Blog Archives

Name Your Tavern?

3/26/2015

When illiteracy was high, tavern owners couldn't print the name of their establishment above the door and expect patrons to read it. So, the taverns had names that could be put on a carving, such as the Red Hedgehog, which supposedly was frequented by the composer Brahms.

It's just a guess, but I'd say the Horse Shoe tavern or the Angel tavern were better places to visit than the Vulture or the Young Devil--all actual tavern names.

According to the book, Stage Coach and Tavern Days, not all tavern names remained the same. Around the time of 1776 in the USA, lions became unpopular, so the Golden Lion tavern became the Yellow Cat. An easy switch when words aren't involved.

I also found mention of the Conkey tavern, named for its owner. I can't see that on a sign board and I suspect it didn't have a placard out front, but was named by the locals.

Apparently tavern names fascinate more than one person because there's a Random Tavern Name generator online. I'm sure most people can think of a tavern name on their own...

Cobwebs to Catch Flies

3/20/2015

Court records from the Old Bailey give me an idea of what life was like in the past, and sometimes I go online to look at caricatures from the 1800's. The backgrounds in the drawings make the daily life more real to me.

Finally, I found something that could give me a glance into a child's life that varied from the harsh tales I'd heard of children working long hours, being abused and of having a high death rate.

Cobwebs to Catch Flies, a book to teach children reading, is not a dark look at the past. This primer, published in 1785 gives a happy look at previous era.

The stories in this book might even engage a beginning reader today. Free on Google books, it's an uplifting look at childhood that is different from Dickens' Oliver Twist. It almost reminds me of the same book my teacher used to show me how to read. I probably would have preferred Cobwebs over Dick and Jane.

Reading between the lines is fun too, particularly when the author makes a hint about how much some people spend.

Hanging At the Gaol

3/11/2015

When researching pirates, I discovered a lot of stories about hangings. One tale included reports of the condemned person being transported through town—and being allowed to stop at a tavern so he could have a last drink before reaching the gallows.

The story of the hangman Mutton Curry also surfaced in my research. Curry was supposedly so inebriated during an execution he had trouble getting the noose around the culprit’s neck. There's also the report of Curry standing to close to the opening and tumbling downward as the condemned man did.

A somber poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, refers to the 1896 hanging of Charles Thomas Wooldrige for the murder of his wife. This stark verse is made all the more intense by the knowledge that the author was also a prisoner during the time of the execution. Although the poem is supposedly quite well-known in some areas, I’d never heard of it until researching. This gave me a different perspective on the writer, Oscar Wilde.

The link to the poem follows:

http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/rgaol10.htm

Hangin' At The Fort

3/6/2015

Having visited a replica of hanging Judge Parker’s gallows in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, at a very young age, and being surprised at how innocent it looked—simple stairs, a plank floor and boards overhead, I suppose I’ve had a fascination with job of hangman since then. Not that I would care to submit an application should a position for the job appear.

Standing on the gallows, I could not comprehend the details of the past. I don’t believe there was a noose. Nooses are not put in place except on the anniversaries of the more notorious hangings and then ropes are added to correspond with the number of executions from that date.

When I visited I must have expected to see a criminal still waiting to be cut down or untied. I can see the judge saying to the hangman, “I don’t care how you get him down, just do it.” Removing the body can’t have been the most pleasant part of the day for whoever did the work. I also wondered how it was decided on the date and time of the execution. “Will Friday at 8:00 work for you or should we start promptly at 10:00 on Monday?”

No matter what time they started, the end result was the same.

Ft. Smith gallows link: http://www.nps.gov/fosm/historyculture/gallows-today.htm

Seven Quick Tips for Public Speaking

3/1/2015

Sometimes writers need to speak in public. Of course, for the writers who are naturally extroverts and love to be the center of attention, this isn't a problem at all.

The following tips are for introverts and can be used for public speaking—or in some cases—at the drive-through window.

• Speak slower than you think you should if you're nervous. Your mind is probably moving so fast that you'll actually be talking at a normal speed.

• Keep your body movements unhurried.

• Remember that people have an 8 second attention span. They won't listen to every word.

• Speak to the wall just behind them and over their heads. Put your imaginary friend there.

• If they check their phones, it's normal. If you check the time, wonder aloud if they need a break.

• You'll make a mistake. Don't sweat it.

• Memorize the first paragraph to get yourself off to a good start.

Name Your Tavern?

Cobwebs to Catch Flies

Hanging At the Gaol

Hangin' At The Fort

Seven Quick Tips for Public Speaking

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