The Photo was taken at The Guild Hall in the City Of London in the summer of '71.The occasion is the wedding of Claus Friehe and Barbara Thierfelder.They both worked with me at Carter Lane Youth Hostel. You can See Me In The Photo[ Or the top of my head at least......2nd left;back row;behind the Japanese lady].
The people in attendance were a mix of Youth Hostel workers &USA hostellers .
If your a resident of The City,The Guildhall is where Registry Office marriages are held . I guess this was a pretty "far-out" wedding by City standards!
"The City " is home to Big Business:The Stock Exchange & was,in 1971, still The HQ of the British Press on Fleet Street.It's a State-within-a-State.To this day it still has it's own Police Force & undemocratic political system.A secular Vatican for Fat Cats.
The Youth Hostel itself is just across the road from St Pauls Cathedral.
I told this blog about some of my personal experiences in an old post entitled "how I lost my innocence & virginity on the roof of St.Paul's Cathedral Choirboys School....."
St Pauls has been much in the News recently due to the Occupy London Movement.You can read about the ongoing Occupation here
Of Course I fully Support Them......by the way, I was gobsmacked to learn that these days St Pauls charges £14.50p per person to enter the Cathedral!Obscene.
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28 comments:
In Krakow, they charge to enter St. Mary's Church on the main market square, so we passed.
ugh..yeah we have similar places that have jacked the prices to almost unaccessibility...
The Idea of Pay-Per-Pew doesnt sit well with me either....Incidently , the last time I went there, The Blue Mosque in Istanbul does not charge visitors.
interesting post. i'll have to go back to read what happened on that roof.
Tony - hilarious - pay per pew. that cracked me up.
Nancy
http://ladiesofthegrove.blogspot.com/
For a moment I thought it was an out of focus Stephen Fry on the left of the picture.
At that price I guess I'll never se the inside of St Pauls.
I dig those guitars!
Great Sounds! Great soulful music!
I never heard cold specks before. Thank you for the introduction.
The coffers are swelling in many places of worship, now. The cathedrals at Salisbury and Winchester are no exception.
First heard the Hot Club of Cowtown on an Andy Kershaw programme, a few years ago. Try to catch Old Crow Medicine Show next time around. Saw them at the Cambridge Festival about five years ago. They were the business.
Most places charge to get in these days :(
Your hair looks long on that photo Tony!
oh Akelamalu.A Proper Hippy ,me!Check The Evidence !
Tony I learn something new everytime I visit you. Thank you for the intro to musicians I’d never heard of before. I have to say though that quirky wedding photo is great.
THAT'S YOU?!?!?!?...
ROTFLMAO!!!!
good one though...
:)~
HUGZ
I used to live almost next door to Winchester Cathedral and it infuriated me that they charged an entrance fee. I found the back door.
Now I live near Canterbury but I'm still exploring....
Great photo. '71 was a very good year...we were all hippies back then. I have pictures with long, straight hair and huge bell bottoms : )
I enjoyed 'Cold Specks' video very much. Such an awesome voice. And 'Hot Club of Cowtown' look like very shiny, happy people...as REM would say.
I like the long hair for the era, but the short crop looks dashing Mr.Z :)
Pay-per-pew... yes, that is one I will steal for the future. Our churches aren't charging yet - but it is going that way.
I like that Pay-per-pew too. LOL Those artists are unknown to me. Glad to know they were all happy. I am a rusty oldie.
QMM
"how I lost my innocence & virginity on the roof of St.Paul's Cathedral Choirboys School....." has to be one of the best blog post titles ever. I can't believe I missed it when you first published it. I have made up for it now.
Oh, I have to read that old post of yours, the title is truly intriguing.;))
As for the smile, I am 100% Slavic and I am not worried to show my teeth.;) Hehe.;)
Hope you had a great weekend Tony.;)
xoxo
It seems extraordinary to me that one would have to pay to enter a church. I'm not religious, but how do they expect to attract new members at that rate!
Tony,
Thanks for introducing me to some excellent music and new artists. I, too, am intrigued by your reference to both St. Paul's and smiling Russians and Germans. Maybe that is why my Polish prof never smiled ....
good post like it.
Agree re outrageous charges to enter St Pauls. Any church that levies a compulsory charge for entry no longer counts as a church - or at least has wandered far from any kind of righteous path.
Asking for an optional donation is fine.
They may argue with some justification that they'll make far less cash for repairs etc. True. That's the price you pay for being a place of worship open to all seeking souls - you lose a bit on the money side.
Unless money is more important to you...
I'm sitting a few minutes walk from the city places you mention. All I can hear is helicopters (student demonstration walking into a pile of overkill)
The Last Time I Was In London Was For the 400000-strong TUC March Earlier in this Year.
in 1971 i went on the OZ Magazine Trial March
All That Walking! & Things Just Get Worse...........
I just had to read about how you lost your virginity and then I stayed to read about your trippy days, too. "Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days..."
Psychedelic hillbillies... Mmmm. intriguing.
I was a teacher once upon a time, but realized I didn't want to spend so much time managing other people's lives, keeping them in line. I had enough to do keeping myself in line....
great sounds, all great stuff..and I and my daughter are thankful to all the people who run the youth hostels...she stayed in many during her highschool and college trips abroad! Bravo to them and you one for all!
Wow, 14.50...that is indeed pay per pew.
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