Cottage Capers

On this day in history….9th August 1979

On this day in history : 9th August 1979 – Black Rock Beach on Brighton’s seafront is established as Britain’s first official nudist beach – despite fierce opposition from those who disapproved….

The campaign for a part of the seafront to be set aside for naturists was led by 47-year-old grandmother and local councillor Eileen Jakes – who being a landlady on the seafront believed it would encourage tourism…. The opposition believed it would attract perverts; opposing councillor John Blackman thought it would be a “flagrant exhibition of mammary glands”…. His belief was that people would be offended and he added “People naively believe what is good enough for the Continent is good for Britain”….

A 200yd stretch of beach, situated to the east of Palace Pier, officially opened on the 1st of April 1980…. Brighton was the first major resort to have a designated nudist beach – and there were those who were determined it would be the last…. In 1983 a majority Conservative group in Brighton Council promised to close it down, calling it a “disgrace to the town”…. However, it remains today as the best known naturist beach in the country….

The law on nudity in Britain is a grey area…. It is perfectly legal as long as nobody is alarmed, distressed or harassed by it…. There are currently around forty locations in the UK that are considered naturist beaches (but bare😊in mind this does not necessarily mean the whole of the beach)….

Nude bathing originated in Germany over a century ago, with the Free Body Culture Movement – encouraging people to get closer to nature – hence ‘naturism’…. However, whilst many places on the Continent have a relaxed, tolerant view on it, naturism is still regarded with distaste by many in this country…. Naturists can often expect to put up with B-list, windswept beaches….

If sunbathing as nature intended is your ‘thing’ – don’t forget the sunscreen!

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….8th August 1963

On this day in history : 8th August 1963 – The robbery of £2.6m from a Royal Mail train travelling to London from Glasgow at Bridego Railway Bridge…. It was to become known as The Great Train Robbery….

The locomotive 40126 (ex D326) from The Great train Robbery – Image credit: JohnGreyTurner via Flickr

The train had left Glasgow Central Station at 18.50pm on Wednesday the 7th of August and was due to arrive at London Euston at 3.59am the following morning…. On board the 12-carriage mail train were 72 Post Office employees who had the job of sorting the mail, which was collected at stops en route….

One of the carriages, the second nearest to the engine, carried high value packages and a large quantity of money…. Ordinarily the mail train would carry a sum averaging around £300k; however, because the previous weekend had been a bank holiday the amount onboard was considerably more….between £2.5-£3 million….

Just after 3am the train had to stop at a red signal light at Sears Crossing, Ledbury – which lies between Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington on the West Coast Main Line…. Unbeknown to the train crew the signal had been tampered with…. The fireman, 26-year-old David Whitby, climbed down from the cab to investigate as it was not normal to be stopped at this location at this time in the early morning…. On approaching the line-side telephone to call the signalman he found the wires had been cut; it was then that he was overpowered by one of a gang of robbers….

View towards ‘Sears Crossing’ – Image credit: Sealman CC BY-SA 3.0

The other gang members climbed into the cab of the waiting engine…. The driver, 58-year-old Jack Mills, struggled with one of them before being struck over the head by another with a cosh…. He was left semi-conscious….

The gang had in their midst a retired train driver, the plan was that he would drive the train to nearby Bridego Bridge…. However, it soon became apparent he was unable to fathom out how to drive this newer, more modern train to what he had been used to…. The gang’s only option was to force poor Jack Mills to drive the mail train to their chosen destination….

Bridego Bridge (now renamed Mentmore Bridge)

On arriving they were met by more members of the gang, who were waiting with a truck…. There were no police or security guards on the train and the Post Office employees were unable to put up any resistance…. The gang removed all but 8 of the 128 sacks within the HVP carriage of the train; forming a human chain they loaded their vehicle – taking about 15-20 minutes to do so…. Within 30 minutes of their first stopping the train they were on their way to escape….

15 criminals made up the gang:- Bruce Reynolds, Charlie Wilson, Gordon Goody, Buster Edwards, Roy James, Roger Cordrey, Jimmy White, John Daly, Bob Welch, Tommy Wisbech, Jim Hussey, Ronnie Biggs, Harry Smith, Danny Pembroke and one other who remains unknown…. They were also accompanied by their hired train driver, known as ‘Pops’…. Out of the gang 11 were caught and convicted….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….7th August 1840

On this day in history : 7th August 1840 – The practice of sending children up chimneys in order to sweep them is banned in Britain….

Climbing boys (and sometimes girls) were technically chimney sweeps’ apprentices…. Master sweeps would often be paid by the Parish to teach orphans and pauper children the trade…. Once signed over by the authorities or guardian the child would be bound over to the sweep…. His obligations were to teach the craft, provide food and a second set of clothing, make sure his apprentice washed once a week and attend Church on a Sunday…. It was also stipulated a child could not be sent up a chimney that was on fire…. Apprentices were not paid for their work….

The Temperance Sweep from ‘Street Life in London’ – LSE Library via Flickr

It was a cruel, harsh and dangerous occupation…. Children as young as four would be sent up chimneys that could be flues as narrow as 9 x 9 inches…. It was not uncommon for the climbers to get stuck; death by suffocation or burning in the hot, soot encrusted chimneys happened all too often…. Soot, being carcinogenic, caused chimney sweep’s cancer (soot wart) – which affects the scrotum….and was found in boys as young as 8-years-old…. This disease has the distinction of being the first ever recognised occupational cancer….

These children were seldom treated kindly by their masters – in fact they were frequently viewed as commodities….to be sold to other sweeps – fetching between 7 shillings and 4 guineas….

A master chimney sweep and his apprentice – public domain

In 1840 the Revised Chimney Sweeps Act was brought in, raising the minimum age of apprenticeship to sixteen…. However, it was widely ignored as there was no way of enforcing the legislation….still children, many under the age of ten, were forced to climb chimneys….

In 1863 Charles Kingsley’s ‘The Water Babies’ was published and raised public awareness to the plight of children being mistreated through this type of employment…. A new Chimney Sweeps Regulation Act came into force in 1864 – but once again it was ineffective….

1875 saw the Chimney Sweeps’ Act….making is compulsory that all chimney sweeps had to be licensed…. This time the enforcement of the law was overseen by the police – effectively bringing an end to the exploitation of children in this way in Britain….

The Little Chimney Sweep – public domain

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….6th August 1971

On this day in history : 6th August 1971 – British yachtsman Chay Blyth docks his yacht at Hamble on the South Coast, becoming the first to sail non-stop around the world the ‘wrong-way’ – from east to west….

Chay had set off from Hamble in Hampshire on the 18th of October 1970, onboard his specially designed 59ft ketch ‘British Steel’….so named because of his backing by the British Steel Corporation….

British Steel – Image credit : Beautiful Cornwall and Devon via Facebook

Sir Francis Chichester had commented that he thought the voyage was impossible…. Chay completed the 30,000 miles, against prevailing winds and currents in 292 days….it became known as ‘the impossible voyage’…. It was also the fastest non-stop round the world voyage….

On his return Chay was met by a welcoming party consisting of a flotilla of 200 boats and 6,000 well-wishers, among them the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, Princess Anne and Prime Minister Edward Heath….

Chay was later awarded a CBE and was voted ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ by the Yachting Journalists Association…. He was also named as ‘Man of the Year’….

Sir Chay Blyth – Image credit : Classic Boat via Facebook

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….5th August 1975

On this day in history : 5th August 1975 – The Forestry Commission officially announces the spread of Dutch elm disease in Britain…. To date over 60 million British elms have been lost….

Scolytus beetle damage in a dead elm

Scolytus multistriatus – European elm bark beetle – Image credit : Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd – CC BY 4.0

Dutch elm is one of the most serious tree diseases in the world and infects all of Britain’s major elm species…. The fungus is spread by the bark beetle in the genus Scolytus and invades the water conducting system of the tree…. The symptoms first appear early summer, clusters of leaves wilt and turn yellow….they then turn brown and fall…. Affected shoots begin to die back….dark streaks appear in the outer wood under the bark and twigs may dip down to form a ‘shepherd’s crook’….

The crown of a diseased elm…. Note the dying back of branches in multiple places. Image credit : Ptelea – Public domain

It is believed the disease originally came from Asia – and was accidentally introduced to the USA and Europe…. It was first noticed on continental Europe in 1910 and first identified in England, on an English elm in Hertfordshire by T.R.Peace, in 1927…. However, this particular outbreak was relatively mild, often just killing a few branches and had largely died out by the 1940s…. The name Dutch elm disease refers to its identification by Dutch scientists in 1921….

However, in 1967 a far more virulent strain emerged…. It apparently arrived via the east coast ports on shipments of elm from Canada bound for the boat industry…. This was confirmed in 1973 on another consignment examined at Southampton Docks…. By the mid 1970s millions of trees had been wiped out, within ten years it had reached Scotland…. By 1990 very few mature elms were left in Britain and much of Europe; the largest concentration of mature elms in the UK are now in the Brighton and Hove area of Sussex….

‘The Preston Twins’, Brighton – the oldest known English elms – Image credit : Ulmus Man CC BY-SA 3.0

Image credit : Ptelea – Public domain

You may sometimes see saplings growing in hedgerows…. The roots of the elm are not killed and sends up suckers – but rarely do they reach above 5m high….before succumbing to a new attack of the fungus….