15 May 2025
What does it take to become a Cathedral tour guide? Former lawyer Peter Goodman is undertaking six months of formal training for the role, and invites us to join him on his journey…
When I started the process of training to be a Cathedral guide I realised that it would be quite a while before I would be of much use to anybody and decided to be a volunteer steward in the meantime. I didn’t really look forward to doing this but felt I needed to do something useful until I qualified as a guide.
The reality of stewarding has been so much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. The role involves all aspects of running an event apart from the actual performance. For example, checking tickets, showing people to their seats, telling people where the toilets are, fire warden duties, opening exit doors etc.
At my first event my job was to check tickets and carry out various other minor roles. The best part of that was to get people back into the Nave after the interval (without their drinks – red wine and mediaeval wall paintings really don’t belong together!). To assist I was handed a large bell and told to go into the Abbot’s Kitchen, ring the bell continuously and get them all out of there and back to the concert.
There have been many events since then and many different duties. My finest moment was being put in charge of the buggy park (also in the Nave) for the Family Carol Service. Organising the parallel parking of 38 buggies earned me a special mention from the head of the team! It was also really sweet to see many of the children going up to the front for part of the event.
Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age.
December also brought the Willow Carol Concert. It was good to see Bob Wilson looking well, David Seaman, Annie Brewster and other well known individuals. My duty for this event was fire warden which involved working at the west end of the Nave. The photo shows how warm the Nave can be in the evening in December.
There are small events as well as large and not all are ticketed or need reservations. On April 28 a talk took place on the future of local government. That may not sound the most interesting subject but, in case you didn’t know, there will probably be no Herts county council or St Albans district council in three years time. ‘Replaced by what?’ I hear you say!
Well you should have been one of only around 50 people who attended but even then it’s far from clear. It seems odd to announce the termination of the branches of our local
government without saying exactly what will be replacing them. If you are interested, our local radio station Mix 92.6 is producing a podcast on the issue.
And finally to my favourite event, the Princess Prom. I believe there were three separate performances in one day. I was stewarding the afternoon session.
Imagine hundreds of princesses dressed beautifully belting out princess songs from Disney and the Greatest Showman. There was a lovely electronic stage from which three older princesses led the singing. However the popularity of the event caused one major drawback. Both the central part of the Nave and many of the seats in its aisles were needed to accommodate the demand.
Back in the 1080s when Robert the Mason was building the Nave he clearly did not consider this and his massive Romanesque columns made viewing the stage from the aisle seats challenging to say the least. The organisers did their best – there were screens and the older singing princesses went down the aisles from time to time but it was less than perfect.
Looking ahead it’s getting close to the time when I must guide a tour in front of assessors.
As for stewarding I already have several events lined up for the summer. There is so much being organised this year. Check out the website for details.
