Methodist Central Hall

Good Friday 2010

Good Friday 2nd April 2010 I went to London first for the annual procession on Victoria Street in Westminster and later for the first Passion Play to be produced in Trafalgar Square since 1965.

Crucifixion on Victoria St

Westminster

There are three major Christian churches on or around Victoria Street in Westminster, Methodist Central Hall, the Catholic Westminster Cathedral and Anglican Westminster Abbey, and for some years there has been a procession, ‘The Crucifixion on Victoria Street’ up and down the street between them.

The procession included clergy and people from other churches and organisations in the area. It was led by a large wooden cross carried by men from The Passage, a project for homeless people. Following this were around 500 people including members of The Passage, children from St Vincent de Paul Primary School, the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Duncan Sandys as well as Westminster clergy and members of various congregations.

It began outside Methodist Central Hall before making its way up Victoria St to Westminster Cathedral where on the plaza outside the cathedral it was met by the Most Reverend Vincent Nicholls, Archbishop of Westminster. He became the third Archbishop of Westminster I’ve photographed on these steps.

After hymns, a bible reading by The Reverend Philip Chester, Vicar of St Matthew’s Westminster, a mediation by the Reverend Martin Turner from Methodist Central Hall, a prayer by Mr Mick Clarke, CEO of The Passage and a reflection on peace by the Archbishop the procession went back along Victoria Street for a service in Westminster Abbey, but I left them to get out of the rain then falling steadily.

Crucifixion on Victoria St

The Passion of Jesus

Trafalgar Square

*Jesus’s body taken down from the cross*

Trafalgar Square was packed for the The Passion of Jesus, the first Passion Play there since 1965, performed by around 150 devout Christians and a donkey by a group based on the Wintershall estate in Surrey.

Property developer Peter and Ann Hutley, owners of the 1,000 acre estate and retreat centre began staging religious events after a visit to the Catholic pilgrimage centre of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning with a Nativity event in a barn they had just bought in 1989.

They first staged ‘The Life of Christ’ on their estate in 1999, a five or six hour open air production around a lake in the grounds, with over a hundred actors as well as camels and a flock of sheep.

The ‘Passion of Jesus’ in Trafalgar Square was on a slightly reduced scale, but still very impressive and colourful, and a dramatic rendition of the traditional story from the four gospels, with some touches of added spectacle.

As I reported, “Although the flogging of Jesus occurred off-stage and the sound effects were rather unconvincing, the crucifixion that followed was a pretty gory sight.

As in the Gospel narrative, the Jewish hierarchy of the time was typecast as villains, perhaps too typecast, and the resurrection too presents some dramatic problems.”

Wintershall stages performances elsewhere – and I photographed their Staines Passion at Easter in 2014. There is another Passion of Jesus in Trafalgar Square tomorrow, Good Friday 3rd April 2026, with two free performances at 12 noon and 3:15 pm open to all. You can also watch it on Youtube if you can’t get there in person.

Many more pictures from 2010 on My London Diary: The Passion of Jesus.

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Santas, Education, Nativity 2014

Santas, Education, Nativity – London was getting into the Christmas spirit on Saturday 6th December 2014, with boozy hordes of Santas on the streets and a Fossil Free Nativity Play in Westminster. But a national day of education activism against tuition fees had also been called and I photographed a march in south London.

South London March for Free Education – Clapham

There was a disappointing turnout for the march against tuition fees which gathered outside Lambeth College facing Clapham Common.

It perhaps wasn’t a good day to have called for a protest, as many students will already have left London to go home for the Christmas break, and others will have been busy with other things including Christmas shopping. And I’m sure there will have been rather more running around the capital in Santa costumes for Santacon.

The marchers included people from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, Lambeth Left Unity and South London Defend Education. This was one of a number of events taking place that day across the country including others around London.

I walked a short distance with the march taking a few photographs before leaving them to take the tube to Westminster. They were marching to a rally in Brixton where they expected rather more to attend.

A few more pictures at South London March for Free Education.

Fossil Free Nativity – Churches Divest! – Broad Sanctuary

Christian Climate Action and Occupy organised an entertaining performance of a Fossil Free Nativity Play between Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall, part of a continuing campaign to get churches to disinvest from fossil fuel companies.

Among the members of the cast were Wesley Ingram who wrote the play and performed as the Angel Gabriel, and George Barda of Occupy who played Joseph with his child as the baby Jesus.

Few of the actors had seen the script before the performance and the costumes and props were interesting rather than authentic – perhaps the best being the headgear for the Roman soldiers.

Their was some lively music from violin and trumpet and at the end of the performance everyone posed behind the banners calling for the churches to divest from fossil fuels. But there was no sign of the clergy from either Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall,

More at Fossil Free Nativity – Churches Divest!.

Santacon

Around a thousand young people in Santa suits, along with the odd elf, reindeer and other Christmas-themed costumes were milling around the edge of Clapham Common for the start of day-long alcohol-fuelled crawl through London (with a little help from public transport.)

Similar groups were starting from meeting points in East and North London and they hoped to meet up later in the day at Marble Arch or Hyde Park, though I think for many the festivities would end in Trafalgar Square.

Later in the day I met up with rather more of the Santas coming from North London close to Great Portland Street station, by which time they were rather merrier. I also met a couple of photographer friends who had also come to take pictures. Most of the Santas were keen to be photographed and quite a few also got me to take pictures on their phones, though I found that rather beyond me. I hope a few worked.

I went with them along to Baker Street taking pictures and later in the day wrote:

Thousands in Santa suits and other Xmas deviations, police trying hard to keep smiling, cans of beer, doubtfully soft drinks, just a few Brussel sprouts in the air, crowded bars, sprawling mass of mainly young people having fun on the streets of London. Santacon.

It was getting dark and although I could still work it meant using flash and I didn’t feel the results were as good. I left them there to make my way to join my two friends who by then were sitting in one of the nicest pubs in the area and was delighted to find a pint waiting for me on the table.

Many more pictures at
Santacon Start in Clapham
Santacon North London

Christmas Is Coming – 2014

Three of the four posts I made on December 6th 2014 had a Christmas theme, with two of them around the then annual Santacon event in London. In 2014, around a thousand Santas were gathering on Clapham Common and more at two other locations in East and North London, along with the odd elf, reindeer to start to a day-long alcohol-fuelled crawl through London, eventually meeting up somehere in the centre of the city in the early evening.

I followed them for a short distance, but I’d actually come to Clapham for an entirely different event, the South London March for Free Education, part of a national day of education activism against tuition fees, where students and supporters including Lambeth Left Unity and South London Defend Education were meeting to march to a rally in Brixton.

It was a rather smaller march than anticipated – perhaps many students were in Santa costumes on another event, or busy with Christmas shopping but I marched around a mile with them taking pictures before getting the tube into Central London.

The Fossil Free Nativity – Churches Divest! in the area between Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall was organised and performed by Christian Climate Action and Occupy London, and was an entertaining if rather amateur performance starring Westley Ingram who wrote the play and performed as the Angel Gabriel, and George Barda of Occupy who played Joseph with his child as the baby Jesus. It was part of a continuing campaign to get churches to disinvest from fossil fuel companies.

From Westminster I set off in a bus towards north London in search of Santas, jumping off when I saw a red cloud of them in the distance. Or rather ringing the bell and fortunately it was not far from a stop where the driver would open a door. I don’t at all mind wearing a mask for Covid, but still feel something of a loss of freedom over the loss of open-door hop-on, hop-off buses.

Thousands in Santa suits and other Xmas deviations, police trying hard to keep smiling, cans of beer, doubtfully soft drinks, just a few Brussel sprouts in the air, crowded bars, sprawling mass of mainly young people having fun on the streets of London. Santacon!

I’d met a couple of photographer friends also out photographing the Santas and they packed up and left as the light fell, while I continued working with flash for another quarter of hour or so, until a phone call alerted me to a pint awaiting me in a local pub. I’d been photographing people drinking for hours but all that had passed my lips to that point was water, and I was ready to break that particular fast with a little Christmas celebration.

Santacon North London
Fossil Free Nativity – Churches Divest!
South London March for Free Education
Santacon Start in Clapham