The Britannia Coconutters.

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If you wondering why I have popped this up, it is for Saturdays post over on monkey-organ.

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Hidden Gems

I am a great one for raking around antique shops although these days there tends to be more junk than antiques.

But it is the 'junk' that firstly, I find more interesting and secondly more affordable.

I will always 'home in' on a pile of old music. Some places sell this at £1-2 per sheet, but others, in a bit to get rid of it may sell a whole pile for a fiver.

These piles hold hidden secrets, for between the sheets of music, all kinds of things can be found.

I have come across newspaper cuttings and even old family photographs.

  

This bit above is of the First World War song "Goodbye" sang to the troops as they went off to the trenches. It was here reproduced in the newspaper and someone had saved it in with their music.

The interesting thing here is that the newspaper was the 'News of the World' and the date 1917.

Just imagine that bit of news had been tucked in with that music for around 92 years!

The date was Sunday 23 December 1917......and look at the circulation...2,750,000 copies.

.....and an advert for Lipton's Tea.  And how about a 92 year old 'tea stain'?

Oh, and yes,  the heap of music was full of wonderful gems.

 

Murphy was sitting there in the Pub reading the Dublin Times, and he turns to his mate Pat and says

“Isn’t it amazing how just enough things seem to happen every day to exactly fill a newspaper!”

Come Lasses and Lads

WEYMOUTH’S Carnival Queen competition is being scrapped because it is ‘outdated.’ Former carnival queens and town leisure chiefs have reacted with shock after carnival organisers declared the historic contest was past its sell-by date and did not promote equal opportunities. 

Former carnival queen, called the organisers ‘killjoys’ and said if they wanted to promote equal opportunities they should run a Carnival King contest. 

Last year’s  queen Jamie Asquith, 19, said: “The contest is something I grew up with. There’s so much history to it and I don’t think it should be just scrapped just like that. A pretty girl leading the procession is part of the tradition of Weymouth Carnival.” 

A spokesman for Weymouth & Portland Borough Council,  Brendan Webster said: “It’s a shame to take away what is an enjoyable event which is quite harmless. 

He said: “Some of our great traditions are rooted in the past and I think it would be a great shame if they scrapped the Carnival Queen.

 

Yet another attempt to eradicate a tradition. I think those involved in the Weymouth Carnival Queen competition should set up an alternative event and see which draws the bigger crowd. I know where I would place my bets.

I realise that family photo may not interest people outside the family, but.... here are my brothers and I ignoring the Maypole dancing at the Bournville Village Carnival....I would guess in 1951. I am the eldest on the left.

This Friday I'll give the music a miss and leave you with this.....

         Oh, I likes a bit of enjoyment on a Friday,

       I never was one to scamp my work an’ that,

         I’ve laid the tea, I’ve left the kitchen tidy,

            I’ve left a bit of haddock for the cat.

 

"Wake Up England"

There is a marked rise in the number people who, without a second thought, would once have called themselves British, but now refer to themselves as English.

It could be because of the resentment at the aggressiveness of Scottish nationalism, or perhaps because of the various encroachments of the EU and indeed the cult of globalisation. 

Over the last ten years or so, amongst commentators, academics and the media, deconstructing 'Englishness' became the order of the day, in a way which would not be tolerated by the Scots, say, or the Welsh, who have instead been encouraged at every turn to re-affirm their sense of identity. 

This negative onslaught is the background to the new-found celebration of England.

The new celebration of England and Englishness will be more visible from now on  simply because, in the minds of millions, it needs to be.

It is, they've concluded, the only way of being heard. 

"Wake up England"

A Reason for a Holiday ?

                    No one calls it racist,

          When the daffodil's worn in Wales:

            Or is offended by their dragon

            With its forked tail and scales.

        When St Patrick’s day comes round

          And the shamrock's being worn,

             The Irish are not treated

             With insult or with scorn.

          If a Scotsman on St Andrew’s day

                  Hoists his flag aloft,

           He’s not proclaimed a fascist

              Or ridiculed or scoffed.

         So when St George's Day arrives

             We English men won't hide,

        For Elizabeth, England & St George

          We’ll wear our Rose with pride.

Thanks to 'Susan' on Facebook.

A reason for a National Holiday ?

In the thirteenth century a certain gentleman called Jacques de Voragine wrote a story called Legenda Aurea, which translates to “Golden Legend”.

De Voragine tells of the city of Silene in Libya which was menaced by a dragon in a nearby lake with breath so foul that it poisoned the countryside.

To keep the monster at bay it had been necessary to provide a daily sacrifice of two sheep. But eventually, when the supply of sheep ran out, human substitutes had to be offered. Eventually, they got down to sacrificing the children and one day it was the turn of the king’s own daughter.

At this moment St. George, in the role of a knight errant, makes a timely appearance.

He asks the princess what is happening …..she tells him…..and beseeches him to save himself by fleeing.

Naturally, St. George stands his ground and, when the dragon emerges from the lake, smites it with his spear, “..and hurt him sore..”.

The dragon is so seriously wounded  (and possibly so astonished)  that it is led meekly back into the city by the princess.

St. George makes a brief oration, baptizes the entire population (those few who had not been put on the dragon’s menu ) and then, with a striking want of Christian forgiveness….lops off the dragons head !

So in 1349 King Edward III made St. George the patron saint of England ;  a curious choice, given the English love of all animals (other than foxes and game birds ).

A strange tale and a strange reason for a National Holiday, don't you think ?

"A Thousand times NO"

John Redwood, on his blog said he was being asked “….if we should join the Euro to have stability and more financial discipline! Have people learnt nothing? The Irish experience shows why the answer is No, a thousand times No”.

A song immediately sprung to mind.

The last thing we want to do is tie ourselves to the euro.

We want more distance from euro Regulation not more.

Never mind the euro. the real debate should be whether we stay in this corrupt, meddling, cash sucking Soviet style republic. Sadly that’s a debate no party will have the honesty and courage to let us have.

Lets face it, not only will the euro be forced upon us, but we could have full integration into the eu.

The intention is that we will all be ‘levelled‘, unfortunately that means Britain will be brought down to the level of the lowest common denominator, you can see this happening now.

Their are too many politicians that stand to benefit from it, whether it screws the population or not.

Calm down, Kipper!

Now, where was I ?

Oh yes...... this song was sung by Elsie Carlisle and dates from 1934.

"Somthing Fishy goin' on"

I can remember, whilst as a student at university in Birmingham, raking around the markets for ‘economy’ food. The fish-market was always a good place to start.

Britain had no dreaded ‘Common Fisheries’ crap, and fish was always good value for money. It was here I can remember buying Sturgeon ….yes Sturgeon. It wasn’t expensive. It was lovely ‘meaty’ fish, nice in a fish-pie.  But where has it gone now?

That must be 40 years ago and I have never seen it on sale since. Probably banned by the eu.

Coley makes a good pie, but so does Ling….now where has that gone?

A couple of years ago I could buy Ling in ASDA but….yes you’ve guessed, they have stopped selling it.

The only remaining fish which I use for a pie, is Pollack…..but even this is now being threatened with a name change.

Marketing gurus are planning to re-name Pollack to boost sales... and call it COLIN. !!!

Colin (pronounced Col-an) is what the French, who actually can't get enough of Britain's Pollack, call the fish once it has been cooked. ( Yes I thought the French may be in there somewhere)

Sainsbury's said: 'We are launching a nationwide campaign to address dwindling cod stocks by encouraging the British public to try Pollack, a tasty, cheaper and more sustainable alternative.'

Sainsbury's environment manager, Alison Austin, said: 'We want to help highlight that there are other species to eat other than cod and haddock, which are just as tasty, and often cheaper.

It won’t stay cheap for long if the demand rises !

But why change it’s name?

Hang on a minute…perhaps that’s why I can’t find… Ling, Coley and Sturgeon.

I bet they have been changed to Sampi or… Saithe or… Molva?

"One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison"

These two snippets show just how different, peoples views can be on what is "healthy" or "unhealthy" for us.

1)    The West Bromwich St George's Day parade started in 1998 and began as a fairly modest affair with 5,000 turning up. Now three times that attend the two-mile parade in April. Fire Service and Scout Association bands have played, the British Legion lends its support and each year ex-servicemen attend to help raise money for charities. 

But last night the local council, Labour-controlled Sandwell, voted to withdraw its support for the parade. 

They said that the St George's parade created an "unhealthy atmosphere". 

2)   "One of India’s leading Hindu cultural groups, has developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, at its research centre in the Indian holy city of Haridwar on the River Ganges, and hopes it will be marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to Coke and Pepsi.

Hindus worship cows for their life-sustaining dairy products, but many also consume bovine urine and faeces in drinks and spice mixes for their "health-giving" properties.

In some Indian states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops alongside milk and yogurt, whilst some Indian health food companies make porridge, toothpaste and tonic drinks which claim to cure ailments ranging from liver complaints to diabetes and cancer."

England, my England

I am very concerned about our loss of sovereignty to the eu and the insulting treatment of England within the union. This seems to be of equal inconsequence to the three larger parties. All three dip into a similar pot-pourri of other policies, according to whatever is the flavour of the month and is adjudged to gain the best political advantage. No core principles are of course allowed to get inconveniently in the way.

Thus it really doesn't matter which of the three gains power. 

Same trough; 

Undifferentiated snouts.

Nigel Farage seems to be the only leader to address the core issue - the eu, which, in its current form, is a post democratic institution.