The Monkey gets out of London for a day in Cambridge. Here, he's relaxing by the waters of the River Cam, which gave the town its name. By the 12th Century, the navigability of the Cam had contributed to the development of Cambridge as a commercial center.
But the reputation of the town is thoroughly tied to the famous Cambridge University, which dates back to 1209 when a group of disaffected intellectuals fled persecution in nearby Oxford (also renowned for its university) and organized a regular program of coursework in congenial Cambridge. The first college was founded in 1271, and many more came into existence during the 14th Century. Today, Cambridge University is comprised of 31 colleges, many of which are housed in beautiful gothic buildings. You can see the backs of a few of the colleges beyond the Monkey in this shot.
The Monkey on Savile Row, in London's Mayfair district. Super-elites the world over come to this street to visit the tailors who create hand-made, bespoke suits. The Monkey was a wee bit short on the sterling that day, so he didn't have a suit made. The going rate, so he's heard, starts around $1500 per suit.
Given the stodgy surroundings, it's particularly amusing to consider who the tailor-shops' neighbors were in the late 1960s: none other than a long-haired, crazily-clothed rock quartet called the Beatles. They set up their Apple Corps offices in the brownstone just to the back left of the Monkey. It was here, on January 30, 1969, that John, Paul, George, and Ringo (and organist Billy Preston) surprised the locals by playing a live, rooftop session as part of their Let It Be project. The streets filled with confused Londoners and the police were called in on noise complaints. It was the group's last live performance, and their break-up followed shortly thereafter.
The Monkey rests in the sunshine by a graceful stone bridge over the Cam in Cambridge, England.
Another London locale well known to fans of the Fab Four is the EMI Studios on Abbey Road, in the St. John's Wood district. The Beatles recorded much of their output in this facility, and immortalized the street crossing just in front of the studios on the cover of their Abbey Road album. Sorry folks, but the Monkey was a bit too concerned by the traffic to attempt that shot.
The studio is still in use, recording everything from rock to classical music. It's also something of a tourist mecca.
The Monkey pays his respects to Karl Marx, the most important social thinker of the last two centuries, in north London's Highgate Cemetery.
Born in Trier, Germany, in 1818, Marx studied law and philosophy before becoming a newspaper editor. He met Friedrich Engels, who would become his lifelong collaborator, in Paris in the 1840s. He elaborated his theory of dialectical materialism, which essentially argued that economic factors had the primary responsibility for driving historical development (rather than "natural laws"), and that economically inefficient classes would be replaced by more efficient ones over time, eventually yielding a classless society. In 1847, Marx enlisted in the Communist League and wrote, with Engels, its Communist Manifesto (1848), which advocated and explained the Communist themes of worker solidarity and proletariat revolution.
Not surprisingly, Marx's activism made him unwelcome with authorities on the Continent, and he settled in London, where he continued to research and write despite chronic illness and his own poverty. He was instrumental in founding the First International, a workers' organization, in 1864. His exhaustive, multi-volumed Das Kapital (1867-1894, edited and finished by Engels) elaborated theories of political economy and international socialism, in what became known as Marxism.
Marx profoundly influenced approaches and theories for the practice and study of history, politics, economics, social and international relations, and, of course, labor. He died March 14, 1883 in London. One of his famous, eloquent quotations is etched on his tombstone: Workers of all lands, unite!
Home——Region Selector——Special Features——Monkey FAQ——Contact——Links
Copyright monkeytravel.org 2002-2005. The Monkey respects your right to use his photos for your personal, non-profit entertainment or for educational purposes.