speedlamper 0 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 LIFE IN ENGLAND The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Phew weeeee! Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. (Forget it Mom! I ain't taking no bath this year.) Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water.. Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors That would get slippery in the winter when wet , so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a threshhold.. (Getting quite an education, aren't you? This is real stuff. Look it in for yourself. It's fun.) In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..and of course they had a lot of (you guessed it. GAS. No! Not the kind we put in cars, the tummy gas.) Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon.. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.. Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. O.K. kids. Think about that the next time you peel off the brown outside crust. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake. England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell. or was considered a ..dead ringer.. And that's the truth...Now , whoever said History was boring ! ! ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dantheman09 0 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 intresting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stabs 3 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Interesting, but I think a bit of artistic licence has been taken with a few of those Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tucker2008 0 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 quality Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueCoyote 0 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 some of it wont doubt. mostly because i've seen it first hand lol dirt floors and such.. growing up i knew some kids who lived on dirt floors... their parents were too poor to fix the original floor.. my mom and her family did the whole bath thing when they were kids.. only a bit more frequently than once a year lol my grandmother to this day, even in her "lights are on and no ones home" state will argue with you that she doesnt need a bath! she already took one "last sunday!" for the rest.... still wont doubt it. dont people in the UK still have thatched roofs? i never cared much for traditions anyway. i didnt have a wedding. we just signed papers and had took the day off to have fun with friends. why waste resources on useless lace, flowers that will die, and a dress you will probably never wear again? well... that i wont wear again. i cant speak for others. i do hold to one tradition. i dont believe in divorce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nelson 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Sunday was always Bath night at our house. Wednesday was half day closing for all shops in the town. Thursday was market day, the pub's were open all day ( now they are always open but with no one in them ) 7 o'clock was opening time except for Sunday's when the pub was shut. Football kicked off at 3 o'clock on a Saturday. 3 o'clock was also time for a cuppa, daily though. Wedding cake didn't make brides quite as fat, so something has changed in wedding cakes Spaghetti Bolognesse was considered 'posh and exciting' Men wore 'sports jackets' and a tie to the boozer, now its polo shirt and feckin ear rings :kiss: Could go on but it's way past my bed time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tucker2008 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 there all urban legends and not true just checked it out, was made up in 1999 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cedar 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Jesus, Speedlamper what an education Ive had today just come in to trasfer some maiden tracks onto ipod and quick gander at THL and had geography & history lesson while blasting maiden into me years. Well Done Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I can remember when Pot Noodles were "Cutting edge" food!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
speedlamper 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I can remember when Pot Noodles were "Cutting edge" food!!! and pot rice were a vision of the future Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jasper65 6 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 It all sounds a bit rough back then... but seriously are we better off today? probably as far as Health is concerened we are! but from a Field sports point of view boy did they have it good back then. I have a old book I used to read regular on Falconry written Pre War!! and the guy talking from a sporting point of view wrote "I beleive I have seen the best of this country of the likes will never be seen again" How true is that.... Jasper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WILF Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I can remember when Pot Noodles were "Cutting edge" food!!! ...........it was space age!!...............that was in the days when GM food and E numbers didnt kill you!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Squirrel_Basher 17,100 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 ........and you could get 4 blackjacks for a penny .Wagon wheels were 6 inches round and cost .Curly worleys were 2p each and ten fags 28p .Outside loos were considered the norm and indoor loos were the mark of a toff .Badger digging was legal and a popular Sunday past time for me and my grandad . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 What about when everyone "Hired" their video from the rental shop as they couldnt afford one!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WILF Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 What about when everyone "Hired" their video from the rental shop as they couldnt afford one!!! LOL..........When me and the Mrs first lived together, we had one of those tellys that you put a £1 in the top........... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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