There is a beautiful place, two minutes from Waterloo station, perfect for relaxing, enjoying beauty and being in touch with the broken reality of life.
It is the garden of St. John’s church, in whose crypt live many creative projects including the wonderful Southbank Mosaics.
We spend a lot of time on the South Bank – it is one of our favourite places to go as a family – and so we make the garden of St. John’s one of our pitstops on the way. The kids love it and I think it is extra special for its meaning. The garden is a favoured spot for some of London’s homeless. South Bank mosaics worked with some of those who use the garden and together a beautiful mosaic bench was created, to remember fellow homeless friends who had died. Special leaf tiles were created and the names of these friends written onto them and embedded in the bench. Beautiful.
Isabella and Toby love climbing up on the bench and Isabella decided she would balance on it and practice her ballet! She also took a photo of the owl next to it – here it is!
hi.as someone who used to sleep on the steps of st johns church.and gravel paths around the church…thankyou guizar
Thanks for getting in touch, guizar. It's such a beautiful bench and so meaningful. Take care.