
The switch-on took place on 13 December - St Lucy’s Day - which is celebrated as the Festival of Lights in Scandinavia. It’s meant to bring hope and light during the darkest time of the year, and we thought that it was a really appropriate day to do the switch-on of the illumination of these two lovely figurines. So these two very special Blue Coat figurines on the Old School House in the historic St Mary’s conservation area in Rotherhithe are now illuminated every evening from dusk until 11pm, for everyone to enjoy and admire. Come and take a look one evening if you are nearby! As you can imagine it is hugely exciting for us to actually have this standalone element of the overall Rotherhithe Illuminated! legacy lighting scheme installed at long last, after more than 5 years of planning, fundraising and many pandemic-associated obstacles. Now we are working flat out in the hope that we will be able to deliver Phase 2 of the Rotherhithe Illuminated! legacy lighting project - St Mary’s spire+clock faces and Master Christopher Jones’ memorial - before 5th March 2022, the 400th anniversary of Master Jones’ burial in the churchyard in 1622. We have approximately 40% pledged so far of the £36k needed to deliver this key element of the wider RI! project, and the spire and clock faces are of course regarded as the centrepiece of the scheme, as they can be seen clearly at night from the river, from Tower Bridge and from London Bridge. Renewed thanks to all our generous supporters for helping us get this far with the project, despite all the many unexpected setbacks along the way. Best wishes from us to you for the festive season and for a happy and healthy 2022. Clare and the Rotherhithe Illuminated! project team se16.ri@gmail.com