Pastel Shades

With a monsoon thundering down outside, and a day of appointments ahead capped by a Finance Committee meeting, I offer a picture taken in the calm of yesterday morning. It shows the Grand Organ, masked from the Cathedral nave by wooden shutters so as to preserve a Byzantine authenticity (Byzantine churches do not have organs!). Beneath stand the two blood-red pillars that flank the main entrance; a reminder of the dedication of the Cathedral to the Most Precious Blood of our Saviour, through which we must pass to be saved. You may also glimpse an Eric Gill station of the Cross, and our fine statue of St Peter, proclaiming our unity with Rome. It is, however, the lovely hues of the marble, drawn from the ancient quarries that furnished Haghia Sophia, that delight the eye.