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Good Friday – 2007

Good Friday: On Friday 6th April 2007 I got up early and took a train to London to photograph several of the Christian walks of witness and other events taking place around London. The accounts and pictures of my day are still on My London Diary, but rather hidden away. So here is what I wrote (with the usual minor corrections) in 2007, with a few of the pictures and links to the rest.

Good Friday Walk of Witness: North Lambeth

My day started in North Lambeth at 10am, where Churches Together gathered for a short service in the gardens at the front of the Imperial War Museum, before their walk of witness through the locality.

After a short services in a council estate, and the small neighbourhood park they met with others from St Johns, Waterloo for a service on the concourse of Waterloo Station, where I left them.

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Distribution of the Butterworth Charity

St Bartholemew the Great, Smithfield

A number 4 bus took me close to London’s oldest church, St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield, where the Butterworth Charity was to be distributed.

A member of the publishing company gave money in 1887 to ensure the continuation of the established custom of providing 6d (increased to 4 shillings in the 1920s) to 21 poor widows of the parish, and buns to children who came to watch the proceedings.

This year, no poor widows declared themselves and the buns were shared by all present.

Even the workers on the street next to the church.

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Good Friday Procession: St Mary’s Islington

I left before the end of the service at St Bartholomews and despite just missing a bus and a long wait, caught the end of the procession through Islington to St Mary’s Church.

At first I failed to notice the large crowd making it’s way along the busy pavement rather than the road, and the noisy surroundings drowned out the two drums behind the bloody carrier of the Cross at its head.

One of the women in the crowd behind had the best Easter Hat I met on the day, which contrasted rather with the sober black of her Ggreek friend.

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Good Friday Open Air Service

Upper Holloway Fellowship of Churches, The Mall, Archway

Another bus took us to Archway. However it was held up in the queue of traffic behind the march there, so I arrived just as the service was starting.

Perhaps 200 people had assembled and a lively service followed. The singing improved when the generator ran out of petrol, and I felt moved to join in.

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City, Thames & Borough Market

From Archway I took several buses to meet up with a friend in Borough Market, which in the past 10 years has transformed itself from dying old-fashioned fruit and veg business to catering for the an affluent mainly young ‘foody’ market. There is an incredible range of produce on sale now, and some at incredible prices. Some great stuff, some at surprisingly reasonable prices, but plenty of ripoff also.

*Windsor Boat Club Easter Cruise, Slave replica ship ‘Zong’ and the Tower of London.*

I’d come here mainly to meet one of my friends who was photographing the would-be trendy young who where fluttering around its flame. But it wasn’t really my thing, and the Nikon I use wasn’t really the right tool for the job.

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This was the end of what I wrote in My London Diary, and there are many more pictures on the links above. We soon get fed up with Borough Market and made our way to a nearby pub before going home.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

October Plenty & Martyrdom of Ali – 2005

October Plenty & Martyrdom of Ali: On Sunday 23rd October 2005 I photographed two very different cultural events in London, October Plenty, a theatrical harvest festival event on Bankside and in the afternoon a Shia Muslim annual mourning event in London to mark the Martydom of Ali, the cousin of the prophet Muhammad. Again I’ll share the text and pictures from My London Diary, with a few corrections to case, spelling etc.

October Plenty: The Lions Part – Globe Theatre & Bankside

The Lions Part is a group of actors who came together in the Original Shakespeare Company but now pursue independent professional careers in theatre and TV etc , but work together on various projects including three regular celebrations on Bankside in co-operation with the Globe Theatre.

One of these is October Plenty, loosely based on traditional English harvest festivities and particularly celebrating the apple and grain harvest.

Characters in the procession include the Green Man (or Berry Man), the Hobby Horse and a large Corn Queen stuffed with fruit and veg. Not to mention a violin-playing Dancing Bear and other musicians and more characters who take part in several plays and performances in various locations.

The day started in front of the Globe Theatre with the bear, then the procession came and led us into the Globe Theatre, where they gave a short performance before we went through the streets to Borough Market where further plays and games were scheduled. I decided it was time for lunch and left at this point.

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The Martydom Of Ali – Hub-e-Ali, Marble Arch

Hub-e-Ali organise an annual mourning program in London to mark the Martydom of Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first person to embrace Islam, who was martyred in 660CE in Kufa, Iraq.

Ali was struck by a poisoned sword while leading dawn prayers in the mosque, and died two days later. The event and its consequences continue to divide Muslims down to the present day.

Many (and not only Muslims) have regarded Ali as the model of a just Islamic ruler, working to establish peace, justice and morality.

The procession both marks the killing of Ali and also looks forward to the day when a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad will return to be the saviour of the world.

It also celebrates the duty of the followers of Islam to speak out against oppression and immorality, and to live pious lives in solidarity with the oppressed.

To show their sorrow, those taking part in the mourning parade (Jaloos) recite eulogies about Ali and beat their breasts (Seena Zani.) A coffin (Taboot) is carried as a part of the procession, along with symbolic flags. There is also a long session of recitations before the parade.

more pictures

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Borough Market & Apprentice Boys – 2006

Borough Market & Apprentice Boys: On Saturday 21st October I went to the 250th anniversary celebrations at Borough Market and then to a march celebrating the closing by apprentices of the gates of Derry to the forces of King James II in 1688 which led to the siege of Derry the following year. Here are my accounts of both events from My London Diary in 2006 with a few minor alterations to make them more readable and links to more pictures on the site.

Borough Market: 250th Anniversary – Southwark

Borough Market started with the Romans a couple of thousand years ago, and around a thousand years ago was thriving on and around London’s only bridge across the river Thames. In the next few centuries it moved a little south into Borough High Street, and in 1550 received a royal charter, although like all London markets it was under the control of the City of London.

Increased congestion in Borough High Street lead to the first of nine Acts Of Parliament about the market’s activities in 1754, which moved it out of the road a few yards west to its present site. The agreement with the city authorities, which established the new market was made 250 years ago in 1756. Every year the Lord Mayor of London visits the market and collects fruit for the poor. It is now the only remaining wholesale and retail market in London.

The market is now officially a charity, but has always existed to support the residents of St Saviour’s Parish. Any surplus made by the market now goes to Southwark Council and the residents of the former parish get a rebate on their council tax.

The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers have also been celebrating the 400th anniversary of their Royal Charter in 1605. They had been inspecting (and levying duty) on London’s fruit and veg since 1292 or earlier, and received ordinances in 1463.

Until recently, Borough Market was a wholesale market, but its small size and transport problems meant that ten years ago it was almost empty and in a very poor state. Since then it has grown as a retail site for high quality food and drink, with many small specialist suppliers, as well as other small businesses. Two small parts of the site have been sold to provide money to rebuild and improve the market.

The Lord Mayor arrived with a small guard of pikemen and there were a few speeches. The fruiterers provide fresh fruit for a number of shelters for the homeless. The Lord Mayor and his party then toured the market, which had some fine displays of produce as well as its normal superb foods.

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Apprentice Boys of Derry March – Westminster

The Apprentice Boys Of Derry is a protestant organisation dedicated “to maintaining the spirit of liberty” displayed by the 13 apprentices who closed the gates of the city to the approaching army of the Catholic King James II in 1688. He demanded that the city surrender, receiving the now famous reply “No surrender!” The association which now organises parades to commemorate this was founded in 1814.

As well as in Derry itself, there are Apprentice Boys Clubs around the world, and each year there are several marches in London. At times their marches by or through largely Catholic areas have been extremely contentious, and the banning of their Portadown march in 1986 led to serious riots. Recent events in today’s calmer climate have caused fewer problems.

The march started near Victoria Station and went through Parliament Square to the Cenotaph in Whitehall where a wreath was laid. I left them at Trafalgar Square, on their way to a service at the Independent Congregational Church in Orange Street, behind the National Gallery, followed by a social evening.

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Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

October Plenty & The Martydom of Ali – 2005

October Plenty & The Martydom of Ali: In 2005 much of my photography was of cultural and religious events as well as political protests on the streets of London. And on Sunday 23rd October I photographed a harvest festival event on the South Bank before going to Marble Arch to photograph a Muslim procession. The text here is revised from my 2005 accounts on the October 2005 page of My London Diary and some picture captions.

October Plenty: The Lions Part – Globe Theatre & Bankside

The Lions Part Is a group of actors who came together in the Original Shakespeare Company But now pursue independent professional careers in theatre and TV etc. They now work together on various projects including three regular celebrations on Bankside in co-operation with the Globe Theatre.

One of these is October Plenty, loosely based on traditional english harvest festivities and particularly celebrating the apple and grain harvest.

Characters in the procession include the Green Man (or Berry Man), the Hobby Horse and a large Corn Queen stuffed with fruit and veg, not to mention a violin-playing Dancing Bear with other musicians and more characters who take part in several plays and performances in various locations.

The day started in front of the Globe Theatre with the bear, then the procession came and led us into the Globe Theatre, where they gave a short performance before we left to go through the streets to Borough Market where further plays and games were scheduled. I decided it was time for lunch and to go to another event and left at this point.

more pictures

The Martydom Of Ali, Hub-E-Ali – Marble Arch

Hub-E-Ali organise an annual mourning program in London to mark the Martydom Of Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad and the first person to embrace Islam, who was martyred in 660CE in Kufa, Iraq.

Ali was struck by a poisoned sword while leading dawn prayers in the mosque, and died two days later. The event and its consequences continue to divide Muslims down to the present day.

Many (and not only Muslims) have regarded Ali as the model of a just Islamic ruler, working to establish peace, justice and morality. The procession both marks the killing of Ali and also looks forward to the day when a descendant of the prophet Muhammad will return to be the saviour of the world.

It also celebrates the duty of the followers of Islam to speak out against oppression and immorality, and to live pious lives in solidarity with the oppressed.

To show their sorrow, those taking part in the mourning parade (Jaloos) recite eulogies about Ali and beat their breasts (Seena Zani.) A ceremonial coffin (Taboot) is carried as a part of the procession, along with symbolic flags. There was also a long session of recitations before the procession.

more pictures