I still like this ad……
Beer. A proper sports drink.
Author: admin
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Die Sonderfahndungsliste G.B.
I had heard of this book, but I hadn’t realised that the contents of it were on-line. It’s the Sonderfahndungsliste G.B., which was the list of names produced by the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1940 who were to have been arrested if the Germans had successfully invaded the UK. There are 2,820 names in the book and in some cases, it gives information on which division of the SS had authorised the arrest and who would have received the prisoner.
At the rear of the book, there are also a list of organisations and establishments that the SS would have shown an interest in. More on this book in future posts….
The Text of the Book (.pdf format)
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Southend – Last Post
I’ve been to relatively few JD Wetherspoon pubs in Essex, but I visited here in 2017. It’s a grand former Post Office building which was constructed in 1896, with the transformation into a pub being sympathetic.
When I visited the pub in the evening there was a fight taking place and customers being dragged out by staff. Just what you want on a weekday in the early evening, but I like a bit of excitement to be fair. The photo above was taken during breakfast, when things were just a little more sedate and peaceful.
The half chicken and chips, something which has now been withdrawn from the menu, but which tasted fine. I can’t remember the real ale selection, but JD Wetherspoons rarely let me down in that regard.
And the breakfast, with the egg being overcooked, but all else was well.
Disappointingly, the pub seems to have picked up no comments on TripAdvisor that seem ridiculous, so nothing worth quoting from there. Well, other than the complaint:
“Ordered a bottle of Pinot Rose. Very rude bar staff with long brown hair argued with me for about then mins telling me there is no such thing as Pinot Rose and Pinot was White. Please educate your staff as Pinot is a brand n not a damn colour. Never felt so angry, the way she spoke to me was disgusting, serious attitude problem. Embarrassing. Then I got given some nasty Hardy’s Rose bottle.”
The staff member was likely right, I’ve got a copy of the 2017 menu and they did only sell Pinot as a white wine at the pub, so she would have struggled to give him another other type of Pinot.
This can’t be an easy operation to run, a cheap pub in a seaside destination which gets stag and hen groups amongst others, I imagine their door staff are frequently challenged. There’s always a risk that these beautiful Victorian buildings are lost, so all credit to JD Wetherspoons for ensuring that they have been kept and remain in use.
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Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Thirty
The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..
Black Book
The dictionary defines this as “he is down in the black book, ie, has a stain in his character. A black book is kept in most regiments, wherein the names of all persons sentenced to punishment are recorded”. It seems that this was also true on a wider scale, court books and punishment books in academia were also often black.
Today, the phrase seems to have shifted somewhat, normally being used to refer to a list of secret contacts, rather than a list of people who should be punished. I prefer the old meaning, there’s something more sinister about having a book full of people who have committed misdemeanours. Perhaps Hike Norfolk should have one….
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Norwich – West Cornwall Pasty (Railway Station)
There are two West Cornwall Pasty outlets in Norwich, one in the Haymarket and the other at the railway station.
These photos are from their Christmas selection, since the outlet is currently shut due to this bloody virus. At this precise moment in time I could well do with a lovely pasty from here though…. Incidentally, I think their best two options are the chicken & chorizo pasty and the Thai green vegetable curry, with the potato wedges being rather less exciting.
It’ll be open again soon enough no doubt…..
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Streets of Norwich – White Lion Street
Part of my Streets of Norwich project….
White Lion Street runs from Gentlemans’ Walk and bends into Orford Hill and Red Lion Street, all very much unchanged over the last 150 years. The street takes its name from the former White Lion pub, but was originally called Sadelere Rowe in the thirteenth century due to the saddle-making industry here, and later Lorimers Rowe due to the harness strap makers that were located along the street.
Although it’s relatively short, there used to be a few pubs down this street, with the Adelphi (13 White Lion Street), the Fruiterers Arms (2-4 White Lion Street) and the White Lion / Haymarket Stores (10 White Lion Street).
The end of the street, which is all now pedestrianised, which joins Gentlemans’ Walk.
Looking along the road to the Castle Quarter shopping centre. WH Smiths is on the left, this is the former Fruiterers Arms and is a real loss to the city centre as this would be a rather lovely setting for a pub. The building dates to the seventeenth century and was a pub from the mid-nineteenth century until 1989.
Looking back towards to the market place area. The building to the left of Ladbrokes was Costa, but they closed in early 2020, so it’s up for rental, with this being the former Haymarket Stores pub. The Haymarket Stores, which was once known as the White Lion, closed in 1974.
Back in 1912, the businesses along the street were:
NORTH SIDE
1 – Pearks, grocers
1A – Albert Turner, confectioner
3 – Cozen Randall, hairdresser
5 – Sam Ellis, fruit merchant
7 – W. Fletcher, butchers
9 – Eastern Counties Rubber Company
11 – London & Norwich Cycle & Rubber Company
13 – Back’s, wine and spirits merchants
15 – Back’s, tobacconists
17 – Henry Moore William, wine and spirits store
19-21 – Grix William, dining rooms
SOUTH SIDE
2-4 – Fruiterers Arms, pub
6 – Edward Richard Pooley, shoe warehouse
10 – White Lion, pub
12 – E. Reeve & Son, grindery
The 1939 register had the following residents living on the street:
1A – Rosetta Clarke, Douglas Clarke, Frances Webster, Olive Johnson
6 – Norah Sage
10 – Edward Thaxton, Emmeline Thaxton, Leonard Thaxton
13 – William G Gerry, Lily Gerry, William J Gerry
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Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-Nine
The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..
Bishop
This is a cocktail of sorts according to the dictionary, “a mixture of wine and water, into which is put a roasted orange”. It’s a drink that Samuel Johnson enjoyed, so it dates back to at least the seventeenth century. Interestingly, the drink still seems to exist today, although rum has been added into the concoction of red wine, water and an orange. I can’t see it catching on at JD Wetherspoons, but it’s right up Nicholson’s street…..
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Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-Eight
The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..
Birds of a Feather
The meaning given by the dictionary is “rogues of the same gang”, so this is one of those phrases that has for some reason remained in usage over the centuries, although it’s not just about rogues and criminals now. Although, perhaps, the TV comedy Birds of a Feather perhaps did revert to the rogues usage. The phrase dates back to at least the sixteenth century and it was used widely and commonly in print, unlike some of the other phrases in this dictionary which I still wonder if the author made up.
The Bath Chronicle posted a long epistle (their word, not mine) to ‘a friend in the country’ in December 1774, which included the lines:
“What a strange revolution – we us’d all together, to flock to one place, like birds of a feather. And pass the long evening, in chat or at play, when a thousand soft amorous things one might say”.
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LDWA 100 – Previous Events
The LDWA have an excellent collection of route descriptions from past 100 events and they can all be found at https://www.ldwa.org.uk/library/hundreds/hundreds.php. There are also the results and for the recent couple of events, the very useful GPX files. I like this, I’m a GPX person, route descriptions tire me out….
Note for the first event in 1973 that Guinness supplied stout for the entrants, which is a marvellous idea. I’ll add some photos to the later events at some stage over the next few months….. The main image for this page is the photo I took at the Vermuyden checkpoint at the 2018 event. I wasn’t walking that year, I was visiting local pubs and marshalling….
1973 – Downsman
1974 – Peakland
1975 – Downsman
1976 – Cleveland
1977 – Downsman
1978 – Cleveland
1979 – Dartmoor
1980 – Downsman
1981 – Cumbrian
1982 – Pilgrims
1983 – Snowdonia
1984 – Dartmoor
1985 – Yorkshire Dales
1986 – Downsman
1987 – Snowdonia
1988 – White Peak
1989 – Brecon Beacons
1990 – Chiltern
1990 – Marches
1991 – Lancastrian
1992 – Invicta
1993 – Cleveland
1994 – Dartmoor
1995 – Shropshire
1996 – Yorkshire Dales
1997 – Downsman
1998 – White Peak
1999 – Durham Dales
2000 – Millennium
2001 – Cancelled
2002 – Lakeland
2003 – White Rose
2004 – Exmoor
2005 – Chiltern
2006 – Northumberland
2007 – Cant Canolbarth
2008 – Yoredale
2009 – Wessex
2010 – Heart Of Scotland
2011 – Housman
2012 – Games
2013 – Camel-Teign
2014 – Valleys
2015 – Red Rose
2016 – Dorset
2017 – North York Moors
2018 – Cinque Ports
2019 – Hadrian
2020 – Cancelled -
LDWA 100 – Simon Hodgin
Part of my series of motivational messages from those who have done the 100, those who might do the 100 and those who won’t do the 100 but have an opinion on it. This is from Simon Hodgin, who has completed a few 100s. I did suspect that he was cheating, but I’ve checked the evidence and it does appear he walked them.
“”Walking 100 miles in 48 hours, that isn’t possible, is it?” That was the response I received from family & friends when I got ‘lured’ into the world of walking the LDWA 100, only a few years ago.
Far too old to continue playing football with the inevitable damaged knees I had been ‘introduced’ to the world of long distance walking by my partner & her father as a great way to get fit, whilst enjoying some great camaraderie and the benefits of some stunning countryside views.
Initially happy to walk the ‘socials’, and 26 mile routes I was soon lured into walking 50 mile circuits. It was only a matter of time before ‘the 100’ would appear on my horizon.
For many in the LDWA ‘fraternity’ the challenge and ‘enjoyment’ of the 18, 26 and even 50 mile routes provides more than enough challenge and satisfaction, but for some ‘the 100’ provides the annual pilgrimage.
I’m still a relative newcomer to the 100. What is clear from my relatively recent experience is that even with the required 50 mile ‘qualifier’ under their belts the range of entrants (both age & fitness) differs markedly. In many ways that is the great thing about the 100, everyone has their personal goal, be it a best time or just getting around the course in one piece in 48 hours.
Is it mental toughness as well as physical fitness? Absolutely, but do others, whether fellow participants, marshalls or spectators encourage you every step of the way to achieve your personal goal? Absolutely.
You will experience many emotions during the walk, many even hallucinate through lack of sleep. That all said, despite the all the pain, emotions, hallucinations and all types of weather the satisfaction of completing the challenge gives a ‘high’ that is hard to replicate. Why else do we return to participate year after year?
