Suffragette walk

Today I had organised a walking tour around London to commemorate the centenary of the Suffragette movement when some women got the vote in 1918 (the vote was given to men aged 21 and over, whether or not they owned property, and to women aged 30 and over who resided in the constituency or occupied land or premises with a rateable value above £5, or whose husbands did). Our guide took us to many interesting places which were significant to the Suffragettes, including where the roller skated all night in a rink near Aldwych to avoid being included in the census at their homes. We stopped outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square where a Suffragette attacked a painting by John Millais with a meat cleaver as a way of protesting. It was there that I took this photo of St Martin-in-the -Fields, my favourite London church which was designed by James Gibbs in 1721.

We finished our tour at Westminster Hall where a new stained glass window called New Dawn was revealed on 7 June 2016, 150 years since the campaign for women's votes began. It was designed by artist Mary Branson and the hand blown glass scrolls that make up its dawning sun reflect the many individuals who were involved in the movement and the special contribution they made to modern democracy. It has the colours of the Suffragettes in it - purple, green and white. The glass discs are linked to the River Thames and light up as the tide rises - when we saw it it was low tide so not many discs were illuminated (see extra) 

I am off to book blub tonight so I had better go get supper ready.