On Tuesday, I was invited along to a Christmas carols concert at Southwark Cathedral. This was sponsored by 'Feed the Minds' charity who support education for disadvantaged people so that they can better their lives and the lives of others. The service included a stop off at Bread Ahead Bakery in Borough Market, next door to the cathedral, for mulled wine and mince pies.
On our walk across London Bridge, I noticed that the Shard was lit up for the holiday season. It would transform from solid white to solid green to solid red and then to white, red, and green at once.
The first stop off was Bread Ahead bakery, a favourite of Borough Market. We had mulled wine and mince pies while we waited for the carols.
The service was packed, so we had to get one of the seats on the transcept for a side-on view, which meant that I could not take any photographs during the service as there was not anything that interesting to photograph, and the carollers formed a semi-circle and had their backs to the transcepts.
The carollers sang some songs on their own, and we were also encouraged to sing other songs. The songs included a mix of Christmas hymns from other countries as well as religious and traditional favourites such as "We Three Kings", "O Come All Ye Faithfull", "The Holly and the Ivy", and "Hard the Herald Angels Sing" before we finished with the favourite and catchy tune of "Jingle Bells".
At the end, we were each presented with a beautiful ornament hand-made by South Indian women that had been supported by the 'Feed the Minds' charity. The ornaments were made with palm leaves and came in different shapes and sizes and colours. They reminded me of bows.
I have never been to a Christmas carol service in London before, but it is a fun way to celebrate the Christmas season and see the cathedral decorated for Christmas. Many charity carol events and carol-singing in general can be enjoyed at several cathedrals across London over the Christmas season.
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