Weddings

Talking of weddimgs I have been to more than a dozen - all different. Mostly Protestant services but two of my friends were Roman Catholics which meant a very long chuch service including Mass. My mother worked for a family of Polish Jews. There the bride had to sit all day in her finery receiving guests until the evening when the groom and his friends arrived to take her to the synagogue. In 1981 in Sri Lanka our hotel was full of wedding guests. The magnificence of the groom's outfit and headdress far outshone that of the bride!

One memorable wedding Don and I went to was in December 1983. Our friend's daughter was marrying her Jewish fiance in a London synagogue on a Sunday. We decided to spend the weekend at the Grosvenor Hotel next to Victoria Station. On the Saturday afternoon we had booked seats at a Carol Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, to be led by Rolf Harris. We got a crowded bus to Kensington. At Harrods many Christmas shoppers left the bus. We debated doing so but decided to stay on the bus and go straight to our destination. A minute or so after leaving the Harrods bus stop there was a loud"Crump" and plumes of smoke rose from where we had just been. Don said "That's a bomb". The IRA were still active. A car bomb had been left outside Harrods and six people were killed and dozens injured. We were shocked. We went on to the Royal Albert Hall in a subdued mood. We found our seats and we were somewhat worried when a lady next to me left her bag on her seat and disappeared. We had been warned about unattended bags. We were relieved when she came back having been to buy a programme! The Concert proceeded but during the whole time we could hear the wailing of ambulance sirens. When we tried to get back to the hotel the tube and buses were disrupted and we had to walk most of the way. We arrived at Victoria to find the staion roped off as there was another bomb scare. We did not sleep easy in our beds that night.
The next day we joined our friends at the synagogue. All the men had to wear a yarmulke, a Jewish skull cap, including the bride's father and Don, both non-Jews. The cantor was a lady. The couple stood under a canopy to make their vows. This wedding was certainly one to remember.