One of the hidden gems...

...of London is the garden at Brompton Oratory. It is used for First Communion celebrations, for the annual Summer Fete, for barbeques for the choir children, and so on. On ordinary days it is the haven of the Oratory Fathers, and they sit or pace and read. Today I was due at the Oratory to give a talk meeting in the Scout Hut - dedicated to St Michael and a proper traditional hut with a Union Jack and a nice little kitchen and a cosy atmosphere - and as I arrived early I wandered agreeably in the garden, with its magnificent trees and its old mellow walls and its happy memories...I was last here for the First Communion celebration of a godson, and before that a choir party for another godson... You feel you are in the very heart of London. The Victoria and Albert Museum is on on side, Holy Trinity Church (Anglican), known as "HTB" on the other, and the large Oratory House blocking out noise from the busy Brompton Road...