Tllt‘ S

Igo- Black. Nov. i7. lttTthag

Grinnellians explore London’s East End pubs

by Carolyn \iiiiri-
lIiIil Andre“ Scliiilt'l,
re to expand your-
.oiis beyond the scope
of Iowa's [at c of neighborhood bars
and l‘BR‘S. you might hop the next
Lakei' flight or TWA standby to
London to sample the renowned
institution at London pubs
Recently. your reporters had
occasion to explore London‘s
notorious East End in Search of
interesting pub atmosphere and
ethnographic excitement
THE EAST EXI) IS the part of
town where Dickens and the
Victorian social explorers used to
iiaiig out while collecting joui:
nalistic data on the life of London's
poor in the lglh century, Thieves.
pirates and other rough characters
also used to haunt. this area
We were given directions to the
“Cotton Arms” by u Very friendly
man who looked a bit down on his
luck. As a matter of tact, he looked
positively seedy.
Licliimiiliotli) around
'ri combination of vacant
lots, new public housing projects
and abandoned Victorian
l‘owhouses. The eerie crime lights
cast an orange glow that gave the
streets at surrealistic quality,
The pub itself has two Sides. The
Side with the small bar was lit with
stark neon light and was occupied
by some mean-looking youths who
were playing pool. We opted ior the
more cordial atmosphere or the
sing-along bar next door
AT THE DOOR. WE were
greeted by Rosie, an obviously

inebriated oltt \i'onizili \ilio must
have irequented the pub ottcn,
Dressed to kill in a 1950's sequined
coekti dress, she glided past us
as we headed toward the bar
The younger people in the pub
crowded around the bar
Repeating our order oi ti halt pint
of Guinness and a cider. tlic liar

pop tilncs accompanying himself
on the organ Keyes generated his
own applause and eagerly

l

\iclcoincd an elderly man itho‘

leaped up on stage to join Keyes in
it round of "Chopsticks "

Unusual people came tilt the
street into the pub. A black man
tried peddling socks lziblc to table

 

The “Grapes”

mistress told us in a heavy accent
that we could not identity, "I'm
having as much trouble with your,
accent as you're probably having
with mine."

THE MAIN attraction of this pub
was the entertainment provided by
the blearyeyed piano man, Noel
Keyes, Keyes hanged out
dealening oldies on a rickety. out oi
tune upright, and then sang a iew

Without success, A fresh-faced
Salvation Army soldier made an
ironic appearance and collected a
ieiv coins irom nearly everyone in
the house

AT THE AMI-j time, Keyes
struck up his pop organ version ot
"The Old Rugged Cross " Finally,
a troupe oi trooping Scots in iull
kill attire entered blowing
bagpipes and passed the plaid

t n cap. coll ting lianLlluls of
loose change lor some kind at
veteran’s lulld

'.\ LEDI believe
I the iinuld
he on the gritty side, smoke-filled
with tough looking characters
about We \icrc instead met with ti
rather sedate, \\'Cllsc’ippt)llited tintl
almost any atmosphere upon
entering the pub. A luke box in an
elegant cabinet bltired out in'
coiigruoiis American disco music
An inspection of tlic geiits' robin
revealed iiiiotlicr jarring note to
the rich. (lenrlike intimacy oi the
pub This puli's loo llmletl was
rather typical. iiith the exception
oi a condom dispenser, beneath
the conventional announcements of
condom quality was some small
print which informed the potential
buyer that the product was made
"to British standards A graffiti
\i‘it had circled this cl iii and had
' awletl underlieath' So wasthe
'l‘itanti " ‘
o.\ i \\' To the "Grapes."
another Ex t End pub, we passed
St. Anne's church and pi ve d
Being spooked by the stillness or
the cool autumn night. we
Imagined that the church and
grounds with the neglected tomb
Stones looked like something out of
a horror movie e expected to see
bats. black cats and slimy rats
about and ghouls arise from the
ancient graves
A little beyond St Anne's we

 

found ourselves along the Thames
Here. inserted between two

seemingly abandoned shipping
tifllc'es. wc iound the “Grapes "
I’L'li i'l‘ . ‘ is (mite a
contrast to the grim taeatles or the
neighborhood it is a tiny, gaiiy in
place with tiio rooms The limit
room is ( uite small with ]t.lSt a le“
benche d tables along the \iall.
The bai the pivot betucen front
and back rooms iiliich are par-
tltioiietl by a llarro“ corridor in
the cm nice to the corridor is it
st ish sign announcing that the
b k I‘OOm is the “Dickens Room "

(in ii iizill in the back room is a
very richly textured painting
\iliich port . the pub in
Dickens'stinie its onsagroupol
lestlve East Endem In lSth century
garb gathered around the bar
Supposedly. the ”Grapes" was
once a notorious hangout ior
thieves. pirates and smugglers but
on this particular night there were

. subdued looking men and a
ten couples

" :A'i‘t'ltic of the
pub is the outside deck room which
overlooks the sloii‘sinoving
Thames The \‘iew ls peaceful and
offers the romantic ilhoucttes of
warehouses and \t'harves across
the river.

Tucked away between these
buildings \ias once the iniamous
“thieves kitchen. of Dickens's
oiiirr 'ru . Occasionally cruise.
heats pass by and momentarily the
current ﬂickers with the reflected
multicolored lights A fortunate
moon and a glass oi sweet cider
fulfilled our romantic conception of
pubbing ‘

Jeannette Piccard. a life of challenge and fulfillment

by Seth Hollander

At the early age oi eleven. Rev,
Jeannette Piccard, a guest ieo
turer for Women's Week activities.
told her mother that she had a
desire to become a priest Her
mother started to cry upon hearing
this odd wish. for even the thought
oi a woman entering the church
hierarchy was unheard of in the
days oi Pieeard’s youth.

Piccard held this goal for most of
her life and finally became a
recognized Episcopalian priest in
i977 In the period between the
declaration and the realization of
her goal she found time to be a
student. a mother. an organic
chemist. a halloonist and a cone
sultant for NASA.

Plcmliil (io’r ow to a rough
start in her college career. she
admits. As a freshman at Bryn
Mawr she llunked 12 out of 30 credit
hours The next year, while on]
academic probation, she wrote a

paper on the ordination oi women
which resolved that Women should
beadmitted to the priesthood of the
Episcopal Church.

She did graduate in 1918 and
demded on a career. although her
options were limited Unable to
attend ’emlnal‘y or to work in the
armed forces because women were
not allowed in either, She chose to
study ier an “1.3. in organic
chemistry at the University of
Chicago. where she met and
married John Plceard, one of her
professors,

StiliN iii-‘1‘ :ii Tlir: marriage
the Piecards moved to Lausanne.
Switzerland. where Mrs. Piecard
raised three sonsia leisurely task.
she laughs, since domestic help in
Europe was cheap and abundant.

The Pieeards returned to the
U S. and settled In Wilmington.
Delaware. where Mr, Pieeard
worked as a consultant to a power
company While there. the couple

THE HEADQUARTERS

ﬁt:
llAlllS'l‘YLlNG FOR MEN & WOMEN

804 - 4th Avenue
Grinnell. Iowa

Appts. Only
236-7005

Come to the land of
taste tempting treats.”

fudge

Peanut but,”
Square:

DANISHMMD 3‘

became involved in ballooning,
ix ism TIIE Piccards made a
balloon flight at. Dearborn,
Michigan. in order to study cosmic
rays The balloon that was used
had a prototype pressurized cabin
with innovations such as lroeree

glass windows, During this ilight.
the balloon ascended 37,559 leet.’
giving the pilot. Mrs. Piccard, the
women's record for traveling the
farthest from the earth's Surface, a
record which has been surpassed
only by a woman cosmonaut.

jetnmette Piccard

‘PUB CLUB

Monday-Thursday 3:30 p.n.—l:t5 uh.
Friday 3:30 p.n.—l:45 a...
Saturday 6:30 pain—145 -

HAPPY HOUR ©

Monday—Friday 3:30 p In —6:00 pan.

Patrons must beisyrsaold beforeJuly 1. me

In I936 the Piccards moved to
Minneapolis where Mr. 'Piccard
became a professor of aeronautical
engineering at the University oi
Minnesota A i’ew years later Mrs,
Piceard received Ll PhD in
education from the same
university. She tried to get a job as
a teacher but was told that she was
too old to Start a new career. As a
result. much of her time In lli‘lin-
iieapolis was spent working ivith
her husband

AFTER HER HUSBAND died.
Piccard became a consultant to
NASA. Beiore she began this job
she had to undergo an investigation
by the FBI Piccard jovially
recalls the investigation: “They
asked all oi my neighbors about
what type of person i was one
neighbor said. "Yhe only strange
thing about her is that she tried to
water ski when she was 65 years
old,’ Another neighbor. who was a
psychologist quipped. ‘She's just
Irresistible

Piceard lifelong goal oi
priesthood began to be realized in
l970 alter the general Episcopalian
convention in Houston. which ruled
that a \ioman could enter into the
deaconate and be ordained ‘tI
deacon. one step below priesthood,
Soon after the convention Piccard
was ordained a deacon,

Pl('('\Rl) \v/is finally ordained
a pri -t in 197-1 aiter attending the
General Theological Seminary In
New York tor a year. Un-
fortunately. she vlas Iiot officially
recognized by the Episcopalian
church until three years later
During those threcyears. she hada
difﬁcult time. “Some of my friends
would have loved to have burned
me at the stake.” she says, Many
people in the church hierarchy
were afraid to Show their support
for her although the few who did
gave her much comioit.

Piccard is currently an assistant
priest in a church in Minneapolis.
She finds her functions are limited
by her age, but her great zeal for
tile transcends her age as well as
societyvimposed sex stereotypes.

 

