John J. Fox

This now grade two listed elegant cast bronze statue was originally funded by a Liberal Party politician Archibald Philip Primrose and finally unveiled in October 1899. It underwent extensive restoration work in 2008 which was completed for the 350th anniversary of Cromwell's death in 1658. Indeed the suitably elevated "Lord Protector" stares benignly down at onlookers from his Portland stone plinth with a resting lion at its base watching warily on. A source of heated debate and controversy, this legendary statesman nevertheless has left his mark in history and uniquely oversaw an eleven year end to the British Monarchy which was vexingly restored in 1660.

An elegant protectively roofed marble monument by Gustav Eberlein commissioned in 1901. The resplendent seated figure of Richard Wagner symbolically reposes over Wolfram von Eschenbach, Tannhauser, Alberich, Brunhilde and Siegfried at its base, all various characters from his musical works. Having survived World War Two unscathed it nevertheless went through restoration work during the nineteen eighties.

It was a solemn pilgrimage for me to visit the Jan Palach and Jan Zajic memorials in Prague's famous Wenceslas Square, particularly a flame warped bronze cross embedded in the cobblestones symbolically marking the tragic act of self immolation. Hauntingly that single event in 1969 followed by other protest actions against the oppressive effects of foreign totalitarian occupation resonates powerfully down through time to the present day. Indeed yet another malovelent regeme from that part of Europe which originally compromised Czech freedom, now attempts to enslave the independent sovereign nation of Ukraine!

A catastrophic chapter in Ukrainian history instigated by persecutive Stalinist ideology. To visit this Holomodor memorial is a solemn heartrending and deeply reflective experience. Visually stark and impressive, it engulfs and captivates ones senses back to that tragic time. Death by starvation was the grim "harvester" of millions of innocent souls whose memory burns with the torch of patriotism in the hearts of surviving generations. Now witness the past repeating itself as Russian expansionist totalitarianism has unleashed a new horror on the sovereign nation of Ukraine, namely invasion. "Khay zhyve Ukrayina, khay zhyve svoboda i demokratiya"!