Before The Hippies...

A Memory of Glastonbury.

During the '70's I lived in nearby Shepton Mallet. After I'd left school many of my mates & myself bought motorbikes, Glastonbury was often a destination - my first bike was a very unreliable Czech made CZ175. Luckily, near the top of the High Street was a dealer who specialised in them, so I'd often go there to buy spares.
We'd have tea/coffee in a little café called, I think, the White Cottage, down at the bottom of the High St.
Glastonbury then was not like what it is now - many of the pubs & shops had 'No Hippies' signs up, & as most of us had long hair & leather jackets, & 'rockers' were as unpopular as hippies, we were doubly unwelcome.
The Tribunal in the picture was then, & still is, a local history museum, & thereby hangs a tale...
My friend Andy & myself had been to the CZ dealer, & gone to the White Cottage for our usual beverages. That Saturday, there was a German family on the next table. They kept staring at us, & made nasty comments. They did not realise that we had taken German as a language at school. We weren't fluent by any means, but got the gist.
Probably seems very odd now, but there was still a lot of anti Axis attitudes then. Most of my generation had parents/relatives who had served in WW2, & who would not dream of buying a German or Japanese car/motorcycle/hi-fi. Both Andy's father & my late uncle had been involved in the D-Day landings, & my father & uncle had served in the Far East.
Anyway, we decided to have a look at the museum after our cuppas.
A few minutes later we were followed in by the tourists. Again they made disparaging remarks as they passed us. They went into the next room, shutting the door behind them. As we looked after them, we noticed there had been a key left in the door. We turned it, & left.
Since the festival has gone mainstream, Glastonbury now is a very different place, every 2nd shop seems to be a hippy headshop.