never knew about the River Thames,

that I love to learn. You can never learn enough about it.

I've learnt so much. I can't wait to bring my children.

-I'm going to be the font of all knowledge next to you.

-Indeed.

-It's been brilliant.

-Thank you. I've enjoyed it, too.

I always love it on the Thames.

I know that you've chosen a hymn for us, as well. What is it?

On a stormy day like this, it's quite relevant.

It's For Those In Peril On The Sea.

I come from a naval family, and of course,

an awful lot of people sailed down the Thames

to go across the world on perilous sea voyages

to discover America and Australia, so I think it's quite relevant

to be thinking for those in peril on the sea.

'Dear Father,

'give us the wisdom to ask for your mercy

'not just when the storm is raging, but also when the waters are calm.'

Help us to understand that peace and happiness come

not from having worldly riches,

but from having your love in our hearts.

And in days of doubt,

give us the courage to acknowledge your presence

and sing forth your praise.

Amen.

So, here we are at our journey's end.

Before we go our opposite ways, there is one question I want to ask.

-By all accounts, Wordsworth was inspired by one of the bridges we've been under.

-Indeed he was.

The view that inspired William Wordsworth to write the lines,

"Earth has not anything to show more fair,"

was the view of Westminster Bridge.

-I didn't win that bet. Thank you very much.

-My pleasure.

I don't know about you, but I've had a fantastic time

exploring some of these wonderful sights that London has to offer

from the mighty Thames.

We're going to end where we began at Southwark Cathedral

with an inspirational hymn of praise,

Angel-Voices Ever Singing.

Until next time, goodbye.

In next week's Songs Of Praise,

Irish singer Dana goes back to her home city

to explore her past.

And she uncovers some stars of the future.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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