And another simple reminder to a tale that has to be told, thanks to the ever surprising Gothamist. At the end of 1999, probably around this time, Alf and I stayed in London for a couple of days: Kurt Weill’s centenary was celebrated in the city’s South Bank Centre. The day before we left to London, I was in Nova Scotia, but that’s another story.
Anyways, on one of those days of exchanging money at a bank, (Barclays) probably around King’s Court (I think it was called), I was given a 5 pound coin that was apparantly released to commemorate the late Princess Diana. It was brand-spanking new, so I was eager to get rid of it so I could buy some extra postcards or stamps. Fate prevailed: nobody wanted to accept that coin, so I was basically stuck with it. If I remember correctly, I gave it away to Gayle’s daughter.
Regarding that visit to London: it was half a joyful event and half a nightmare: the music was great but London life is terribly expensive. I have no idea why everything had to be expensive, but even the cheapest of the cheapest food (‘Fast food’) was unaffordable.