A Plaque At Hull Station
Hull’s part in the emigration of Jews from Eastern Europe in the nineteenth centuries is told in this plaque at the station now called Hull Paragon Interchange.
A Plaque At Hull Station
The emigrants actually used special platforms to the south of the main station, as the authorities were worried about infectious diseases. My coeliac disease probably came from Askenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, but I suspect they came by a shorter route more directly to London, where my German-speaking ancestors worked in the fur trade.
A More Than Standard 8
It’s funny how names or phrases trigger things in your memory. The name on this picture for a start.
Sandilands Tram Stop
Sandilands was the driver of a Standard 8, that used to race in the 1960s or 1970s against the best racing saloon cars of his day. The car was referred to a couple of times as a More Than Standard 8. I can’t find any reference to it on the Internet.
Pre-Raphaelites At The Tate
This poster is everywhere for the new exhibition at the Tate
Pre-Raphaelites At The Tate
I must go.
Eton’s Gangnam Style
Students at Eton College have created a viral hit based on Psy’s Gangnam Style. The Guardian says it’s a bit cringe-worthy in this piece, but surely it shows that the power of the Internet is there for us all to harness.
The British Superhero
James Bond is everywhere at the moment.
Why is James the archetypal British superhero, whereas those created on the other side of the Atlantic are very often non-human?
I can’t think of a British superhero in the style of Superman say, but going back to John Buchan‘s, Richard Hannay and before, there have been quite a few literary characters in the style of Bond.
Nelson’s Link To Hawke
Edward Hawke was an admiral in the Royal Navy and is best known for his defeating of the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, which probably ended any chance of a French invasion of Great Britain. Quiberon Bay was one of those naval battles like the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Trafalgar and Taranto, that have defined our history.
I had lunch with a friend yesterday and the subject of a artist called Edward Hawke Locker came up. He was called Edward Hawke, as his father, William Locker, was a protege of Admiral Hawke, who served with him in the Seven Years War. The Wikipedia entry for William says this.
Locker then moved to command the frigate HMS Thames, on the home station. He was her captain from 1770 until 1773. In 1777 he took command of HMS Lowestoffe, sailing her to the West Indies. During this period, one of his lieutenants was the newly promoted Horatio Nelson. Nelson, then barely nineteen, served with Locker for fifteen months. His experiences with Locker, and Locker’s teachings had a lasting effect on Nelson.
Twenty years later, on 9 February 1799, Nelson wrote to his old captain: “I have been your scholar; it is you who taught me to board a Frenchman by your conduct when in the Experiment; it is you who always told me ‘Lay a Frenchman close and you will beat him;’ and my only merit in my profession is being a good scholar. Our friendship will never end but with my life, but you have always been too partial to me.”
Note that Lowestoft is spelt how the locals tend to pronounce it. The article also goes on to elaborate on the connection between Locker and Nelson.
If there is a moral in this, it is that you should make sure you learn the lessons of history.
Racist Behaviour In Serbia
The disgraceful racist and violent behaviour in Serbia yesterday, when England beat the country, is of course to be thoroughly deplored.
But the Balkans have in recent years not been a place where black footballers seem to be welcomed.
There is the story of how a teenage Titus Bramble, went to play for the England Under-21 in Albania around 2000. He was repeatedly racially abused during the match.
On return to Ipswich, he was interviewed by the East Anglian Daily Times about the match and stated that he didn’t know what the chants were, as he’d never encountered racism in his personal or footballing life.
In a way it shows how well and how early we started to get our act together over racism in football.
i have no idea, if the Albanians were punished for the behaviour of their fans, but the behaviour last night is in my view partly caused by UEFA’s and FIFA’s weak response to incidents like that match in Albania.
Is Suffolk The Curious County?
Apparently, some idiot has come up with the idea of calling Suffolk, the curious county. It’s reported here on the BBC.
I don’t like it. The two words that sum up Suffolk for me are independent and forgotten.
Independent because Suffolk people go about their own business and do things their own way. Look at any list of those born in or associated with Suffolk and you won’t find many team players, but you’ll find people like Thomas Wolsey, Bernie Ecclestone and Boudica and a fair selection of artistic greats like Benjamin Britten, Peter Hall, John Constable, Elizabeth Frink, Edward Fitzgerald, Charlotte Rampling, Maggi Hambling and Thomas Gainsborough.
The independent streak has also shown itself through history.
- Ipswich was always losing its borough charter, as they’d always sell food to the other side in the various civil wars.
- My father knew more than he revealed about the defence of the county during World War 2 and said that no-one bothered that Suffolk wouldn’t fight to send the Germans home. Even if some of the stories I’ve heard paid scant notice to the Geneva Convention.
- Suffolk is one of the few counties in England which bucked the trend to fizzy lager in the 1970s and could be described as one of the mainstays of real ale and cider.
- It’s the only county in England with its own breed of horse, cattle and sheep.
- I was conceived and partly brought up in Felixstowe and have watched a sleepy dock, grow against the odds into one of the most important ports in the world. Could the success be down to Suffolk independence, as they never received the assistance and government money that other ports did?
But then all Suffolk’s successes are always down to the people’s own ends and vision.
Forgotten because that is how government and many people in the UK, treat the county. Just look at how they fought to get decent roads to connect the county to London and the Midlands, or how Suffolk has only got a University in recent years.
So Suffolk is independent and forgotten! But curious never!
Walking From Leamouth To Canning Town Station
This morning in what could be the last of the summer sun, I took a 277 bus to Leamouth and then walked to Canning Town station along Bow Creek.
The area is one of the more interesting in London, with the River Lea of which Bow Creek is part, gradually silting up and reverting to reed beds. The inside of the bend used to be the the home of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and now it is one of the tunnelling sites for CrossRail. The successor of the works football team of the Thames Ironwork still exists as West Ham United, but the company is long gone, deespite building many ships for the Navy and companies like P & O.
From Canning Town station, I got the DLR, the Emirates Air-Line cable-car and the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf for lunch. I suppose, I could have taken the Jubilee line from Canning Town station, but the cable-car has better views.
Thinking about the route, you could take the 277 bus from any number of places like Highbury and Islington and then go back to Central London on the Jubilee line. but on a sunny day, don’t cut out the cable-car as it gives some spectacular views.
The Anonymous Widower 