Walter's Whispers
Snippets and treats of this and that from times gone by.
by - Walter Canham
WALTERS WHISPERS
Court Jesters
Dr. Doran, in his 1850 History of Court Fools gives a completely exhaustive account of licensed and unlicensed court fools, jesters and mirth men throughout the ages.
The following brief selection is just a few.
CARDINAL SOGLIA
The fun-maker and jester to Pope Gregory XVI.
Pope Gregory
ROSEN
Fool to Emperor Maximilian I
MERRY ANDREW
Physician to Henry VIII and his unlicensed fool.
ABGELY
Fool to Louis XIV, the last licensed fool in France.
Louis XIV
ADELSBURN
Jester to George I, was not only a fun-maker but also a ghostly adviser of the Hanoverian.
George I
BERDIC
Joculator to William the Conqueror who gave him 3 towns and 5 caracutes in Gloucestershire.A caracute is an area of land that a plough team of 8 oxen could till in a single annual season.
William the Conqueror
COLQUHOUN
Jester to the court of Mary Queen of Scots.
Mary Queen of Scots
DA'GONET
Jester to King Arthur who later made him a Knight.
PATCHE
Cardinal Wolseys jester whom he made a present of this wise fool to Henry VIII who returned word that the gift was a most acceptable one.
Cardinal Wolsey
PATISON
Licensed jester to Sir Thomas More.
WILL SOMERS
Court jester at Hampton Court to Henry VIII .
AKSAKOFF
Fool of Czarina Elizabeth of Russia. mother of Peter II.A stolid brute, fond of practical jokes.
Czarina Elizabeth
Walter
13
WALTER'S WHISPERS
Genetic
Fingerprinting
Genetic fingerprinting was first discovered at Leicester
University in 1985.
Leicestershire Constabulary
was the first police force in the world to use genetic fingerprinting for
criminal detection in the case of Colin Pitchfork who appeared at Leicester
Crown court in 1987, charged with the murder of two school-girls. Pitchfork became the first murderer in the
world to be convicted on the evidence of genetic fingerprinting.
Christmas
Stockings
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled
our stockings at Christmas time. G.K.
Chesterton once said - Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings
with legs?
A
Great Thinker and Inventor
'Opportunity is missed by most people
because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work' -
Thomas
Edison
A thought to ponder?
Happy Christmas!
Royal
Retreat
The Isle of Wight, almost
an England in miniature, has for a long time been a retreat for troubled royals
trying to get away from their cares and problems on the mainland. In the 11th century, Odo, half-brother to
William the Conqueror, having been accused of treasonable acts, sought
sanctuary at Carisbrooke Castle, but was caught and arrested by William
himself.
In 1647, Charles I fled to
the Isle of Wight hoping that the Governor, Colonel Robert Hammond, would assist him
in getting away to France. Instead,
Hammond imprisoned the King in Carisbrooke Castle. Charles tried to escape by climbing out of a
window and sliding down a rope, but was caught after becoming wedged in the
window bars. He was kept there until
1648 when he was taken away to await his execution at Whitehall on 30th January
1649.
Charles I's daughter, Princess
Elizabeth, born in 1635, was sent to Carrisbrooke Castle by Parliament after
her father's execution. She died there,
of a fever, aged just 14, and was buried by the altar in the church at Newport,
where her grave was marked by a simple ES.
In 1865, Queen Victoria restored the grave from obscurity and erected a
monument in her ancestor's memory.
Queen Victoria herself retired to
Osborne House on the Isle of Wight after the death of Prince Albert and spent
much of her time there. She died at
Osborne House in 1901.
He
Went Too Fast
On 28th January 1896, Walter Arnold of East Peckham, near
Tonbridge, Kent, became the first motorist ever to be convicted of
speeding. On 20th January, he was
spotted by the local police constable doing 8 m.p.h. in a built-up area of
Paddock Wood, where the speed limit was 2 m.p.h. The police constable, who was having his
dinner at the time, selflessly abandoned his pork chop, grabbed his helmet,
mounted his bicycle and gave chase. He
eventually managed to overtake and flag down the felon after a breathless
pursuit of some 5 miles.
Arnold appeared before magistrates at
Tonbridge Police Court and was charged one shilling plus costs for the
outrage. Walter Arnold, however, was
undeterred and he went on to become the first man in Britain to manufacture
petrol-driven motor cars. The Arnold
Motor Carriage Company of East Peckham,
Kent, salesmen for Benz cars since 1894, manufactured an Arnold motor, based on
the Benz design, but with many innovations, in August 1896, the first
petrol-driven car ever manufactured for sale in England. Called an Adam, it was also the first car in
the world to have an electric self-starter.
Walter
10
WALTER'S WHISPERS
The
Instant Way of Life
The simple press of a button, a click of a switch and we get
what some people call the 'instant way of life'. Or click the mouse beside a computer and a
letter can be delivered many thousands of miles away.
It is all modern progress but too often, it seems, life
depends on forever trying to beat the clock. When we slow down we start to experience a real quality of
life. It gives us a whole new
perspective on what living is all about.
I think that the author H.G. Wells put it well when he
said: "We must never allow the clock and
the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and
a mystery.
Focus
on this...
It is all too easy to live for tomorrow, continually putting
things off, but as these words translated from ancient Sanskrit show, today is,
and always has been, a good time to focus on:
Look to this
day: for it is life, the very life of
life. In its brief course lie all the
verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendour of achievement are
but experiences of time. For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision; and today
well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of
happiness and every tomorrow a vision
of hope. Look well therefore to this
day;
such is the salutation to the
ever-new dawn!
So, why not start something useful today?
Gallileo
In his day few men understood the universe like
Galileo. His real wisdom was to look
for wonder, not only in the vastness of space or in the minute detail of the
everyday world, but in both at the same time.;
The majesty and intricacy of Galileo's world were summed up
in these words: The sun, with all those
planets revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of
grapes like it has nothing else in the universe to do.
The
Birthplace of English Theatre
Standing at the crossroads of the Icknield
Way and Watling Street, the ancient town of Dunstable
is the unlikely birthplace of English Theatre.
Here, in the 12th Century, Geoffrey de Gorham wrote and directed the
first play ever seen in England.
While he was waiting to become Prior of St. Albans, de
Gorham established a school in Dunstable where he was living. The town possessed a large colony of weavers
and he decided to compose a play as a way of teaching his pupils about St.
Catherine, the Patron Saint of Weavers.
The play proved such a success that others copied his example and put on
the first mystery plays, which tell stories from the Bible and are still
performed today.
Dunstable Priory was the scene
of the trial and divorce of Catherine of Aragon. It was here that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
pronounced the Queen's marriage to Henry VIII illegal. The document he issued to
record this was the last ever to describe the Primate of England as an official
of the Church of Rome.
Walter
35
WALTER'S WHISPERS
He
Built His House on Sand
Down on the beach, amongst the sand dunes of Bude, in
Cornwall, is Bude Castle, a remarkable building that was the world's first
permanent structure to be built on shifting sands.
It was put up in 1830 by Sir
Goldsworthy Gurney [1793-1875], who overcame the problem of instability by
laying a strong concrete platform directly on to the sand for the foundations,
thereby inventing a building technique widely used in the modern construction
industry. Thanks to this ingenious
Cornish inventor, engineers knew how to build the world's tallest building, the
Petronas Towers at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on soft, wet limestone.
He
Took A Second Look
A friend of mine told me about something he spotted on the
staff notice board at a works he visited a short time ago. He had to take another look as he couldn't believe what he
was reading. It was fortunate he took
that second look. At first the notice
appeared to be instructions to the staff to: grumble,
criticise,
blame,
complain,
gossip and
think negative.
Then my friend caught sight of a single word at the top of
the notice - Don't!
Our
Time
Bankers and financial experts may offer us lots of
advice. However, all the experts in the
world seldom tell us how to spend one item that is more important than
money. I call it 'our time'.
This invisible currency is the most important thing we can
spend or save, and the wise person will put family concerns high in his or her
time-spending priorities, as Barbara Bush, a former First Lady of the United
States, advised. "At the end of your
life," she said, "You will never have regrets at not having passed one more
test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. But you will regret any moments of time that
you have failed to spend with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent."
We
Need Space
In the busy rush of modern
life it is often difficult to find time to be alone and to be still. Blaise Pascal said that all
the troubles of life come upon us because we do not sit quietly for a while
each day. Thoreau loved being alone, saying he 'had never found the
companion that was as companionable as solitude'. Another philosopher said that solitude is to
the mind what diet is to the body.
Of course we all love our family and friends and good
company, but we also need time to ourselves, 'space' as we might call it today.
Walter
26
WALTER'S
WHISPERS
Look
Before You Leap
The graceful impala, a member of the
African antelope family, can teach us a lot about treading carefully.
They have been known to jump distances
of eleven metres, and can leap to a height of over three metres, yet when
placed in a zoo enclosure, surrounded by a low wall, they will never jump over
it.
There is a very simple reason for
this. These beautiful creatures simply
will not make a move if they cannot see where their feet will land. This way they will not find themselves on
shaky ground.
This is something we should, perhaps
remember the next time we are tempted to leap before we look.
Hold
the Lift
On 1st January 1842, a Cornish engineer, Michael Loam [1798-1871], gave a successful demonstration of the world's first lift. He called it a Man Engine, and it was installed at the Tresavean Mine in Gwennap, near Redruth. It was powered by a waterwheel and reached a depth of 150 feet. When it proved effective, it was extended to 1000 feet.
Loam had invented the Man Engine in an
effort to relieve miners of the back-breaking climb to and from the work
face. Some mines were over 2000 feet
deep. The basic design involved a
series of stepped wooden rods which moved up and down between a succession of
platforms, which were fitted to the mine shaft wall. The miner would step off a platform on to a
rod, step off that on to the next platform and wait for the next rod. It was slow, but relatively safe, and much
less exhausting than climbing a ladder.
Sing
in the Life Boats
Voltaire, the French writer and
philosopher, who was born in 1694, was a witty but ruthless critic of the
corrupt ruling powers of his era, and refused to ignore injustice. Because of that he offended the authorities,
and his views landed him in periods of imprisonment and exile.
His was a turbulent existence, and he
once described life as 'a shipwreck'.
Voltaire, however, added one further comment by saying, "Nevertheless,
we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."
We could all do with a shipmate like
him!
Let
There be Music
Here are two sayings about the power of
music in our lives.
Henry
David Thoreau wrote:
- When I
hear music, I fear no danger. I am
invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to
the latest.
Even earlier, Plato had this to say:
- Music
gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imaginations and
life to everything.
Walter
33
PERSISTENCE
Have
you heard of Reverend John Brown of Haddington,
This
Bible has explanatory notes to help readers to understand the text, and some
Victorian editions had beautiful, coloured
illustrations with space to record family details.
John
Brown would today be described as a disadvantaged child. Born in 1772 to poor parents, he was
orphaned while young, and became a shepherd boy.
A
great reader, and with an astonishing talent for languages, he taught himself
Greek, Latin and Hebrew, for his dearest wish was to become a clergyman.
To
achieve his aim, John Brown earned a living as a pedlar and self-educated
school teacher, overcoming many obstacles along the way.
Rev.
John Brown, Clergyman, Theologian, Scholar and Linguist, died in 1787 in
Haddington, where he had been a much loved clergyman for 36 years.
It was Calvin Coolidge who said of him - 'Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.'
John Calvin Coolidge
[1872-1933] - 30th President of the
Walter
29
WALTER'S WHISPERS
Wise
Words
Wise words about when and when not to speak your thoughts came from Will Rogers, the American political sage and philosopher [cowboy, actor, comic], who died in a plane crash in 1935.
Here are two of his maxims:
- Never miss a good chance to shut up, and
- Lettin' the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back.
Think About It
If you find yourself troubled by where you
live, the people around you, or the environment you work in, hear what the
philosopher Eusebius had to say about the matter. He lived in
- Remember, a sunbeam passes through pollution, unpolluted.
Salt
Mines
Because salt mines are clean, and have a
constant temperature of 14 degrees, they are useful for storage. During the Second World War, it is believed
that the Crown Jewels were kept in Winsford Mine,
Excalibur
The bottomless Dozmary Pool, in the middle of
bleak and barren Bodmin Moor,
Walter
34
WALTER'S WHISPERS
Genius
of Electricity
This
book, written by Henry Ford, the motor magnate, contains a paragraph in which
the author recalls visiting a business acquaintance in
Their
host asked them to sign his guest book.
As well as names, the book had columns for 'Home Address', 'Occupation'
and one headed 'Interested In'.
The
great car maker watched as Mr. Edison duly signed. In the final column he wrote without an
instant's hesitation, 'Everything'.
What a wonderful way to really live a life!
Mistakes
We
all make them. And there's no denying,
it can be a painful process. If, like
many of us, you have made one recently, here are a few encouraging words to
keep in mind.
Samuel
Smiles wrote: He who never made a
mistake never made a discovery.
And George Bernard Shaw had this to say: A life spent making mistakes is not only more
honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
Sir
Walter Scott
In
his final days, Sir Walter Scott cast his mind over the many volumes he had
written and was comforted by the thought that, in his work, he had 'tried to
unsettle no man's faith, corrupt no man's principles and written nothing I
could wish blotted out.'
Those
of us who write can all aspire to follow his code.
Pandora's
Box
The
old story about Pandora tells how she was sent to earth with a box which she had
been instructed to guard but never open.
Curiosity got the better of her.
She lifted the lid and out escaped all the evils and sorrows of mankind.
What
is often forgotten is that something remained safe inside the box. It was Hope, and it has been here to see us
through all our troubles ever since.
That is the real lesson of the myth of Pandora's Box.
Illustration: John William Waterhouse - [1849-1917]
English Pre-Raphaelite painter most famous
for his depictions of female characters from Greek and Arthurian mythology
Walter
37
SPLATT!!!
On the wall of the dining room in a renowned Ilfracombe residential home is a notice posted for the guidance of residents. The notice is headed 'SEAGULLS'.
The text reads:
Please do not feed
the seagulls as
they are becoming a
nuisance. Thank you.
Now,
the population of seagulls in Ilfracombe consists of a bunch of highly
sophisticated and educated birds, and those gulls have decided to retaliate! Observers
have seen flocks of birds gathering and then dive-bombing the home, leaving
their marks on the windows. The local
window cleaner is certainly kept busy!
Did
Homer nod, or did I hear someone say 'tut-tut'? But after all, the birds have got to eat,
haven't they?
Walter
33
PAST TIMES WITH WALTER
Cinque Ports
Dover is the chief Cinque Port. The others are Sandwich, Hythe, Romney and Hastings.
First mentioned in 1155, those ports were given certain privileges by the monarch in return for providing ships to defend the coastline.
In the late 12th Century, the ancient town of Rye and Winchelsea were added. The Cinque Ports are under the jurisdiction of a Lord Warden whose official residence is at Walmer Castle.
Distinguished Lord Wardens have included William Pitt, The Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
The First Recorded Fatal Motor Car Accident
Daimler Wagonette in the
London to Brighton Run
On Grove Hill, a steep, narrow lane that winds down from the hill towards Harrow town, the first recorded, fatal motor car accident in Britain happened on the 25th February 1899.
A Daimler Wagonette... being driven on a demonstration run by E.R. Sewell of the Daimler Motor Car Company, went out of control while going down the hill and hit the kerb at the bottom, pitching the driver and his passenger, 63 year old Major James Richer, on the road. Mr. Sewell died instantly, the major four days later of a fractured skull, becoming the first passenger fatality.
13
PAST TIMES WITH WALTER
Although I have lived in
At
The Saxon church at Sompting, half a mile from Lancing, has a
four-gabled Rhenish helm style spire, unique in
William Blake [1757-1827] lived in a cottage in the
In 1906, the writer Hillaire Belloc [1870-1953] bought the
white smock windmill near his home at Shipley, close to Horsham. He would doff his cap to his 'beautiful Mrs.
Shipley' whenever he passed by and there is now a plaque to his memory above
the windmill door.
The church at Steyning, not far from Lancing, possesses what
is often described as the most magnificent
John Pellwas born in
Southwick, near
Well-known resorts in
Walter
26
AMBROSE BIERCE 1842-1914
The other day I took some time off to do more digging into
the Devil's Dictionary, that interesting publication by Ambrose Bierce, who was
also known as 'The American Swift'. The
caustic and cynical definitions survive the test of time and continue to bring
delight to those readers who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit
to humour and plain English to slang.
Enjoy some more of the gems from this remarkable book -
- Actually : Perhaps, possibly
- Auctioneer : A man who proclaims with a hammer
that he has picked a pocket with his tongue
- Court
Fool : The Plaintiff
- Dentist : A conjurer who, putting metal
into your mouth, pulls coins out of your pocket
- Envelope : The coffin of a document; the
scabbard of a bill; the husk of a
remittance; the bed-gown of a
love-letter
- Erudition : Dust shaken out of a book into an
empty skull
- Forefinger : The finger commonly used in
pointing out two malefactors
- Frog : A reptile with edible
legs
- Ghost : The outward and visible sign
of an inward fear
- Habit : A shackle for the free
- Hospitality : The virtue which induces us to feed
and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging
- Illustrious : Suitably placed for the shafts of
malice, envy and detraction.
- Impiety : Your irreverence toward my
deity
- Influence : In politics, a visionary quo given
in exchange for a substantial quid
Walter
23
GLEN MILLER 1904-1944
The music of Glen Miller and his Orchestra has become
inextricably associated with the Second World War and the mood, spirit and
social history of the era. The
recordings which have been preserved are taken from the CBS radio starring Glen
Miller and sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes, which were broadcast from 1939
to 1942, and naturally cover a substantial chunk of the war years. The recordings admirably capture the flavour
of the period.
Born in
He started touring with various small bands and then landed a
job with Ben Pollack's group in
The radio was king in the 1940's and recordings of that
period very much serve to recreate a bygone era, where families sat round the
radio, glued to their regular bit of entertainment and news, and able to hear
the very biggest stars of the day.
In the autumn of 1944, with the Allied Forces secured in
The aircraft disappeared over the
A great loss to music, Glenn Miller was at the height of his
career and only 40 years of age.
Walter
16
PAST TIMES WITH WALTER
Albury
-
The
house was used as the location for the Scottish wedding in the film Four
Weddings and a Funeral. Buried under
the ruined chancel of the redundant Saxon church next door William Oughtred [1575-1660] who, as well as being parson there
for 50 years, was one of the leading mathematicians of his day. He invented the slide rule and the
multiplication sign [x]. He died from
joy when he heard of the restoration of Charles II to the throne.
The
Quakers
- George Fox, preacher and founder of the Society of Friends, was born in Fenny
Drayton in 1624. On one of the many
occasions he was arrested, Fox bid the judge 'Quake at the word of God', and
from then on his followers were known as Quakers. Members have never used the term themselves, preferring to
be known as 'Friends'.
Quakers reject the religious authority of the established
church, believing that the Bible is the word of God and that he can be found in
every individual, so no mediation is needed from priest or doctrine. At Quaker services, no minister leads the
congregation but, instead, the silence is broken when someone feels moved by
the Holy Spirit to speak. Many Quakers have been
conscientious objectors and Quakers were amongst the first to speak out against
slavery.
Well-known Quakers include - Abraham Darby [1678-1717] who
kick-started the Industrial Revolution when he discovered how to smelt iron
using coke; Edward Peace [1767-1858]
founder of the world's first passenger railway, the Stockton to Darlington, and
the first Quaker M.P; John Dalton
[1766-1844] father of atomic theory;
Thomas Hodgkin [1798-1866] pathologist who gave his name to
Hodgkin's Disease; Joseph Lister
[1827-1912] who pioneered the use of antiseptics in surgery; William Penn
[1644-1718] who founded Pennsylvania as a Quaker state; United States Presidents Herbert Hoover
[1874-1964] and Richard Nixon [1913-1994].
Household names founded by Quaker families include Wedgwood Pottery,
Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, Huntley and Palmer, Fry's, Cadbury's, Rowntree's,
Clark's Shoes and Bryant and May Matches.
The
Stilton
Cheese
- The
Walter
48
PAST TIMES WITH WALTER
During the construction of the
Some bright spark in the construction team told the workers
not to panic, but to wait as the rising sun shone on the nearly completed
bridge. So they waited, while the sun
warmed the metal and expanded the bridge.
Two hours later those vital bolts slipped smoothly into
place.
Charles Babbage was born in Teignmouth in 1791. He was
a prolific inventor and mathematician.
He is best remembered for conceiving the idea of an
analytical engine which could be programmed by punched cards to make a
variety of different calculations. His
vision was never realised, mainly due to the limitations of the mechanical
devices of the time, but his concept is now recognised as the basis for modern
electronic computers.
Charles Babbage, the 'father of computers', died in 1871.
In 1787, the regal
copper coinage being very scanty, pennies and halfpennies were struck by a
number of firms, among them the Anglesey Copper Mining Company, and there began
a fresh token epoch.
Those token coins presented an immense variety of types -
persons, buildings, coats of arms, local legends, political events and so on,
all drawn upon for subjects of design.
They were struck by many firms in most cities and towns in the country
and are to be found in good condition.
It is quite good fun to browse in shops which sell antiques, asking to
see their collection of coinage and spotting some of the token money which
circulated many years ago.
With the issue of the copper coinage of 1898 tokens were made
illegal, but the dearth of silver currency was still felt. During the Napoleonic Wars there came a
small wave of prosperity in the industrial districts and the inevitable need of
small change, so in 1811 tokens again made their appearance. These were suppressed before the last
coinage of King George
Captain
Charles Cunningham Boycott was born in 1832.
He became a land agent and, in the 1870's, went to
In 1880, his tenants, spurred on by the Irish Land League
under Charles Purnell, demanded a substantial cut in their rents. Boycott refused and Parnell suggested that
everyone in the area should suspend all dealings with Boycott. No one would work on the land, household
servants downed tools, shops would not serve him, and even his post remained
undelivered.
It turned out to be a highly effective tactic and one
newspaper, The Times, in
Walter
36
PAST TIMES WITH WALTER
IT
KEPT THE QUEEN QUIET
David Simpson was the village baker in Bathgate. He had seven sons, all of whom went into the
Bakehouse to work in the family business when they were old enough. That is except James, the youngest.
His brothers felt that he especially warranted a good
education, and they resolved to club together to pay whatever it cost. So James went to
He became one of the outstanding physicians of his day and
pioneered the discovery of chloroform, describing it as one of the greatest
discoveries ever made in medicine, saving thousands of lives and first used
during one operation in 1847.
Queen
We continue to remember today the importance of James Young
Simpson, who was knighted in 1866. His
achievements were made possible by those who gladly sacrificed their prospects
for his.
MUSICAL
PSEUDONYMS
It is not unusual for performers and entertainers to take stage names when launching their career. Four favourite performers who are currently popular with their listening public are :
- Freddy Fender - In 1958 Baldemar Huerta changed his name to Freddy Fender, taking Fender from the guitar and Freddy because the alliteration sounded good.
- Spike Jones - born Lindley Armstrong Jones. Spike took his nickname by being so thin that he was compared to a railroad spike.
-
Acker Bilk - Acker Bilk
was born as Bernard Stanley Bilk, and earned the name Acker from the
-
Richard Clayderman -
Philippe Pages changed his name to Richard Clayderman to avoid mispronunciation
of his real name outside
REMEMBER
THE CRYSTAL SET?
It is easy for us to turn a switch and
within seconds hear people talking on the radio. Yet we have had radio for only just over one
hundred years.
What about television? I hear you say. But that's another story.
In 1898 Marconi set up a crude, experimental transmitting station at
Marconi inaugurated
Following that, in June 1920, Dame Nellie Melba became the
first professional artiste to broadcast in
Since those early days technology has given us the power and
ability to speak to anybody in the world - all by radio. The sophisticated equipment of today is a
long way from the crystal set of the early days - I remember it well - when
earphones had to be used to pick up the indistinct voices whispering over the
ether.
Voltaire, the French writer and philosopher, born in 1694,
was a witty but ruthless critic of the corrupt ruling powers of his era. He was a man whose refusal to ignore
injustice not only offended the authorities, but also led to periods of
imprisonment and exile.
His was a turbulent existence, so it is not surprising to
read that he once described life as a shipwreck. But he went on to say, "We must not
forget to sing in the lifeboats."
That sort of shipmate would be invaluable.
There are times when most of us have a compelling desire to
tell the world what we think of a certain person or problem, and other
occasions when we realise that it would be wiser not to do so.
Each time I am temped to let off steam, I am reminded of this
advice, given to me in my younger days - true wisdom is the skill to know just
when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech.
Walter
19
KING EDWARD VIII [1894-1972]
Succeeded
to the throne:
Abdicated:
Edward was not a traditionalist, evidenced on patterns for
the proposed coinage, where he insisted against all advice on having his effigy
face the same way as his father's, instead of opposite. He also let it be known that in the
inscriptions of the coins, he preferred to do away with the normal Latinisation
of Edward - Edwardus - leaving the inscription plain Edward.
No coins of Edward VIII were issued for currency within the
This was the same with the Maundy Money which was to be
issued in 1936 - proof sets were struck by the Royal Mint. Several sets of those Maundy coins, four in
number, found their way on to the market and were offered at auction. I was fortunate enough to acquire a set of
the coins.
From my archives I have selected the Instrument of Abdication
and the complete text of the King's farewell message on the radio on
Edward's Farewell
LONDON,
Dec. 11 - following is the text of the farewell broadcast of former King
Edward, who was introduced to the radio audience as 'His Royal Highness Prince
Edward':
At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but
until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak.
A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and
Emperor. And now that I have been
succeeded by my brother, the Duke of York, my first words must be to declare my
allegiance to him. This I do with all my
heart.
You know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce the
throne, but I want you to understand that in making up my mind I did not forget
the country or the empire which, as Prince of Wales and lately as King, I have
for twenty-five years tried to serve.
But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it
impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my
duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman
I love.
And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been
mine and mine alone.
This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has
tried up to the last to persuade me to take a different course.
I have made this the most serious decision of my life only
upon the single thought of what would, in the end, be best for all.
This decision has been made less difficult for me by the sure
knowledge that my brother, with his long training in the public affairs of this
country and with his fine qualities, will be able to take my place forthwith
without interruption or injury to the life and progress of the empire, and he
has one matchless blessing, enjoyed by so many of you and not bestowed upon me,
a happy home with his wife and children.
During these hard days, I have been comforted by Her Majesty,
my mother, and by my family. The
Ministers of the Crown and in particular Mr. Baldwin, the Prime Minister, have
always treated me with full consideration.
There has never been any constitutional difference between me
and them and between me and Parliament.
Bred in the constitutional traditions by my father, I should never have
allowed any such issue to arise.
Ever since I was Prince of Wales and after on, when I
occupied the throne, I have been treated with the greatest kindness by all
classes of the people wherever I have lived or journeyed throughout the
empire. For that I am very
grateful. I now quit altogether public
affairs and I lay down my burden.
It may be some time before I return to my native land, but I
shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire with profound
interest and if, at any time in the future, I can be found of service to His
Majesty in a private station I shall not fail.
And now we all have a new King. I wish him and you, his people, happiness
and prosperity with all my heart.
God bless you all!
God save the King!
1936 saw the unprecedented situation of the country having
three monarchs on the throne:
- George V - 1910 to January 1936
- Edward VIII - January to December 1936
- George VI - December 1936 to February 1952
Walter
7
THE LUNAR SOCIETY
The Lunar Society was a group of
brilliant engineers, scientists, inventors and thinkers who met in and around
The members of the Lunar Society were
hugely powerful and influential, leaders and designers of the revolution that
was sweeping the world, the Industrial Revolution. At meetings they would discuss not only the
new inventions and the science behind them, but how that science and invention
could be applied to the real world of industry, medicine, transport,
education, politics and social issues.
They knew that they were changing the world and they had the confidence
to believe that they were changing it for the good of mankind.
Their outlook was liberal. They abhorred slavery and tyranny, and sympathised
with the ideals behind both the French and American Revolutions, yet at the
same time they believed in capitalist self-help and the need for success to be
rewarded.
Leading members of the Lunar Society
included:
Walter
14
RUDYARD'S KETTLE
The
first thing many of us do in a crisis is to switch on the kettle. A hot, soothing cup of tea shared with
friends, or taken alone, never fails to lift
the spirit. Rudyard Kipling obviously
knew how it felt to be without tea, when he wrote:
We had a
kettle, we let it leak:
Our not
repairing made it worse,
We
haven't had any tea for a week . . .
The
bottom is out of the universe.
Another
man of note who was fond of a good cup of tea was William Gladstone, the 19th
Century British Prime Minister. He had
this to say about his favourite brew:
If
you are cold, tea will warm you.
If you
are too heated, it will cool you.
If
you are depressed, it will cheer you.
If
you are excited, it will calm you.
PROVERBIALLY . . .
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the wind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.
Plato gave us that.
The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as being heard.
William Hazlitt wrote those wise words in 1826.
Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think. If anything can go wrong, it will.
Murphy's Law
-
The beginning is the half of every action
Greek
-
Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out
Italian
It
has been well said that the person who never made a mistake
never made anything. Nobody
likes to make a mistake, but one way of looking at it could be that if you make
a mistake today, you will be wiser tomorrow.
You
don't stop laughing because you grow old.
You grow old because you stop laughing.
Watching
squirrels gambolling about and digging up the nuts they buried earlier in the
year, makes one think that we human beings can be in possession of good things
too. We can keep stored all the special
and important moments in our lives and bring them out again when we feel
downhearted.
Some
years ago a painting by the famous French Impressionist Henri Matisse was put on display in
Walter
29
THE TEDDY
The
President of the
When the
press got to know about the incident, a cartoon appeared in the Washington Post
which caught the attention of a Russian immigrant who ran a small, novelty
shop. His wife made a stuffed toy bear
with button eyes and moveable limbs.
It was
soon sold and attracted a lot of interest locally. Demand for the toy increased and the
craftsman wrote to the President asking permission to use his name. That was granted, and in 1906, the American
Toy Trade magazine 'Playthings', coined the term 'Teddy Bear', enhancing the
popularity of President Teddy Roosevelt and ensuring that many children and
grownups have a cuddly toy from which they are reluctant to part.
Left: 'George' the Steiff Bear at Arlington Court, who has just celebrated his 100th birthday with a Teddy Bears' Picnic.
Walter
41
BANKS WERE IN TROUBLE 200 YEARS AGO ---
Some
600 private banks in
Country
banks in the
So,
you see, what is happening now within the banking industry happened a long time
ago. But were any lessons learned?
Walter
23
DID YOU KNOW . . . . ?
Standing
almost side by side on
In
the 18th Century, coaches would stop off there on their way from
On the left, the Cock Hotel. To the right, the Bull Hotel.
Joseph
Hansom invented the Hansom Cab at his workshop in
Don't Tread on Me
The
Walter
24
REQUIESCAT IN PACE
For
35 years, in the garden at Lee Lodge, it stood at the head of the valley, erect
and majestic, like a monarch inspecting a guard of honour.
During
that time, from small beginnings, it had grown in stature, with outstretched
limbs which were resting places for a myriad of birds. Squirrels also found shelter amongst its
branches, and pigeons often called to one another as they sat on the swinging
arms.
When
a strong breeze came along, a motley of needles fell
to the ground, adding a carpet of colour to the green of the grass. On bright summer days it was a welcoming
shade from the glare of the sun, the coolness and the subtle scent
of pine combining to the tranquillity for those seeking shelter beneath.
Now all that is in the past.
A
noisy chainsaw came along, lopping branches right and left, leaving the stately
monarch bare and sombre.
Soon that, too, was levelled, the
stump looking forlorn, surrounded by sawdust and wood chippings. A sad day in the
garden.
Even
the birds are grieving. There are no
birdsongs. The squirrels are casting
about, looking confused. The pigeons
have given up calling to one another.
That
was a living tree. Requiescat in Pace.
Walter
33
THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY
The
caustic and cynical definitions contained in the Devil's Dictionary are the
work of Ambrose Bierce. During his lifetime, 1842 - 1914, he
was a writer, poet and journalist, as well as being a veteran of the American Civil War.
His
best known creation was the Dictionary, in which he sought to influence
enlightened people who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to
humour and clear English to slang.
Browsing
through the work at random one comes upon many gems. Here are a few:
Walter 35
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? That
was the question I asked in the piece I wrote for the October Newsletter [see
page 39], and from research I have been doing recently, the answer may be
forthcoming in a couple of years hence. It
appears that for some time there has been a shortage of five pound notes. The banks seem reluctant to issue this
denomination in paper currency but nobody knows the reason why. Shopkeepers have remarked on the scarcity of
the 'fiver' and rumours abound on the possibility of the note eventually being
withdrawn and demonetised. To support
this theory, it is interesting to learn of the activities of the Royal Mint in
recent years during which time they have been striking cupro-nickel
coins of five pounds value on an experimental basis, the coins being confined
to low mintings. These
coins have been struck to commemorate certain important historical events. For instance, in 1999 a coin, measuring 38mm
in diameter - that is large - was issued for the millennium. On the reverse side the design showed a
representation of the British Isles with a pair of clock hands emanating from
Greenwich, set at twelve o'clock with the inscription 'anno domini',
with the denomination five pounds and the dates 1999 and 2000. The designer was Jeffrey Matthews who also
has been responsible for the designs on many of our postage stamps. The mintage of the £5 coin was small, some
51,500 pieces. Another
coin, issued in 2001, was commemorating the Victorian Anniversary. The design was of a classic portrait of the
young Queen Victoria based on the penny black postage stamp with a 'V'
representing Victoria and taking the form of railway lines and in the background
the iron framework of the Crystal Palace with the denomination five pounds and
the dates 1901 and 2001. Again, the
coin measures 38mm in diameter and was rather heavy. The actual mintage was only 21,000. Since
then further experimental coins have been issued between 2003 and 2007, the mintings varying from 50,000 to 100,500 per annum. It
is my guess that, by Twenty-ten, we shall be waving goodbye to the paper fiver
and begin coping with its weighty successor. Walter 36
THE DREAM It had
been a long day. Highlights and
lowlights had jostled their way through the preceding hours and I was
tired. It had been a long day. I was
overdue for a period of relaxation so stretched out in a comfortable chair and
selected orchestral music to enable me to chill out. The CD was on the player. Sitting in my armchair I settle down to
listening to the soothing melody, shutting my eyes the better to enjoy the
music. Drifting away into a world of
peace and tranquillity, time stood still. I awoke to
find myself sitting on a beach. A
brilliant sun was shining. It was
warm. In the distance mountains looked
down on a calm and peaceful bay. The
lapping of the waves of a sultry sea accompanied the soft warmth of violins far
away. Nobody was
about. The place was deserted. How did I come here I wondered. The
silvery sand stretched beyond into a haze of blue as the sea and sky seemed to
merge. Sea birds flew lazily
overhead. It was paradise. I became
aware of a figure approaching along the beach, far away. Drawing ever closer I now saw it was a girl
wearing a flowery dress. The sunlight
touched her dark hair. There was a
smile on her face. Her lips were moving
but there was no sound. I tried to
speak but no words came. She had
something in her hand which she was wanting me to take. As I stretched out to do so, my fingers
brushed against hers - the vision vanished immediately. I awoke
with a start. I was leaning forward,
hand outstretched. The music played on. In the
morning, as I collected the mail, which had fallen on the mat, I noticed a
postcard among the letters. I looked at
the picture. A beach bathed in
sunlight, with mountains in the background.
It was so familiar it was uncanny.
Turning the card over, I read the written words. They were
from a friend who was holidaying on a remote island thousands of miles
away. Extraordinary dream, wasn't it!
Illustrated by: Peter Rothwell Walter Canham
20
A LONG TIME AGO
I think I was seven when I first had 'pocket
money'. The one penny was a large coin
and there were 240 of them to the pound sterling. At my age then, I was not bothered with
pounds sterling!
In 1924
that one penny went a long way in the sweetshop. Liquorice was in abundance and it was cheap,
so you got a lot for your penny. Pontefract
cakes, boot laces - those strands of liquorice which were the favourites of
young children, tiger nuts and gob stoppers.
Those days are long gone. My
collection of coins contains a large number of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII
and King George V pennies. The weight
of the album in which they are housed is enormous. No wonder that trouser pockets wore out so
quickly, having to cope with such weighty items!
The other
day I was talking to a youngster who seemed unable to grasp the fact at, at one
time, there were small coins called farthings - 960 of them to the pound
sterling. It took me quite a time to
tell him what had happened to our currency since 1971 when everything went
decimal. In schools, these days, they
don't even tell children that we had a half penny once - that was discontinue
in 1984. Going back even further, it
was in 1956 when the farthing disappeared.
So what happens next?
Walter Canham
36
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH
Friends
are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly.
Unlucky
Thirteen - The
Turks so dislike the number 13 that the word is almost expunged from their
vocabulary. The Italians never use it
in making up the numbers of their lotteries.
And, in
Horse-Sense
- Something
a horse has that prevents him from betting on people.
Horse
Radish - Equus
Radix?
Queen
Elizabeth the First Slept Here - That
notice, according to the British Tourist Board, can be seen in approximately
2500 residences in the
Walter
P.S. Debbie did get it right - I do hold
my single malt in my right hand!!
19
WHOSE FAULT?
To the
sound of the cockerel I awake every morn,
The moon
up aloft looks very forlorn.
My
faltering steps soon come to a halt
When a
voice says quietly -
"It's
all Walter's fault."
The
coffee is hot, the orange ice cold,
'Tis nice to have friends, when you're getting old,
Tending
your needs with a fine single malt,
While
hearing them say -
"It's
all Walter's fault."
There
must come a time when all this will end
With a
clamouring of trumpets, no money to spend
On
things really interesting, I am quite distraught
As the
voices keep saying -
"It's
all Walter's fault."
At the
end of the day when the curtains are drawn,
I think
of the hours which have passed since the dawn,
The time
has been pleasant, not a bad thought
But that
voice is still saying -
"It's
all Walter's fault."
Through
seconds to minutes to hours to days,
We all
settle down to Lee Lodge ways.
When
things go right it's the pleasure we thought
But,
when things go wrong -
"It's
all Walter's fault."
That
lost 'S' in NEWLETTER - we thought 'twas
unkind
To blame
it on Judie, who has a clear mind.
That
only one person should surely be sought,
Would
you believe it?
It's all
Walter's fault!
[No.
actually it was Len's!]
Illustrated by: Debbie Cook
Yours
sincerely -
When
you sign off a letter 'Yours sincerely' do you ever wonder where the 'sincere'
came from? Actually you have to go back
nearly 3000 years to find the origin of the word. When the early Romans were busy making
utensils for the storage of liquid, sometimes during the process of manufacture
a pot might be cracked. They did not
throw it away but filled the crack with wax, painting over the repair. But when warm liquid was poured in, the wax
melted and there was a leak. Good Roman
potters advertised that their goods were 'sine cera'
- without wax. And, as language has
developed, the Latin phrase has become 'sincere' which means that you are not
waxing over imperfections.
Walter
22