Vivien Goldman: An interview with the Punk Professor
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Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Vivien Goldman recalls with a laugh the day in 1984 when she saw her death, but the laugh fades as she becomes lost in the memory. She was in Nigeria staying in Fela Kuti‘s home; she had just arrived hours before and found people sleeping everywhere like house cats when Muhammadu Buhari‘s army showed up to haul everyone to jail. Kuti was an opponent of the government who was in jail, and they came to arrest his coterie of supporters. They grabbed Goldman and were about to throw her in a truck until Pascal Imbert, Kuti’s manager, yelled out, “Leave her alone. She just arrived from Paris! She’s my wife! She knows nothing! “
Goldman stops for a moment and then smiles plainly. “They thought I was just some stupid woman…. That time sexism worked in my favor.”
Vivien Goldman has become a living, teaching testimony of the golden era of punk and reggae. She is an adjunct professor at New York University who has taught courses on the music scene she was thrust in the middle of as a young public relations representative for Island Records. She writes a column for the BBC called “Ask the Punk Professor” where she extols the wisdom she gained as a confidant of Bob Marley; as the person who first put Flava Flav in video; as Chrissie Hynde‘s former roommate; as the woman who worked with the The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Slits and The Raincoats.
As Wikinews reporter David Shankbone found out, Goldman is one of those individuals that when you sit in her presence you realize she simply can not tell you everything she knows or has seen, either to protect the living or to respect the dead.
DS: The first biography of Bob Marley, Soul Rebel, Natural Mystic, was written by you based upon your personal experiences with him, and you have recently written a book about Marley called The Book of Exodus. How difficult is it to continue to mine his life? Is it difficult to come up with new angles?
- VG: The original biography was written in a weekend and it was based upon my extensive interviews with him, whereas the Exodus book took two and a half years. I must have been a year past deadline, because it kept on growing. Even I had to acknowledge it was a more mature work. After I wrote the first one, all these other people came out with books. I read them, and they were all good in their different ways, but there was a story that had not been told but that I had lived so intensely, a deep story that had shaped my whole life. It demanded I write a book about it. Nobody else has the experience, and I still have that oompf.
DS: You were there with Marley through that time when he really caught on; was it obvious to you then that there was something amazing and unique happening?
- VG: It was really something, and it was huge, but I didn’t examine it then. I believed in Bob with every fiber of my being, but it was hard to realize how everybody in the world would get it in the end, and just how towering a figure and enduring he would prove to be. He deserves everything and more; the role that he occupies is so central. It would have been hard to envisage how huge he became, though.
DS: Warhol’s Factory photographer, Billy Name, once told me he knew that what was going on was amazing, but he never thought Warhol would become the entire fabric of the art world as he is now.
- VG: Especially in New York. Warhol was so associated with the punk scene.
DS: But Marley has become a fabric of sorts…
- VG: Oh, he’s beyond the fabric of reggae, he’s the fabric of the rebel spirit. Now everybody just puts on a little red, green and gold and they feel it identifies them as being there in the struggle. Even if it is someone flying to the Hamptons for the weekend, they bring out Marley to expresses the rebel aspect they don’t want to completely lose.
DS: How do you define punk?
- VG: There are two things. First, the aesthetic: harder, faster, louder. But the second thing is what interested me more, which was the rebel spirit and attitude. That free spirit of punk; that implicit sense of wanting to change a system that is always unfair wherever you are, except for maybe in the Netherlands. But it’s become so commodified
DS: What is the commodified version of punk selling?
- VG: Edgy and dangerous. It is amazing: you open the New York Times and the free bits fall out and you get Urban Outfitters or Old Navy with lines of punk kiddie clothes. K-mart, even. I was trying to see what was so deeply punk about those clothes. They were maybe more colorful or something, but they weren’t punk. It’s like the Swarovski crystal take on punk, I mean, please!
DS: That aesthetic is everywhere, as though if one spikes his hair he is punk.
- VG: Well, the punk is in the heart, to paraphrase Deee-Lite. I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He’s one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It’s an inclusionary spirit that is punk.
DS: Your philosophy is that punk is not just musical, but also an aesthetic. That it can imbibe anything; that it stands for change and for changing a system. Let me give you a few names, and you to tell me how you think they are or are not punk. Britney Spears.
- VG: Oh, no she’s not punk. Punk is not just about wearing smeary black eyeliner, but some sense of engagement. That’s it in a nutshell. She doesn’t have that sense of engagement. She is society.
DS: Dick Cheney.
- VG: He is the essence of Babylonian, old structure capitalism, which is about greed and how much one can take for himself. I could see capitalism that is mutually beneficial, such as ‘I want a bigger customer base,’ but they don’t. Take a place I know well like Jamaica. I don’t know if you have seen that documentary Life and Debt, about how the INF squeezed everything out of Jamaica, but that’s a typical thing that happens. Instead of building these people up and paying them a living wage for their work, where we could sell more to them, we just want to suck everything out of the place. Suck the sugar, suck the labor. And that is not very punk. It’s the opposite of punk. That’s what Dick Cheney represents to me. He tries to bring about change, but change that just fattens his pocket. It’s not thinking of the community, and that’s what punk is about.
DS: Kanye West.
- VG: He seems to be a positive force. In that sense, I would file him slightly under punk.
DS: Osama bin Laden.
- VG: He thinks he is a punk, but he’s too destructive. If I was sitting in the madrassa in the desert chanting the Koran seven days a week, I’d think, yeah, he’s a punk. But I’m not, so I don’t.
DS: Is the definition of punk relative, then? He’s a Madrasah punk but not a Manhattan punk?
- VG: Having said that, they would loathe punks, so I think we can safely say, not a punk.
DS: Pete Doherty.
- VG: Oh yeah, I think he’s a punk. He’s a punk and he engages with the system in terms of how a powerful a presence he’s become. He is the Keith Richards of his day.
DS: If punk is about change, then why the maudlin sentimentality over the closing of CBGB‘s, which at times turned into demonizing a homeless shelter?
- VG: Yeah, and they had not paid their rent, had they? I sided with the homeless shelter in a way, except I thought the whole thing was ridiculous because somebody should have stepped in and bought it and paid it and fixed it up, in the sense there is no shrine. They don’ think about the tourism, do they? I expect that of America now. Los Angeles just destroyed the Brown Derby, and the modernist architecture. That’s the thing about America. There seems to be very little regard for legacy. I think they should have kept CBGBs, but I think that more cynically. My students had a huge debate about it.
DS: I felt it was what it was at a certain moment, but it wasn’t that anymore. They were charging eight dollars for a beer. That’s not very punk, and that wasn’t attracting the punk crowds. It was like people who move to the Bowery because they think it’s so edgy but it’s really a boulevard of glittering condos.
- VG: Nostalgie pour la boue: nostalgia for the mud. Not all of them, though. Patti Smith. Anyway, the spirit had moved on to Williamsburg.
DS: Where do you think New York’s culture is going? There are so few places on Earth with such a large concentration of creatives who meet and influence each other, but the city is becoming less affordable and cleansed of any grit. Is there a place for punk in the Manhattan of the future?
- VG: They are flushing out the artists. Manhattan is now a ghetto for the very rich. When punk started it was in weird places, places you broke into and that had never been used for shows. It was never in regular venues, but now every nook and cranny is a regular venue and it doesn’t leave much space for the old punk spirit. ABC No Rio, I think they manage to work it in the system. And there are places like The Stone, John Zorn‘s place, which has avant-garde free form jazz. He subsidizes that place, so it remains a little haven. There are a few little pockets, but it has a lot do with the rent. Realistically, there’s loads of stuff happening in places like Brooklyn, more than there seems to be in Manhattan. When I jammed with The Slits, that happened at some after-hours thing in Brooklyn in some warehouse. I remember loads of things in funny places. The first time I heard Public Enemy I was on the rooftop of a building.
DS: You’re friends with Flava Flav, right?
- VG: Yes, although I haven’t seen him in a very long time. I remember how I met him. I was doing this video for I Ain’t No Joke with Erik B and Rakim, and they weren’t very vibey in terms of the stagecraft, as it were. The projection. Not to diss anybody, but I needed someone to bring a bit more life into it; it was very low-budget, a vérité kind of shoot. We were in a playground in the projects and there were all these blokes hanging around, and there was one who was super-sprightly, like a live wire. I didn’t know it was Flava Flav and I shouted out, Hey, you, will you come over and be groovy for us? and he did and a lot of the action in the video is Flava Flav spinning around, doing a Dervish in the middle of the playground.
DS: At the time he wasn’t known?
- VG: Well, it turned out he was in a group called Public Enemy. The first time I heard them was at a rooftop party, and it’s one of my great New York memories. It was a warehouse building that’s still there behind Houston and Bowery and I remember it was amazing because you never heard music like that before. It was blaring. It was so hot and we were in the middle of the city with graffiti on the walls, people smoking spliffs. It was very free. You don’t see that anymore. Everything is more heavily policed.
DS: Do you think apathy is a problem today?
- VG: There’s less intelligent, critical content in general, and celebrity magazines pay the most and sell the most. It’s the Lowest Common Denominator. Britney Spears is an unbelievable example. She’s so young with no good guidance around her, and she is fodder for them to sell more magazines. There’s a gladiator aspect of it: the worse off she is, the better for that industry. But I’m still looking for the people who have conscience. Michael Franti, he’s one of the only ones I look to now. He had that band Spearhead. I’m looking around for conscious artists.
DS: What about G. G. Allin? He used to defecate on the stage to make a point.
- VG: That’s quite extreme, and very unhygienic. I wouldn’t need to see that. I don’t think that’s necessarily punk, it’s just scatological. Some people might think it’s punk, but I personally wouldn’t dig it. It’s outrageous, but not in the way I find interesting.
DS: Well, he’s dead. Do you think people are afraid to speak out today?
- VG: I guess in Vietnam you did, but now the culture isn’t nearly as organized.
DS: Is violence for the cause of social change punk?
- VG: Violence will occur in social change. Violence has always been associated with punk, although punk wants peace in a way. When you look at all the bands in punk, like No Future and Blank Generation, it has implicit an aspiration to a place where you don’t have to be violent. Often it happens. The punk era was violent. Very, very violent. So many people were beaten up during those days. I’m very much a peacenik, but violence often happens, one observes, on the road to social change.
DS: Sandra Bernhard once did an homage to what she called the Big-Tittied Bitches of Rock n’ Roll: Heart, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks. She mourned that there were no big-tittied bitches left. Who are the big-tittied bitches of Rock n’ Roll today?
- VG: M.I.A. Tanya Stephens. Joan Jett, still. The Slits, who still suffer from the system and they are still brilliant. Male bands of that statute would have more deals. Big-tittied in terms of cojones, as opposed to cleavage as such.
DS: Do you have moments of extreme self-doubt where you wonder if anything you do matters to anyone?
- VG: I have a lot of moments of extreme self-doubt, but you have to be humble and listen to what people say. Although I was never top of the New York Times book chart, I know people have liked my stuff, and that keeps me going. The classes have been amazing. I had done a lot of television and media, but it was the first time I had done something one-on-one. It was the old cliche that a person learns as much as they teach. Loads of my old students keep in touch with me; one wrote to me to tell me he is free-lancing for XXL and some other rap magazines, and how the classes really have been useful and he always refers to them. Even just one person is gratifying and encourages me to continue my work.
DS: You have worked for two corporations that are seen by many as the least punk in their respective communities, the BBC and NYU. How does one remain punk in such environments?
- VG: I’m a freelancer. I go in, do my thing, and if they don’t like it then I don’t do it anymore. I stay true to myself, and if it doesn’t work out then I guess ‘fuck off’ on both sides. I haven’t had to compromise myself; nobody has asked me to. BBC America is a different animal than the BBC. As long as I can say what I want to say; I think people come to me because they know what they are getting.
DS: Have you ever been in a situation where you feared for your life, where you thought, this may be the way I go?
- VG: There was a lot of violence in the punk times and I got beaten up in street brawls. I particularly remember once in Nigeria… I was there to make a documentary for Channel 4 about Fela Kuti. He was in jail at that time and he wanted to draw attention to his plight to showcase what was going on in Nigeria. It was hard to get through customs because my guides weren’t there to meet me. I found them hiding in the carpark because the police were after them.
- We went to Fela’s house where I was going to stay; we went to the shrine and it was amazing. The whole house was covered in people sleeping. I was woken up by this little girl very early in the morning, only about two hours later. She was tapping me on the shoulder and when I looked around there was nobody there, whereas it had been covered in people. She said, “Come! Come! The army is here!”
- I went outside and there was the army arresting everyone. People were lined up against the wall. Pascal Imbert, a French guy who was managing Fela, was already on the truck and they were about to take him away. There were all these really serious, heavey Nigerian soldiers with machine guns around. Not friendly, more like stone-faced Belsen guards. It was like that Bob Marley song Ambush in the Night: there were four guns aiming at me. They all turned their guns on me and said, “What should we do with her?” From the truck Pascal shouts out, “Leave her alone! She’s my wife! She’s just arrived from Paris! She doesn’t know anything!” The combination of the words “She’s my wife, she doesn’t’ know anything” were enough. Of course, I had neither arrived from Paris nor was his wife. But they just left me alone; they thought I was just some stupid woman. That time sexism worked in my favor. [Laughs] She doesn’t know anything! They were about to take Pascal away and I rushed up to the head guy very bravely—Pascal always gives me props for this—and I said, “Where are you taking my husband?!” They were actually taking him to a secret jail.
DS: What happened to him in the secret jail?
- VG: There’s a documentary about it. He got very thin, he contracted dysentry and he got various diseases. No food, or terrible food. Luckily for him after some months there was an amnesty and he was amongst the prisoners who were released. That was a very heavy moment. I thought I would die, either right then or in a Nigerian jail.
DS: In Jamaica there was so much violence during the civil war.
- VG: I’ve seen a lot of death. Many of the people I knew in Jamaica are dead. I think of them a lot; like my very, very close friend Massive Dread. He did so much for the community. At Christmas he’d hold a big party for the kids, and all the rival gangs would come. He was trying to break up some of the coke runnings. They started to have crack dens in Trenchtown and he worked against those. He was opening a library called the Trenchtown Reading Center, in the middle of this broken down ghetto, where kids could sit down to do homework and read books in this nice courtyard. It was really worthwhile.
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The Benefits of Laser Vision Correction Surgery by Kathryn DawsonA permanent solution for clearer vision is laser vision correction surgery. This is definitely great news for people who rely on eyeglasses or contact lenses in order to see and carry out their daily tasks with ease. In order to correct a person’s vision, an eye doctor makes use of lasers to reshape their patient’s cornea in order to make it more focused which gives the person a clearer vision.Not everybody is a candidate for laser vision correction surgery. Anyone who is interested in this procedure will have to undergo a series of extensive tests to find out if they need laser vision correction surgery. After all, surgery is still surgery, and there are still risks involved in this type of laser surgery, no matter how minimal they may be. Let’s take a closer look at the different benefits of laser vision correction surgery and how they can help patients live normal lives with clear eyesight.Minimal pain and discomfort.Because the process makes use of lasers, patients experience minimal pain and discomfort. However, eye drops with a local anesthetic are still administered to ensure the patients utmost comfort during the whole procedure.Minimal to no chances of getting infections.The lasers used in laser vision correction surgery effectively eliminate bacteria in the process, ensuring that there will be minimal to no chances of getting any form of eye infection during the process.Faster healing time.The procedure of laser vision correction surgery, because it makes use of lasers, means the affected muscles and tissues heal faster. People who undergo this type of surgery are usually able to return to their normal routines after a day or so of rest.Permanent, lasting results.What’s great about laser vision correction surgery is that the results a patient has are permanent. But, this does not mean that the patient will never have to wear eyeglasses again. Keep in mind that as we age, our bodies and its parts age as well. So at some point in time, a patient who had laser eye surgery may need to wear reading glasses in order to see and read the fine print in newspapers or books as their eyes age as well.Competitive prices.What is great about laser vision correction surgery is the fact that because of its growing popularity, a lot of clinics and ophthalmologists are now offering the said procedure. This life-enhancing procedure is now available to a lot of people, and at competitive prices.What to Expect with Laser Eye SurgeryAs laser vision correction surgery is relatively new, there are a lot of people who are wondering how the process would go. The good thing is, unlike traditional surgery, this process takes a lesser amount of time to complete and is generally painless. Corrective laser eye surgery needs a very short time for recovery, so the time it takes for a patient to heal after the procedure is very short compared to regular surgery. Patients who undergo laser vision corrective surgery are often up and about in a matter of days.Finding a Laser Vision Correction SurgeonIf you are thinking about getting laser vision correction surgery, looking for a surgeon will be the next step to undertake. Keep in mind that laser eye surgery is still considered a relatively new form of surgery, so it is important to find a surgeon who is very knowledgeable and has plenty of experience in the field. Do your research on laser eye surgeons and book an appointment with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how much experience they have, what you can expect during the procedure, and if they can give you contact numbers of past patients to call as reference. A good laser eye surgeon will not have any problems in giving you references and their patients would be more than willing to share their positive experience with you.Before you have laser vision correction surgery, an eye surgeon will subject you to several examinations which will determine whether you are a good candidate for laser eye surgery. Some people may view lasik eye surgery as expensive, but if you think about it in the long run, it is actually a very reasonable expense. The treatment will give you a lifetime of results which makes it all the more worthwhile.Kathryn Dawson writes articles about laser vision correction surgery as performed by an eye surgeon. Lasik eye surgery is a way of treating eye diseases such as glaucoma. Since glaucoma is cased by a build up of fluid and pressure, the surgery helps to drain eye fluid more easily.Article Source: eArticlesOnline.com
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Prince William marries Kate Middleton—live updates
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Friday, April 29, 2011
Prince William of Wales, the second in line to the British throne, and Kate Middleton will today be married at Westminster Abbey in London. Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the city as the couple travel through the capital to the Abbey, and then back to Buckingham Palace, and millions are thought to be planning to watch the event on television around the world. Wikinews will be following the royal wedding as it happens on this live blog; you will be able to contact us with your thoughts throughout the day on the comments page, on our Twitter page, or on Facebook.
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- Update: 6:25 A.M. (UTC)
Good morning and welcome to live updates of the royal wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton. Wikinews will be following the events throughout the day and you can contact us with your opinions as the wedding progresses either on our website, or on Twitter or Facebook. The wedding service will begin later this morning, and William and Kate's family will be in attendance at the Abbey. After the service the royal couple will travel to Buckingham Palace for the wedding reception, and the bride, groom, and both their families including Elizabeth II, will appear on the balcony.
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- 600,000 people are expected to be in London today to celebrate the marriage, and it is thought many millions will watch it around the world on television. Several hundred people have been camping along the route the couple will take in a hope of seeing the newlyweds. 1,900 people have been invited to attend the ceremony inside the Abbey, including 50 foreign state heads. Kate yesterday took part in a final rehearsal with the best man, Prince Harry, and the pageboys and bridesmaids, yesterday, which William did not attend. William and Kate last night said in a message in the wedding programme that they had been “incredibly moved” by the support for their marriage. The message said,
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- “We are both so delighted that you are able to join us in celebrating what we hope will be one of the happiest days of our lives. The affection shown to us by so many people during our engagement has been incredibly moving, and has touched us both deeply. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone most sincerely for their kindness.”
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- Rail companies have said they expect 400,000 people to travel to the capital by train this morning, but insist they will be able to handle the significantly increased passenger numbers. Thousands of international journalists have also come to London, and will be reporting from specially constructed news studios around the capital. Police officials at Scotland Yard raided numerous properties—occupied, it was reported, by squatters—yesterday because of the wedding, but MPs seized on the raids as “disproportionate”. The weather in London is expected to begin as cloudy and dry, and brighten throughout the morning. Forecasters have warned of a 30 percent risk of rain at the time when William and Kate leave the Abbey after the ceremony, and an even greater risk of heavy showers towards the end of the day.
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- Update: 6:40 A.M. (UTC)
One of the biggest questions around the Abbey right now is what dress Kate will be wearing. It'll only be revealed when she leaves her hotel near Buckingham Palace later this morning—9:51 UTC to be precise—but there have already been some interesting developments. British newspaper The Telegraph has reports that a woman, disguised by a large headpiece, jumped out of her car and into the hotel yesterday evening—their are suspicions she might be the designer. She was apparently wearing several clothes favoured by Sarah Burton, the late Alexander McQueen's creative director. During the ceremony, Kate will pledge to "love, comfort, honour and keep" her husband, but not to "obey" him.
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- Counterterrorism police are reportedly now carrying out their final checks before the festivities get underway. Three people were arrested in Brockley, London, last night over allegations they were planning to behead effigies on the streets of London today. A guillotine was allegedly seized in a raid; the suspects remain in custody this morning. The Metropolitan Police said they had been detained on “suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and breach of the peace”. A spokesperson for the force said they were believed to be “planning to attend the royal wedding.”
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- Update: 7:10 A.M. (UTC)
We're just getting some breaking news from Buckingham Palace. After the wedding, William will be given the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus; Kate will become the Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.
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- Update: 7:50 A.M. (UTC)
Crowds are continuing to gather in London as the guests begin to arrive at the Abbey, and television images are now coming from inside the building in Westminister for the first time since it was transformed for the wedding. A red carpet now runs from the entrance to the alter and it is lined with field maple trees—it is understood Kate wanted to link the service with nature.
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- For a bit of background, here’s the story so far. William was educated at Eton, and Kate at Marlborough College, during which time Princess Diana—William’s mother—was killed in a car crash in Paris, while William was aged 15. The couple met at University of St Andrews, and moved in with each other in a flat on a quiet street. In 2004, the pair were pictured skiing in Switzerland, before their first kiss in public two years later. But in 2007, the couple split—William began training as an Army officer and it was thought the pressures of royal life began to strain the pair. “It’s a surprise, because it had seemed very stable and very steady,” BBC journalist Nicholas Witchell reported at the time. But several months later, they were back together again.
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- Last year, William was posted as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in Anglesey, Wales, and Kate joined him on the island, before their engagement was announced in November. “We are both very, very happy,” William said, and Middleton said marriage into the Royal Family was a “daunting prospect,” but, she added, “hopefully I’ll take it in my stride.” And today, they are to be married. The preparations have been continuing for weeks, and the armed forces have been practicing maneuvers they will be performing on London’s streets this morning, as is shown in the images below.
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The armed forces prepare for the royal wedding in London. Image: John Pannell.
The armed forces prepare for the royal wedding in London. Image: John Pannell.
The armed forces prepare for the royal wedding in London. Image: John Pannell.
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- Update: 9:00 A.M. (UTC)
1,900 guests will be in the Abbey for the ceremony today, including Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron, along with other senior British politicians including William Hague, Nick Clegg, and George Osborne. The opposition leader Ed Miliband has also been invited. Senior defence officials, representatives from 50 countries—including Denmark, Greece, Malaysia, Spain, Abu Dhabi, Australia and New Zealand—have also been invited. Celebrities including David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, Rowan Atkinson, Ian Thorpe and Gareth Thomas, will also be in attendance.
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- But not all those who were invited are going to be attending the wedding. The Syrian ambassador’s invitation was withdrawn this week as the government in the country continues to crack down on a popular uprising, and many protesters are reported to have been killed by official forces. Sami Khiyami said he was “embarrassed” by the decision but understood it. He said the withdrawal of the invite would not damage relations between Britain and Syria. “I find it a bit embarrassing but I don’t consider it a matter that would jeopardise any ongoing relations and discussions with the British government,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the importance of the event I wouldn’t have thought of it.”
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- The Bahraini crown prince voluntarily declined his invitation to the wedding earlier this week amid criticism over the government’s crackdown on protesters in the country. Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa said he had reached his “considered decision” with “deep regret”. Human rights groups had demanded he not attend the event after government forces killed scores of demonstrators. “The invitations are a massive misjudgement by the monarch,” one human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, said. “They show the Queen is out of touch with the humanitarian values of modern, liberal Britain. She’s putting royalty before human rights. The guest list displays a shocking insensitivity to the suffering of people who have been persecuted.”
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- Update: 9:30 A.M. (UTC)
William, accompanied by Prince Harry, has arrived at Westminster Abbey flanked by police guards. They were driven from Clarence House to the Abbey in Westminster to cheers from the crowds lining the route, many of whom were waving the Union Flag. William, dressed in the red uniform of Colonel in the Irish Guards arrived at the venue for the ceremony to the tolling of the bells in celebration. The Middleton family—not including the bride—are now on their way to the Abbey in a car escorted by a police motorcycle guard. Carole Middleton, the bride's mother, is reported to be wearing a sky blue dress designed by Catherine Walker. Members of the royal family are now travelling from Buckingham Palace in minivans, which are now heading up the Pall Mall towards the Abbey.
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- Update: 9:50 A.M. (UTC)
Elizabeth II, dressed in yellow, is now being driven to the Abbey to cheers from the crowds lining the streets. Kate Middleton is expected to leave her hotel in London in a few minutes. In some news just coming through the wires, Wikinews understands a suspicious vehicle has been found near the hotel where Kate is preparing for the wedding. Hundreds of members of the public were evacuated from the area and the road was closed. One police officer said: "We think the car might contain a bomb". We'll have more on this as we get it.
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- Update: 10:07 A.M. (UTC)
Kate Middleton has arrived at Westminster Abbey in a dress which we are now able to confirm was designed by Sarah Burton. She is now walking down the aisle, hand-in-hand with her father, followed closely by the bridesmaids and pageboys. William and Harry are stood at the front.
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- Update: 10:20 A.M. (UTC)
William and Kate are now saying their wedding vows. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, asked if anyone knew of any lawful reason why they should not be married, and there was silence. Kate lifted her wedding veil as she reached the altar; according to one report William told her: "You look beautiful."
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- Update: 10:23 A.M. (UTC)
The Archbishop pronounces them man and wife.
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- Update: 10:33 A.M. (UTC)
The choir is now singing a piece composed especially for this wedding by John Rutter. Kate's brother, James Middleton, has just given a reading in a clear, strong voice. "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly," he read. During the reading William and Kate continued to smile at one and other.
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- Update: 10:53 A.M. (UTC)
The ceremony is continuing, and the congregation are now singing "Jerusalem". After an address from the Bishop of London, the choir sung a piece by Paul Mealor, who has said the piece was inspired by "the sixth century Christian hymn that was normally sung at the service for the washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday." They then read the Lord's prayer.
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- Update: 11:10 A.M. (UTC)
Having signed the legal documents which confirm their marriage, the couple walk up the aisle, hand-in-hand, and outside to the open-topped carriage which will take them to Buckingham Palace.
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- Update: 11:17 A.M. (UTC)
Escorted by members of the household cavalry, the newlyweds travel through the streets of London on the 1902 State Landau. The crowds cheer a and wave the Union Flag as the couple pass down Whitehall. Despite fears, the rain appears to have held off and the day remains sunny.
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- Update: 11:29 A.M. (UTC)
William and Kate have arrived at Buckingham Palace where they will have official photographs taken before they emerge onto the balcony in approximately one hour.
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- Update: 11:44 A.M. (UTC)
A journalist who was inside the Abbey as the wedding took place has described the service as "very joyous". He said,
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- “It went extremely well, lots of colour and scarlet uniforms and a spirited service from the Bishop of London. The thing that struck me was the change in the life of Kate Middleton and her parents. Some of her expressions during the services seem to show she knew this, the nervousness. There was a great sense of relief afterwards.”
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- Update: 12:23 P.M. (UTC)
Thousands of people are now heading down the Pall Mall for Buckingham Palace, where Kate and William will emerge onto the balcony in about five minutes.
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- Update: 12:28 P.M. (UTC)
William and Kate step onto the famous balcony for the first time as a married couple to a crowd of thousands—and make the famous kiss. They are followed by Elizabeth II, and other members of the royal family and the Middleton family, onto the balcony. Down below, the onlookers wave Union Flags and cheer the newlyweds.
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- Update: 12:49 P.M. (UTC)
A Lancaster bomber, flanked by a Hawker Hurricane and a Supermarine Spitfire, have flown over Buckingham Palace in a tribute to the Battle of Britain. They were quickly followed by two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters and two Panavia Tornado.
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- Update: 01:02 P.M. (UTC)
Kate's dress was one of the most anticipated parts of the wedding, and everyone watching was kept in the dark until the last minute. As she stepped from the car and into the Abbey, it was announced that the designer was Sarah Burton, who worked as the creative director for the late Alexander McQueen. In a statement this afternoon, she said,
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- “It has been the experience of a lifetime to work with Catherine Middleton to create her wedding dress, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. It was such an incredible honour to be asked, and I am so proud of what we and the Alexander McQueen team have created. I am delighted that the dress represents the best of British craftsmanship.”
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- Burton had continuously denied that she was the dress designer—until today. It was made at Hampton Court, and as Kate travelled from her hotel to the Abbey, the dress attracted much criticism, and it has already been praised by fashion designers. Burton added:
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- “Catherine looked absolutely stunning today, and the team at Alexander McQueen are very proud of what we have created. The dress was just one component of a spectacular day, and I do not think it is appropriate to comment any further beyond saying that I personally am very grateful and honoured to have been given the opportunity to work on this project.”
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- Update: 01:30 P.M. (UTC)
Elizabeth II is now hosting a lunch reception at Buckingham Palace, where 10,000 canapes will be served alongside the wedding cake—which has been kept just as secret as the dress. It has now emerged it is made up of 17 individual fruit cakes, which form eight tiers. Decorated with white icing and cream, it boasts more than 900 individually iced flowers. Guests have also begun to describe the wedding. "Like everybody in England I wish them all the very best," said George Tupou V, the king of Tonga, who was in the Abbey during the ceremony. "I think this wedding marks a page in England's ancient and distinguished history. It's a glorious day for England, I think."
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- Update: 02:07 P.M. (UTC)
We now have a bit more on that bomb threat near the hotel where Kate was staying. Police initially cordoned off an area near the hotel after finding a suspicious vehicle, and a hundreds of people—from members of the public to journalists and photographers—were evacuated. "Clear the area immediately for your own safety," police officers shouted at the crowd. Two minutes after the area was cordoned off the dog squad arrived. One police source confirmed there were fears the vehicle, a blue Volkswagen estate, was a car bomb. Ten minutes later, officers removed the blockades, and allowed people back into the area. There's been no word yet from the Metropolitan Police as to what happened, and whether the car posed any threat to the public. We'll bring you any official statement as soon as we get it.
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- Paddy Harverson, the official spokesperson for the royal couple, has said that although the two will appear in public over the next few months, Kate will need to adjust to life in the family. “Prince William is taking the lead on this and he has said that he wants Catherine to be given the time and space to grow into the role,” he said. Meanwhile, the mood seems to be dampening on the Pall Mall—which, it turns out—might not have been the best place to see the kiss on the balcony. Much of the crowd appears to blame it on police crowd control tactics, who put up barriers in poorly chosen locations. “We might as well see it in a pub,” said one woman. “We’ll just have to imbibe the atmosphere.”
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- Update: 03:00 P.M. (UTC)
William and Kate have left Buckingham Palace in an old Aston Martin, with the numberplate JU5T WED. William—is unexpectedly driving himself and his new wife—with no security staff in the vehicle. As the car left the gates for Clarence House, just down the road, a Royal Air Force Sea King helicopter—similar to the aircraft William flies as his job as a search and rescue pilot—flew overhead. The Metropolitan Police are now estimating as many as one million people were in London today to see the wedding procession.
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- Update: 03:29 P.M. (UTC)
There's been some intense debate on the comments page over why the wedding should be such a major event. One reader said they would "never understand the world's obsession with these affairs" when armed forces servicemen and servicewomen were "dying around the globe, and we are all swooning over some tart's dress." One commenter said British taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the "lavish" event:
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- “Hundreds of thousands of people flocking to London today? That should help prop up the British economy… maybe that would offset the costs of such an unnecessarily lavish event?”
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- Another reader said the coverage had gone too far. “Don’t get me wrong,” they said, “I understand that the wedding of any head-of-state (or equivalent) will make the news, but this week long non-stop coverage is simply insane.” If you have something to say about the wedding, please do get in touch and join the debate on the comments page, or on our Twitter page or Facebook.
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- Update: 04:04 P.M. (UTC)
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has given his thoughts on the ceremony, which he attended with his wife Samantha. Singing the hymn "Jerusalem", he said, it felt like "the roof was going to lift off—there's no greater country and better place to be than right here, right now". He added, "Although it was a grand occasion, that was a family wedding moment. It was incredibly intimate and moving."
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- Update: 04:26 P.M. (UTC)
A man was detained earlier under the terrorism act today and then later released without charge after being spotted by police taking what one report described as "suspicious photographs" on Whitehall. It is understood he was taking photographs of police officers and transport locations, and was subsequently arrested. Two horses of the cavalry also went awry today after their riders fell off. Although one of the horses returned to its trailer at the cavalry base, the other ran wild before being stopped by a police officer. Meanwhile, we've managed to get a photograph of William and Kate standing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, flanked by the royal family on the right and Kate's family on the left.
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- Update: 05:45 P.M. (UTC)
Approximately 300 close family and friends of the newlywed royal couple will be arriving at Buckingham Palace later this evening for a private party. For the members of the public partying and celebrating across the country, they can keep on going for three days because Monday is the May day bank holiday. Meanwhile, a verger has been caught cartwheeling down the aisle at Westminster Abbey after the guests had left; a spokesperson for the Abbey told reporters he would not be getting into any trouble, and said he "was very pleased the service had gone according to plan, and was expressing his exuberance".
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- That’s it for our coverage of the celebrations today. Thanks to all those who joined the debate on our comments page; it looks like the debate over monarchic societies may continue for a while yet. To all those who followed our coverage today, we also thank you. Goodnight.
