Sunday 1 May 2011

Still sighing over the loveliness of the wedding, I made my way to the Abbey this afternoon, thinking I'd take a look at the flowers ...
And I had one of my Good Ideas.
I would assume a devout and respectable face and attend Evensong. (For which there is no absolutely-whopping admittance charge. As yet.)
Now ... could I really outsmart the CofE on its biggest money-spinning weekend for decades?
There were two queues winding around the Abbey ... credit cards to the right, cash to the left, and I reckoned the queue on either side was an hour long. If you were lucky.
And when I asked about Evensong, they said I'd be most welcome ... but it was in St Margaret's.
**@!** They're not daft, are they?
A nice verger was holding court outside, explaining that he wasn't the one who turned cartwheels.
I'm afraid for £16 and a hour's queuing, I'd expect tea with William and Kate thrown in.
Thirty years ago, after Charles and Di's wedding, I remember dropping into St Paul's to see the flowers in my lunch-hour from work. So there can't have been much of a queue.
Looking over my shoulder - in case the Wrath of God might smite me there and then - I nicked a white daisy. (The Wrath of God smote the daisy instead because despite my best efforts to preserve it, it turned brown and the petals fell off. And eventually I chucked it out.)
I would like to say here that I am now a reformed character. And hadn't the slightest intention of pilfering trees from the Abbey.
As soon as I saw them on telly, I thought ... that'll never fit in my handbag!

5 comments:

rachel said...

£16!! Outrageous. A couple of years ago my son and I decided against 'just popping in' because the entrance fee was £11 or so.

I can see why they charge, but quite so much????

(BTW, the very beautiful Durham Cathedral doesn't charge at all...)

mary said...

Rachel, I know they have the up-keep of the building but I also thought £16 was pushing it. You certainly wouldn't take a family.
I thought stuff it, and took myself off to the Wallace Collection. Which is free.

Lucille said...

I wouldn't have paid either. But hey. You breathed an atom or two of the same air as them for free!

Anonymous said...

Hehe, I very much enjoyed reading this post! I can imagine the queues were horrendous - and £16....!!

mary said...

Miranda and Lucille... Wait until the next instalment! Which I might write after I've had a sit down and a cup of tea!