Well, lots of people, it seems didn’t know much about it either. It is a memorial in the yard of Southwark Cathedral.

I also took my sketch pad with me and drew it. It is quite an easy piece to do even if I didn’t know too much about it.

An article I read a little about it later:-

“Buckingham Palace recently announced that Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by HRH, the Duke of Edinburgh, has graciously agreed to unveil the memorial sculpture for a young Mohegan chieftain (Sachem) Mohamet Weyonomon who died in 1763. The service and unveiling will take place on Wednesday 22 November 2006.

The sculpture, made from a granite boulder, will be sited at the centre of the grass in the south churchyard of Southwark Cathedral, where the ashes of members of the congregation who have died are interred. Although Mohamet died in the City of London foreigners could not be buried there and so he was buried in an unmarked grave in the grounds of Southwark Cathedral.

Carved by Peter Randall Page, who specialises in sculpting natural rocks, respecting their shape and form, the sculpture has been developed in response by Mohegan tribal leaders for a suitable memorial to the chieftain. A granite boulder from the tribal reserve was chosen as it is the tribal custom to name a boulder after a chieftain who dies”.

Apparently he helped the New England settlers although they took his land and refused to give it back.

Here’s more from CBS:-

 

“American Indians on Wednesday in paying tribute to a Mohegan chief who traveled to England centuries ago to complain directly to the king about British settlers encroaching on tribal lands.

Three tribesmen in turkey-feather headdresses lit a pipe filled with sweet grass and sage for a traditional burial ceremony for Mahomet Weyonomon, a sachem or leader, who died of smallpox in 1736 while waiting to see King George II. The tribal chief was buried in an unmarked grave in a south London churchyard.

“He didn’t have a proper funeral in our tribal tradition,” said Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum of Uncasville, Connecticut. “This is what we want to give him now.”

Weyonomon crossed the Atlantic in 1735 with a letter that painted a stark picture of life for a tribe whose land was “reduced to less than 2 miles square out of the large territories for their hunting and planting.”

Weyonomon wrote that, without the king’s help, his tribe would be “reduced to the miserable necessity of leaving their native lands.”

The story was all very intriguing so I will look out for more sculptures ‘hidden away’. I am quite interested in Native American history so it was a nice surprise to still see them stand up for themselves.

 The first Sunday in February is the annual clowns church service at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston, east London. Clowns attend a church service in memory of the clown Joseph Grimaldi. The clowns usually perform for the public after the church service. This has been an annual tradition since 1946. The service moved to Holy Trinity Church in 1959, and in 1967 permission was given for the clowns to attend in their costumes. 2009

Date and Time: Sunday 1 February 2009 at 3pm. Address: Holy Trinity Church Beechwood Road Dalston Hackney London E8 3DY

www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk , is a shop at 1 Russell Street, in Covent Garden is selling severed chocolate fingers, skeletons and sewer rats sweets.

I can’t wait to go there! Of course, I will just have to link to it.

I have added more on this on my other blog www.velochick.wordpress.com as I thought it was more of an Activist sort of thing but it is well worth a visit.

Here is a pic just to give you an idea of what to expect. More photos on Velochick.

Let  me know if you see it and what you thought of it.

More info

It’s called London Lore.. ‘the Legends and Traditions of the World’s Most Vibrant City’ and it tells you stories about London’s superstitions, and tales of witches and others who lived in it.. places that they used to visit perhaps, and which is now a tube station, and curious trees that suicides used to go to.

Here’s a little more about it:-

Few places are so steeped in folklore as London, a city with almost as many ancient legends and deep-rooted customs as it has streets and landmarks, and in London Lore leading folklorist Steve Roud brings together an astonishingly rich selection of them: tales of ghosts and witches, stories about fabled events, heroes and villains, and accounts of local superstitions and beliefs. His range extends right across the capital, from Hampstead in the north, where wild beasts were once thought to roam the sewers, to Anerley Wood in the south, haunt of the much feared Norwood Gypsies, and from Hounslow Heath with its notorious highwaymen to Bethnal Green, long associated with Earl Henry de Montfort, better known as the Blind Beggar.But London Lore does more than simply retell these stories and traditions; it also delves through layers of hearsay and speculation to investigate how and why they arose in the first place. In the process, it shows how the familiar story of Dick Whittington and his cat has connections with the ancient Middle East. It explains why lions rather than ravens at the Tower of London were once felt to be inextricably bound up with the city’s fate.It pinpoints precisely where the story of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, was first recorded. And it explores the origins of the once widespread custom of handing out ‘farthing bundles’ of ribbons, buttons and beads to poor children in the East End. Some of these stories and beliefs are shown to have their origins in actual historical events; others to have stemmed from contemporary preoccupations and fears. What they all reveal is the powerful hold that London has exerted on the popular imagination over the centuries, as each successive generation has reshaped existing tales and added new ones of its own.

The Hardback is £20 (but Tesco sell it for £13) and the paperback is about £8.99 from Amazon, although it hasn’t come out yet. I think having a copy of the book would make a cycle ride round London even more exciting.  I think I will get the paperback, as it is something that looks like it should be in my Permanent Collection in my bookshelf.

This place was overlooking the Thames. Very quiet, nice balcony. I found it by  London Bridge (or you can walk behind Kings College London, The Strand.

A new one has been fitted as most have £10 only and this is great for anyone affected by the ‘credit crunch’.

One of the things I love about London is the history, and when you cycle around, you can learn more about the history of place. I will write a few more historical background stories to the streets.

Ebury Street, near Victoria Station, was named after Eubery Farm, which had 450 acres (now you can hardly believe there used to be farms in Central Victoria.  The name derives from the Saxon ey (water) and burgh (a fortified place).

Westferry Road, London

It’s a mad mad world eh!

 

I saw this great sign along the Westferry Road, in London today.