There is really only one piece of news worth writing about this week.
With a mixture of relief, excitement and no small amount of exhaustion, my long-planned project to create audio tours covering every church, existing or vanished, within the City of London has finally moved to its next stage.
Just over a year ago the idea first occurred to me. At the time it seemed perfectly sensible. Looking back, I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking.
Since then there has been a great deal of walking, research, note-taking, head-scratching, stopping, starting, abandoning ideas and then starting all over again. What eventually emerged was not one tour but six separate tours, all of which have now been sent off to my editor. As I write this, I’m waiting with bated breath to hear what they think. Good or bad, I honestly don’t mind. The important thing is that the project keeps moving forward.
Without question, this has been the most challenging subject I’ve tackled since I began creating tours. Finding a way to make dozens of churches engaging, informative and occasionally amusing while also dealing with the practicalities of route planning has pushed me harder than I expected. There were several moments when I came very close to scrapping the entire thing. More than once the project found itself metaphorically in the bin, only to be rescued a few days later and approached with renewed determination.
So why persevere?
That is surprisingly difficult to answer. Somewhere along the way I realised that the City churches are, in many ways, the City of London in miniature. Their foundations, growth, disasters, rebuildings, triumphs and occasional struggles mirror the story of the City itself. Through them you can trace centuries of London history, from medieval merchants and Tudor intrigue to the Great Fire, the Blitz and modern-day finance.
Perhaps most importantly, you don’t need to be religious to find them fascinating. These buildings are packed with stories, remarkable characters and moments that helped shape London. The more time I spent uncovering those stories, the more convinced I became that other people would enjoy discovering them too.
With the first drafts now complete, the finish line is finally in sight. It’s been quite a journey already, but hopefully the most interesting part is still to come.
As you know, I haven’t made use of any of your tours yet. My infrequent visits to London tend to be family oriented (and south of the river at that!). But these sounds like a Must Explore, when they finally see the light of day