TALES FROM THE EMBASSY
COMMUNIQUES FROM THE GUILD OF TRANSCULTURAL STUDIES, 1976-1991
DOORS 7PM BOOK LAUNCH, FREE - ALL WELCOME
Strange Attractor Press invite you to celebrate the publication of
TALES FROM THE EMBASSY: COMMUNIQUES FROM THE GUILD OF TRANSCULTURAL STUDIES, 1976-1991
By Dave Tomlin
There will be live sitar music from former Embassy resident Robert Elliot
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About the book:
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One night in 1976, a group of squatters entered the Cambodian Embassy in London, an opulent building that had remained empty for two years following the bloody revolution of the Khmer Rouge. For the next fifteen years, this peculiar residence would play host to the Guild of Transcultural Studies, an open platform for creative monomaniacs, radical metaphysicians, poets, prophets and exiles.These humorous, perceptive, and deftly crafted vignettes boast a thinly disguised cast of provocateurs, including John Michell, earth mysteries sage and fortean, Nicholas Carr-Saunders, author of Alternative London, beat poets Harry Fainlight and George Andrews, playwright of The Warp Neil Oram, countercultural photographer and journalist John “Hoppy” Hopkins, and Sir Mark Palmer, aristocrat-turned-gypsy-traveller and male model impresario.
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‘The ideas we discussed in the sixties were not just ideals: many people actually put them into practice. These tales are the best account I’ve ever read of trying to live that life. Written with a wonderfully light touch and yet often dealing with seriously challenging issues, this is a book that probes deep but will also make you laugh out loud.’ Barry Miles
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‘Dave Tomlin’s collection of tales gives a vivid picture of the counter-culture of those years at its most engaging. I personally found the tales funny, and often touching.’ Diana Athill
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‘A modern classic.’ Brian Patten
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“If you want a glimpse into one version of alternative London in the 1970s and 80s, here it is… amusing and enchanting in equal measures; a kind of Thousand and One Nights for the counterculture.” International Times
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About the author:
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Musician and writer Dave Tomlin was a founder-member of the Third Ear Band and a constant presence within the London underground scene. He founded the Guild of Transcultural Studies in 1976 and contributed frequently to International Times.
Musician and writer Dave Tomlin was a founder-member of the Third Ear Band and a constant presence within the London underground scene. He founded the Guild of Transcultural Studies in 1976 and contributed frequently to International Times.
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