Cottage Capers

On this day in history….20th June 1497

On this day in history : 20th June 1497 – The consecration of St. Mary’s Church, Fairford, in the Cotswolds – which has a stone memorial to Tiddles the cat in its churchyard….

Fairford Church – Photo credit : Andy Dolman CC BY-SA 2.0

St. Mary’s in Fairford, Gloucestershire is one of the finest ‘wool’ churches in England…. To show off their wealth successful wool merchants would splash their cash on their parish churches…. John Tame was one such merchant, it was he who rebuilt the church at Fairford…. The story goes that he had another ulterior motive for rebuilding the church – to display his collection of stained glass….

It is said that in 1492 he captured a ship that was sailing to Rome from the lowlands…. It was carrying 28 beautiful stained glass windows, intended as a gift for the Pope…. Tame brought the windows back to England, along with the party of workmen who were travelling with them…. He then had the church built purposely to take the windows…. Well, that’s how the story goes – but in reality it is believed they were made in Westminster by Barnard Flower, a Flemish glazier…. However they came to be there, the 28 stained glass windows at St. Mary’s Church, displaying scenes from the Bible, are a sight to behold….

Great West Window – Image : Mattana – own work – Public domain

Inside the church a monument to John Tame can be seen…. But what about that other stone memorial that can be found in the churchyard facing the South door? The one for Tiddles the cat….

In 1963 a tabby cat appeared and befriended the verger and his wife…. She became a firm favourite among those who frequented the church, would attend the services and make herself comfortable on the lap of any willing person in the congregation…. She no doubt earned her keep by making sure the church mice were kept in order….

When Tiddles passed away in 1980 local a local stonemason decided she needed to be remembered – and so he carved a likeness of her….

Nearly a quarter of a century later history was to repeat itself…. Another female tabby, apparently homeless, decided to adopt the church as her home….and the congregation as her family…. She was soon to become known as Tiddles 2…. She would happily curl up in a church pew by day – but as she wasn’t allowed to stay in the church overnight she had her own ‘house’ in the church porch…. She also had a basket by the door which caught the afternoon sun….

In 2009 the winter was particularly cold, her health was not so good and so she went to live with one of the parishioners…. She lived with the lady for about a year before becoming very poorly…. The Parish people raised the money to pay for her ongoing vet bills but several weeks later, in December 2010, she passed away….

On this day in history….19th June 1925

On this day in history : 19th June 1925 – “Hello my darlings”….the catchphrase of slapstick English comedian, actor, singer and writer Charlie Drake – who was born on this day….

Charlie Drake – Image credit : Latour61 at en.wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

Born Charles Edward Springall at the Elephant and Castle, South London, Charlie was later to take his mother’s maiden name for the stage….

He made his first appearance on stage at the age of 8…. After finishing school he appeared in working men’s clubs – and after serving in the RAF during World War 2 he began his professional career as an entertainer in earnest….

At just 5ft 1” tall, with his red curly hair, slapstick comedy and almost childlike manor he became a popular comedian with children…. But he was loved by children and adults alike and was to become one of the most successful entertainers of the 1950s and 60s….

Image credit : Bradford Timeline via Flickr

Charlie made his TV debut on the BBC’s ‘The Centre Show’ in July 1953, as a stand up comic…. In 1954 he teamed up with comedian Jack Edwardes, who at 6ft 4” was as tall as Charlie was short – he towered above him….

The pair appeared as a comedy duo on the BBC talent show ‘Showcase’ and afterwards adapted their act to appeal to children, calling themselves ‘Mick and Montmorency’…. They featured on children’s show ‘Jigsaw’ and this was followed with their own series between 1955-1958 on ITV….

However, Charlie wanted to further his own solo career and wished to appeal to adult audiences…. He began to appear as a guest on popular BBC shows…. Eventually his partnership with Edwardes was dissolved….

He had a succession of series of his own with the BBC – ‘Laughter in Store’, ‘Drake’s Progress’, ‘Charlie Drake In’ and ‘The Charlie Drake Show’….

During the 1960s he attempted to establish a film career, starring in ‘Sands of the Desert’ 1960, ‘Petticoat Pirates’ 1961, ‘The Cracksman’ 1963 and ‘Mr Ten Per Cent’ 1967…. However, film acting was not to be his niche….

In 1963 he returned to ITV with ‘The Charlie Drake Show’, followed by ‘Who is Sylvia?’ In 1967…. He was back at the BBC between 1967-68 with his ‘The Charlie Drake Show’ which won him the Charles Chaplin Award for Best Comedy at the Montreux Television Festival in 1968…. But his most popular series was ITV’s ‘The Worker’ between 1965-70 – the exploits of a little man who found it impossible to keep a regular job….

Charlie Drake with Henry McGee in ‘The Worker’ – Image credit : Paul Townsend CC BY-SA 2.0

During the 1980s Charlie concentrated on serious acting, appearing on stage in Shakespeare productions…. He also had several TV roles; he appeared as Smallweed in ‘Bleak House’, 1985 and had roles in ‘Filipina Dreamgirls’ and in ITV’s thriller ‘99-1’ in 1994/5…. His last stage performance was with Jim Davidson in ‘Sinderella’, an adult version of Cinderella….

Charlie married Heather Barnes in 1953 and they had three sons, the marriage ended in 1971…. He then married Elaine Bird in 1976 but the couple divorced in 1984….

In 1995 Charlie suffered a stroke…. He retired to Brinsworth House, a retirement home for actors and performers in Twickenham, West London…. After a series of strokes in just a few hours he died on the 23rd of December 2006….

British History

On this day in history….18th June 1822

On this day in history : 18th June 1822 – An 18ft bronze statue of Achilles is unveiled in Hyde Park, London…. Originally it was nude and caused outrage – so a small fig leaf was added….

The statue was made by sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, who was an enthusiast of the Ancient Greeks and it was to commemorate Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington…. Achilles was the Greek hero of The Trojan War and the statue used 33 tonnes of bronze repurposed from captured French canons…. The body was modelled on a Roman figure found on Monte Cavalio in Italy – and the head was based on the Duke of Wellington himself…. It was cast in Westmacott’s foundry in Pimlico….

The statue, which is located close to Queen Elizabeth Gate at Hyde Park Corner was the first statue to be installed in Hyde Park – and London’s first nude statue! It had been commissioned for £10,000 by the upper class society of ‘Ladies of England’ and was installed on the orders of King George III…. People were shocked and disgusted by the statue’s nudity – especially as it was a tribute from the ‘Ladies of England’…. A fig leaf was quickly added for modesty….

British History

On this day in history….17th June 1974

On this day in history : 17th June 1974 – An IRA bomb explodes at the Houses of Parliament, injuring eleven people and is suspected of having fractured a gas main….

Six minutes before the explosion a phone call to the Press Association, by a man with an Irish accent, gave a code word (which was recognised by the police) and warned that a 20lb bomb had been planted….

There was no time to completely clear the building; just before 8.30am a bomb exploded in the corner of Westminster Hall…. Flames tore through the centuries old hall – and it was thought a gas main had been damaged….

Scotland Yard were fearful that this was to be the beginning of a new IRA bombing campaign – and indeed 1974 proved to be one of the deadliest years for terrorist attacks on the mainland…. In the February a bomb on a coach carrying soldiers on the M62 exploded, killing 12…. A bomb at the Tower of London and the pub bombings in Guildford and Birmingham claimed another 26 lives later in the year….

British History

On this day in history….16th June 1930

On this day in history : 16th June 1930 – Mixed bathing is permitted for the first time in the Hyde Park Lido – to the delight of some and the outrage of others….

Hyde Park Lido pre-WW2 – Leonard Bentley via Flickr

The idea of the Hyde Park Lido had been championed by Labour politician George Lansbury, First Commissioner of Works…. It was he who was responsible for historic buildings and monuments in the royal parks…. He actively did much to improve recreational facilities – and was particularly keen to do so during the Depression years…. As well as being a social reformer he was also a supporter of women’s suffrage….

In 1929 Dr Saleeby, of The Sunlight League, which had been founded in 1924, visited Lansbury to request the establishment of a lido…. The stretch of water in Hyde Park – known as the Serpentine because of its long snake like appearance and created in 1730 – became a magnet in warm weather and so was chosen as the designated site…. An appeal for funds was put out – one benefactor alone, a Mr D’Arcy-Cooper, donated £5,000 in memory of his son…. A rectangular area was built on the Serpentine for bathing and a pavilion added…. It soon became known as ‘Lansbury’s Lido’….

The Lido opened in 1930 and rapidly became the talk of the town…. ‘Men and women swimming together in nothing but skimpy swimsuits! Good Heavens! Whatever next’….

We’ve all seen pictures of the Victorian bathing machines that used to be found at our seasides…. It was thought bathing in the sea water was beneficial to the health – but to be able to swim in male company, even family members was not an option for women…. ‘Exposure of any part of the female body works more erotically than exposure of the corresponding part of the male….There is no activity where the body is so overtly exposed than when bathing in public’….

Growth of swimming as a competitive sport for men and boys increased as public baths began to appear across the country…. For serious female swimmers access to facilities came slowly, with restricted allocated time slots….

Another contributing factor to women’s non-participation was the potentiality of exposure to the sun…. Before the 1920s tanned skin was seen as a sign of being working-class…. Ladies were expected to be pale and interesting! But during the 1920s sun-kissed skin became associated with affluence – as to give the impression that the summer had been spent on the fashionable Riviera….

Kathleen Murphy was the first woman to legally swim in the Serpentine waters…. The Lido became an instant success…. During the heatwave of August 1930 over 30,000 used the paid for facilities which included changing and bathing…. A further 60,000 – men only – used the free section, which provided no changing area…. Both men and women had to wear one piece bathing suits – the men’s generally buttoning at the shoulder…. However, it became the trend for men to roll the top half down to the waist in order to go bare chested…. This would upset the authorities who would patrol around ordering bathers to wear their costumes correctly….

As much as the public loved the Lido, readily adapting to the idea of mixed bathing – it appears the authorities had a monumental issue with it…. Metropolitan Police files uncovered in the archives at Kew paint a picture that the activity was nothing short of providing sexual licence…. ‘Women of doubtful character, who display themselves in flimsy bathing dresses – attracting vulgar men and teenage boys’….’Some upstanding female bathers had complained of their costumes being ripped off on diving boards and in the water by the over-excited male populace’…. On one particularly riotous Sunday afternoon in 1932 eleven officers had to be despatched to restore public order….

In all honestly perhaps the police should have been concentrating on a much bigger problem at the time – an outbreak of bicycle thefts at the Lido….