Some “Every-day Rules” from a Dr West in the Gloucestershire Echo from 1924.
Dr West is in favour of calmness and consideration, kindness and fairness. I can’t argue with him really. His “Never dispute with a man who is more then seventy years of age, nor with an enthusiast,” is invaluable.
And, it’s funny, but “Do not jest so as to wound the feelings of another,” would be described as “Political correctness gone mad” these days, by certain types with less consideration for others.
The Gloucestershire Echo, 11th January 1924
Every-day Rules
Never ridicule sacred things, or what others may esteem as such, however absurd they may appear to you.
Never resent a supposed injury till you know the views and motives of the author of it. On no occasion relate it.
Always take the part of an absent person who is censured in company, so far as truth and propriety will allow.
Never think worse of another on account of his differing in political and religious subjects.
Never dispute with a man who is more than seventy years of age, nor with an enthusiast.
Do not jest so as to wound the feelings of another.
Say as little as possible of yourself and of those who are near to you.
Never court the favour of the rich by flattering either their vanities or their vices.
Speak with calmness and deliberation, especially in circumstances which tend to irritate. – Dr West.
An article highlighting the effects of the smoggy atmosphere in the towns prior to the Clean Air Act of 1956, which was brought in following London’s “Great Smog” over 4 days in December 1952, and which is estimated to have caused the deaths of 4000 people initially, with 8000 more dying in the months following.
However, a lesser-known effect of air pollution, apparently, was greying, smoke-tinted skin. This article from The Portsmouth Evening News in 1935 aimed to help the problem. By bleaching your skin.
Portsmouth Evening News, 23rd March 1935
Beauty Tips
Winter smoke and fog have imperceptibly darkened our complexions by several tones, even through the protective film of vanishing cream and powder we have used.
To restore ourselves to our original dazzling charm, we need an intensive course of bleaching treatment.
Intensive, yes, but very gentle. A good bleaching mask is made by mixing a tablespoonful of honey, a tablespoonful of almond meal, and a teaspoonful of peroxide of hydrogen.
Spread the cream thickly on face and throat, leave for at least a quarter of an hour and wash off with warm milk.
The treatment, given twice a week, will restore smoke-tinted skins.
Beauty hints from 1914. I might try the “drying your face upwards” one, my creases could do with being smoothed out.
Rinsing your hair in cold water is still said to help promote shininess, but I haven’t heard the rainwater tip. I suppose I could go and fill a bucket from the rain butt to wash my hair but it’s a bit too much like doing a regular ice bucket challenge, especially at the time of year. Also, when my hair gets rained on it turns into a frizzball although maybe the soap would prevent that?
The Portsmouth Evening News, 14th November, 1914
Beauty Hints
It is not generally known that washing the hair in rainwater and soft soap, and rinsing in cold water, makes the hair soft and silky.
Finger nails should always be cut the last thing at night. By the morning the cut portion will have hardened, and be unlikely to break or split.
When drying the face after washing, always rub upwards towards the nose. This helps to smooth out those creases on each side below the nose, and also prevents wrinkles. The eyes should be rubbed from the side of the face towards the nose.
Natural teeth, even when filled and preserved, are much better than artificial ones. Therefore visit your dentist once or twice yearly, and let him fill up any cavity that exists, and so arrest decay. When choosing a tooth-powder avoid any that contains gritty, acid or irritating substances. These not only act injudiciously on the enamel of the teeth, but are also bad for the gums.
Mary Pickford was a mega-success story – one of the biggest stars of early cinema, she co-founded the United Artists film studio, was one of the original founders of the Academy of Motion Pictures and won the second ever Best Actress Oscar given by them. She was described by a silent film journalist at the time as “the best known woman who has ever lived, the woman who was known to more people and loved by more people than any other woman that has been in all history.” Quite a claim.
One of the original career women, this is the advice she had for wives in 1934. “Be selfish.”
Sunderland Daily Echo, 19th January 1934
ADVICE TO WIVES
“BE SELFISH,” SAYS MARY PICKFORD
Wives should learn to be selfish.
This is the advice of Miss Mary Pickford.
She thinks wives ought to have schools where selfishness would be one of the subjects of the curriculum.
“Women,” she said, “ought to learn that kindness is sometimes the most devastating and weakening influence.
“Wives, especially, make this mistake. It is the unselfish ones who ruin themselves and everyone depending on them.
Mary Pickford confessed that she had made a New Year resolution to treat herself as well as she treats the people she likes best, says a Reuter Chicago cable.
I read something once that said that “the good old days” have always been regarded as being around 50 years ago. That’s 50 years ago from the vantage point of whatever the current year is. I suppose for the older generation, it was the time of their rose-tinted youth, and for everyone younger, it was a semi-legendary time just out of reach – near enough to feel like we’re almost part of it, but long enough ago to feel definitely of a different age.
Of course, now the 1960s are an unbelievable 50 years ago and are officially “the good old days”. I wasn’t there, but that is absolutely my sentiment now. Ever since I was a teenager I wished I was somehow, magically in the 1960s. I thought if I thought about it hard enough, I might wake up in 1967. But it never happened (obviously).
One of my favourite books in 1987 was “It was twenty years ago today” by Derek Taylor, telling the story of the Beatles, Sergeant Pepper, and the exciting times of 1967. As I was 13 at the time, 20 years ago was an unimaginably long length of time to me. That was 28 years ago now, and the thought I was then closer in time to Sergeant Pepper than I am now to the time I read the book almost doesn’t compute in my mind. The march of time is a strange and wondrous thing.
Lord Malmesbury in 1926 was certainly of the opinion that the youth of today didn’t know they were born. As pretty much every generation thinks about the next one, or the one after, at some point. And the younger generation in turn are baffled and dismiss the oldies as not knowing what the hell they’re talking about.
As Zygon Clara wisely said in Doctor Who the other week, “You’re just middle-aged. No offence, but everybody middle-aged always thinks the world’s about to come to an end. It never does.”
Malmesbury comes to the frankly startling conclusion that womens place is in the wrong, them and their damned emancipation, and “the wage-earning classes” leave much to be desired. Upper class males were absolutely unreproachable though, no problem there. Hang on though – what exactly does he mean by “the gradual weakening of the individualism which had hitherto characterised our race”? Is he talking about mixed race relationships?
Portsmouth Evening News, 24th February 1926
LORD MALMESBURY’S
WARNING ______________
Abnormality of Youth ______________
“There is something wrong with the youth of to-day – something not quite normal,” said the Earl of Malmesbury, speaking on “Modern Youth” at the 1912 Club in London last night.
The value of youth, he said, could not be estimated, but lately we had been indulging in an actual worship of youth, which was wrong. We must have ideals, but we had been disposed to make youth an idol, rather than an ideal.
The worship, and too great freedom of youth, was largely due to the emancipation of women.
The children, seeing their mothers bent upon amusing themselves, thought they could do the same, and a child always took the cue from the mother, and not from the father.
Young men of what was formerly called the “leisured classes” had greatly improved in tone and character, although the girls of the same classes still showed room for improvement.
In the great mass of the young people of the wage-earning classes, the most deplorable feature was the gradual weakening of the individualism which had hitherto characterised our race.”
Some advice for would-be writers from 82 years ago that still holds true, for the most part. It’s careful not to be particularly encouraging, which is needed even more now, what with writers often not being paid for their work at all if their “employers”, if you can still call them that, can manage it. Instead of actual money there’s now the magic beans of “exposure”.
Hull Daily Mail, 25th July 1923
Advice to would-be writers
Lots of young girls who think that they can write wish to take up writing as a profession. It is, however, a very precarious means of livelihood, unless the young writer is possessed of an uncommon genius; and even then she may not get the M.S.S. accepted if she does not write the kind of stuff which appeals to the public.
The first thing to remember is that the writing must not be dull or prosy. It must be bright and “snappy”, or it will never sell. An article should be quite up-to-date, which th no old-fashioned words or hackneyed phrases. It is really better to use slang than such words as “swain” or “maiden”; but slang should also be avoided.
Lots of people imagine that all that is required to make a successful journalist is an extensive vocabulary; but no editor would for a moment consider an article which is nothing but a jumble of long words. Simple language is really much better – call a spade a spade and not “an agricultural implement”, and the reading public will be grateful.
Do not think that because your friends think a thing is exceptionally good an editor is sure to think the same. “Exceptionally good” things may daily pass through his hands, yet he does not make use of them because they are not suitable for his paper. Do not despair, however, if you yourself are sure the M.S. has merit. Send it round to other editors before giving up in despair.
When you send an M.S. to a newspaper or magazine a stamped addressed envelope should always be enclosed if you wish its return in case of unsuitability. If you can possibly get it typewritten it will stand more chance of being accepted – indeed some papers will only consider typewritten matter.
Do not expect to get it back by return of post. Editors have been known to keep an article for a few months and finally to accept it. It is [a] disheartening waiting game, and I should advise you to take up other employment, and only write to as a hobby. Later when your name becomes fairly well-known, you will not have so much difficulty in placing your writing; and someday you may be offered a position upon a newspaper by some editor who has seen and admired your writing.
Like some kind of beef-based electricity, Bovril puts BEEF into you.
If anyone can tell me what “The Body-building power of Bovril has been proved by independent scientific investigation to be 10 to 20 times the amount taken,” I would be grateful.
I loved it a few years ago when the Google Van came round at Halloween and, for a while, the picture of our house on Google Earth showed a grinning pumpkin in the window. Actually, along those lines, in our previous house I was sure I could see a little boy peeping out of our bedroom window on the Google picture (this was pre-children), but when I look at the picture now I can’t see it anymore. Sadly, the pumpkin picture has now been replaced, but it’s still Halloween in spirit everyday in our house. A few years ago, I realised I had overplayed it a bit with my 3 year old son when he woke up, rushed downstairs, excitedly peered out of the window, and was bitterly disappointed that there were no walking skeletons, lurking vampires and flying witches to be seen. The bucket of sweets cheered him up later, though.
The origins of Halloween are a bit murky, but it’s been a popular holiday for at least a few hundred years.
Yesterday I talked about the tradition of “Mischief Night” – in Liverpool it’s the night before Halloween, but in other places it’s the night before Bonfire Night. But Halloween itself was also a day of trickery – and there’s still “trick or treat” of course.
In 1856 this article talks of how “People, young and old, play strange pranks on the evening of the day preceding the first of November.” Strange pranks which can “fill the houses of obnoxious individuals with volumes of smoke” and “disturb the equanimity of octogenarians.” Try saying that after a Bloody Mary. Belfast Mercury, 1st November 1856
I’d never heard of “Cracknut Night” before. It was another old name for Halloween at one time, “in allusion to the practice of cracking nuts in the fire on that occasion.”. I love the traditional “youth of today” moan here. The youngsters of 1902 weren’t bothered about your traditions, granddad, they had their “progressive whist and Ping-Pong.” Anyway, the reports of the death of Halloween turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Coventry Herald, 7th November 1902
Some delicious-sounding Halloween treats from 1930. To celebrate properly, you need Midnight Cake, Ghost biscuits, treacle apples and chestnuts. Midnight cake is a cake baked with treacle to make it darkly coloured, and iced as a clock pointing at midnight. Ghost biscuits are two biscuits jammed together and decorated with a spooky chocolate face and a skull and crossbones. I like the Irish mashed potato tradition – filled with thimbles, threepennybits and buttons, like the coin in a Christmas pudding. Then you need to have a treasure hunt for charms, and when they’re all found, hold hands in a circle at midnight and read out your fortune without laughing. Western Gazette, 24th October 1930
“Time was when this day was the greatest social festival of the Scottish year.” Now the author bemoans the fading away of Halloween in an age where “our civilisation is urban and complicated,” and the rural ways of another age have gone by the wayside. I wonder what he’d say to a Halloween that is arguably bigger than ever, although probably not in a way he’d recognise? Aberdeen Journal 31st October 1934
Mischief Night – like trick or treating, except with just the tricks. What’s not to like, if you’re a cheeky 13-year-old?
In Liverpool it mainly seems to involve eggs being thrown, especially at taxis for some reason. A taxi driver told me once that the contents of the egg damage the paintwork of the vehicle as they dry and so you have to wash them off straightaway, which makes October 30th a massive pain in the arse if that’s your job. It’s a bit of a gamble being on a bus too – a surprisingly loud banging sound on the window, then relief that it’s just an egg. Still, it’s better than when a gang of reprobates get hold of some stink bombs, lie in wait at bus stops, then chuck them in through the doors as they close and the bus moves off. It would be funny if you weren’t then stuck on a bus that smells of a million eggs. Although it does inspire some kind of “blitz spirit” among the bus passengers, who will suddenly feel OK about talking to each other.
The exact date of Mischief Night apparently differs depending on where you are in the world. Growing up in the south of the UK, I’d never heard of it until I moved to Liverpool, where Mischief Night is 30th October and is otherwise known as “Mizzy Night”. 30th October seems to be pretty standard in a lot of the US too. However, in the UK it originally was held the day before May Day, but after the Industrial Revolution holidays linked to the countryside dwindled in importance and Mischief Night moved to 4th November in most places, particularly taking hold in Yorkshire, where apparently it was particularly important to those 13-year-olds, participating in it being as a kind of rite of passage. Tasker Dunham, is this true? In Germany, it’s still held in May.
Through all the different dates, one thing is consistent. It’s the day before a notable even on the calendar – before May Day, April Fools Day, Halloween, or Bonfire Night.
Anyway, I’m sitting here hoping my house isn’t in for an egging tonight, and looking at some of the mischief seen in days gone by.
Mischief Night as it was in 1917, reported in the Burnley News. In Lancashire it used to be the night before April Fools Day, it says here. The author recounts the “wild pranks” he used to participate in as a young lad. “On this night, the boys used to take a kind of liberty or licence to do all kinds of silly mischief, upsetting rain tubs, tying doors fast and then knocking at the door, putting a sod over the chimney of some low cottage, so that the inmates were smoked out, and things of a similar character.”
Burnley News, 26 May 1917
Burnley News, 26 May 1917
There are some proffered explanations as to why Mischief Night even exists, and the differences even over the one county of Lancashire. In Southport it was held on 4th November, and was thought to reference the mischief of Guy Fawkes. In Goosnargh and Chippinge it was on May Day Eve, and came from “the mischief done by young men and women tearing off the branches of trees, and pulling up the new springing flowers to lay at each others doors to please or irritate each other according to the symbolic meaning conveyed.”
The most peculiar thing I have read is the rather elaborate tradition of Barton Moss in Salford, reported in a letter to “The Manchester City News” in 1885. “At Barton Moss a custom prevails, on the 4th of November, of scouring the neighbourhood in search of stray cats and dogs, and when a good supply is collected, the villagers assemble at midnight at the north-east corner of the Moss, and stretch a line between two trees. Each cat is then tied tail to tail with a dog, and the pair are then thrown over the line, where they are allowed to fight until first blood is drawn, when they are released, and another pair is thrown over in their place. This union of cat and dog is held to be symbolical of the infamous union of the Radcliffe family and Guy Faux. These “Mischiefs” as they are called, are generally attended by the young people of both sexes, even the fair daughters of the good families in the district not objecting to accompanying their gallant lovers to see the poor victims of the sport tortured. When the line is cut down parkin is distributed by the town crier, after which one solitary sky rocket is fired, and then all go home.”
Well, I don’t think covering a house in toilet paper beats that.
Here we are in Yorkshire in 1936, and the familiar cry of the fun being “carried a good deal too far.” Glass bottles being thrown, libraries having their lights turned out and washing pulled down from the lines. “Cannot something be done to moderate this so-called “mischief night” to which we must be the victims annually?” asks the writer of this letter? Apparently not. Yorkshire Evening Post, 6th November 1936
A 13-year-old girl in Lincolnshire was arrested for “pushing over a brick pillar” in 1945. Her defence that she “just leaned on the pillar” before it fell over not being believed. I’m going to say that whatever this pillar was, it wasn’t very secure. Lincolnshire Echo, 28th November 1945
Hornsey in 1948, and there was trouble with 50 boys destroying seats on the Promenade. This was on Bonfire Night though, so they were a bit late. Hull Daily Mail, 16th November 1948
Mischief Night still a problem in Yorkshire in 1953. Chief Constable Barnett warned the potential miscreants not to get up to criminal activity – “There seems to be a feeling among young people that they are at liberty to interfere with private and public property, and that there will be no repercussions. I shall be glad of the support of all adults members of the public in dispelling this erroneous idea.” Yorkshire Evening Post, 24th October 1953
No luck though. As you can see from this screenshot of the Liverpool Echo in 2011, this tradition is not going anywhere, yet. Liverpool Echo 31st October 2011
Craven A cork-tipped Virginia cigarettes – not only does their cork tip prevent “wet end”, but “you’ll not know what real cigarette enjoyment is” without them.
“You should smoke them because they’re made specially to prevent sore throats.”
I presume this means that the cork-tipped filter makes them less harsh to smoke than non-tipped cigarettes. But remember, always check with your doctor before you embark on a cigarette-based sore-throat-cure course.
