We went on a sunny afternoon expedition to the Ragged School Museum, which was, as always, both educational and moving, witnessing the plight of the poor children who were photographed before their death from TB:-

BUT

There are problems with their disabled access, surprising in such a recent project funded by the HLF.  Ground level access is fine; but the lift is too small and nearly impossible to get into for a large wheel chair.

I would not comment except it is slightly too common.  I know how it happens.  The architect – or the project architect – will have said that the lift meets minimum requirements.  The client will have been keen to save money.  Lifts are by far the biggest cost of any restoration project.  So HLF will have passed it.  But they shouldn’t.  Because now it’s been installed, it will never be replaced, thereby making it impossible for large wheelchairs to go upstairs – or downstairs to the excellent café.

I went on a Wren tour organised by Open City, seeing some churches which I should have known, but didn’t, starting with the surviving church tower of St. Dunstan-in-the-East:-

St. Margaret Pattens:-

A detail from the Monument:-

We stopped for coffee at St. Mary Woolnoth:-

St. Michael’s, Paternoster Royal:-

And the tower of St. James Garlickhythe:-

There were more, but I had to peel off.

I have been asked if I am doing any talks about Vanbrugh and the answer is, yes, in particular one for the Georgian Group in late April (https://georgiangroup.org.uk/event-directory/lecture-john-vanbrugh-the-drama-of-architecture/), but also another for the Simonsbath Festival if you happen to be in deepest rural Devon in mid-May (https://www.simonsbathfestival.org.uk/events).