Canny lass

I thought we might start the New Year with a summary of the old one: Trump Death Covid Covid Trump Covid Trump Covid Covid More Covid Chrsitm …, Nope, Covid New Yea …, Nope, Brexit Don’t expect any New Year resolutions from me. I intend being the same awkward, cantankerous, irritating, sarcastic delight you’ve all come to know and love! Wishing you all a 2021 filled with good health, love and happiness. PS. Happy Birthday for tomorrow 3G

New Year Special: A quiz is not just a way to remind ourselves of what we know (or don’t know). It’s also a way to learn new things, to pick up small gems of wisdom which fit nicely into the category “one never knows when that might come in handy”. There have been plenty of those in the Friday Night Quiz. Thinking Caps on! Now is the time to see how your learning curve has developed during the pandemi: 1. What did Oliver Cromwell forbid anyone to eat? 2. Which news agency started in 1850 used pigeons? 3. Each century is longer than the previous by how many seconds? 4. A cow was killed in Cuba by a rocket from which country? 5. How long is the nose of the Statue of Liberty? 6. The liver of which animal is poisonous to humans because of the amount of Vitamin A it contains? 7. What do Massai tribesmen do to each other when they meet? 8. What did Queen Christina of Sweden have that was 10 inches long? 9. The Russian postal service will not deliver letters containing what? 10. Who have fewer hairs on their heads – redheads or blondes? 11. From an ancient form of which language does the word bride originate? 12. The king of which country smoked 100 cigarettes a day? 13. In which edition of the bible was the seventh commandment given as “Thou shalt commit adultery”? 14. Which language could King George 1 not speak? 15. Nelson’s body was returned to England in a barrel of Sherry. True or false? 16. Who started the custom of carrying a flaming torch from Athens to the site of the Olympic Games? 17. What did Queen Elizabeth 1 ban from the royal court? 18. Approximately how many miles of corridor are there in the Pentagon? 19. In which American state is there a law stating that pets must carry a light on their tails at night? 20. What was the result of Napoleon’s attempted suicide with poison? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Over 72 000 pairs of nylon stockings were sold in New York on the very first day they were put on sale. Answers on Thursday 7 January 2021

Answers to the Christmas Special quiz: 1. White Christmas, Bing Crosby 2. i) Isländska ii) Italienska iii) Spanska iv) Danska v) Tyska 3. Turkey: The town Myra, in Lycia, was originally an ancient Greek town which became Roman Greek, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman Greek before becoming the small Turkish town of Kale (renamed Demre in 2005). Kale is found today in the present day Antalya province in Turkey. 4. 146 legs (?+32 = 178): 1 Partridge – 2 legs 2 Turtle doves – 4 legs 3 French hens – 6 legs 4 Calling birds – 8 legs 5 Golden rings – 0 legs 6 Geese a-laying – 12 legs 7 Swans a-swimming 14 legs 8 Maids a-milking –16 legs (possibly 32 more if the cows being milked were part of the gift)(Stool legs not included, as there is no adequate proof as to the number of legs per stool). 9 Ladies dancing – 18 legs 10 Lords a-leaping – 20 legs 11 Pipers piping – 22 legs 12 Drummers drumming – 24 legs 5. Cupid 6. Ebenezer 7. Michael Caine 8. Krampus 9. Jingle Bells 10. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 11. Tiny tots 12. Dumbledore (a character created by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books). 13. Following the Reformation in 1560 the Scottish Church refused to accept anything related to Catholicism including their religious holidays. In 1640 the Scottish Parliament passed a law which rendered the celebration of the Christmas holiday illegal. 14. Justin Trudeau 15. Norway 16. King George V in 1932 17. A Visit from St. Nicholas 18. To and From 19. Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Prancer, Vixen, Dancer and Donner 20. Santa Clause New Year Special coming up shortly.

Police are warning: all men who frequent clubs, party goers and unsuspecting bar regulars to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink by any woman. A date rape drug on the market called “beer” is used by many females to target unsuspecting men. The drug is generally found in liquid form and is now available almost everywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, from taps and even large kegs. “Beer” is used by female sexual predators at parties and in bars to persuade their male victims to go home and have sex with them. Typically, a woman needs only to persuade a guy to consume a few units of “beer” and then simply ask him home for no-strings-attached sex. Men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several “beers” men will often succumb to her overtures and perform sexual acts on horrific looking women to whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking “beer” men often wake up with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that something bad occurred. At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life savings in a familiar scam known as a “relationship”. It has been reported that in extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer form of servitude and punishment referred to as “marriage”. Apparently, men are much more susceptible to this scam after “beer” has been administered and sex has been offered by the predatory female over a period of time. PLEASE! Forward this warning to every male you know. However, if you do fall victim to this insidious “beer” and the predatory women administering it, there are male support groups with venues in many towns where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter in an open and frank manner with similarly affected, like-minded men. For the support group nearest you, just look up “Golf Courses” in the yellow pages.

It’s a ’one-legged’ milking stool, a spin-off from the invention of Alfred Nobel who insisted that they were used by his workers when looking after his nitroglycerin vats (Absolut Vodka is not the only good thing to come from Sweden!). The stool prevented workers from falling asleep on the job and risking falling into the vat. Early health and safety, you might say. Nobel’s design was, of course, not so sophisticated as the one in the picture. A later, simple wooden design was used, not only by milk-maids but by people who like them moved from one workplace to another and were required to sit. Strapped to the rear end, you could take your seat with you while keeping your hands free to carry other essential work requirements – milking pails, for example. The modern variant is equipped with a spring coil which acts as a shock absorber for the spine.

Whoa! Whoa! Too Much Information!

The grandbairns definitely have their uses!

I'm afraid I would be needing proof about that. Are you quite sure it wasn't one of these: ...or even one of these?

Christmas Special! 1. Which Christmas song is the best-selling ever? 2. In English-speaking countries we say ”Merry Christmas”. To which European language has Google translated Merry Christmas here? i) Gleðileg jól ii) Buon Natale iii) Feliz Navidad iv) Glædelig jul v) Frohe Weihnachten 3. The modern Santa Clause, with a red outfit and a big white beard, is originally based on St Nicholas, an archbishop from Myra. In which modern day country was he born? 4. During the 12 days of Christmas, how many ‘legs’ did “my true-love give to me”? 5. Which one of Santa’s reindeer shares a name with a famous symbol of Valentine ’s Day? 6. In Charles Dickens’ novel “A Christmas Carol” what was the first name of Mr. Scrooge? 7. In The Muppet’s Christmas Carol who played Mr. Scrooge? 8. According to the folklore of Austria (and some other countries) what horned figure punishes naughty children at Christmastime? 9. What well-known Christmas song was the first to be broadcast from space in 1965? 10. Which holiday movie includes a cameo by Donald Trump 11. Whose eyes are “all aglow” in The Christmas Song? 12. Who said “One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” 13. Why did Scotland ban Christmas? 14. Which world leader celebrates his birthday on Christmas day? 15. Which country sends a tree every year to be erected in Trafalgar Square? 16. Which royal monarch made the first Christmas broadcast? 17. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” , Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem,was originally published under what name? 18. What are the two most popular words used on Christmas gift tags? 19. We all know Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, but what are the other eight called? 20. Who resurrected Frosty in Frosty the Snowman? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Golf balls were originally made of leather stuffed with feathers. Answers will be posted on WEDNESDAY 30 December - together with a New Year Special (to keep you out of mischief).

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Nod 2. Limestone 3. Change money 4. Hungary 5. Crewe Alexandra 6. DNA 7. Gorky Street 8. Left 9. A stone anchor 10. Aniseed 11. Shoulder Pork And Ham 12. Sherlock Holmes New quiz in a few minutes.

Lovely photo Maggie! There's somebody local who goes around putting old spectacles on those small, mossy mounds here . They look quite charming. Maybe something for you to start in England?

Yipee! It's Christmas! Let the celebrations begin!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Where's Wilf? It's not offically Christmas without Wilf!!!!

Then your learning curve must have gone steeply upwards this week, Vic. Well done!

This week's quiz: 1. In the book of Genesis, which land is said to lie to the east of Eden? 2. Marble is formed by the metamorphosis of which rock? 3. What would you do in a Cambio? 4. Which European country produces Tokay? 5. Which football club play at Gresty Road and are nicknamed the Railwaymen? 6. How is deoxyribonucleic acid better known? 7. Tverskaya is the name of one of Moscow’s most important streets. What was it called prior to 1990? 8. That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind, said Neil Armstrong. Which of his feet, right or left, made that first step on the moon? 9. What is a killick? 10. What do fennel leaves taste of? 11. What does the name Spam stand for? 12. Who lived at 221b Baker Street? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Author Raymond Chandler’s wife did the housework in the nude. Note: Answers on WEDNESDAY next week. (being as Thursday is the equivalent of Christmas day here). Friday’s quiz - a Christmas special – will also be posted on WEDNESDAY instead of Christmas day.

... and also for creating one of the best galleries of Bedlington photos i've come across. He gets my vote along with Andy Millne, Vic Patterson, HPW, Jammy and your good self.

Thanks John. I wasn't familiar with just this case but with several others like it. An elederly woman's statement of having been born at a certain palace and the son of a certain prince, and adopted by the palace carpenter springs to mind. That story was deemed to be "delusional thinking".

That explains it. seems from Susan James-Hemsted's post that Piper was in use around the area. Short form of the pedigree name perhaps.

That would be the one! Mid- to late 50s is about right and the couple did live at the lower end of First or Second Street, putting it in the higher numbers. I remember Dennis but O'Brian doesn't ring a bell for the elderly couple. Perhaps it was his maternal grandmother?

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Mullion 2. The Who 3. Seahorse 4. Gamma 5. 1984 6. Popeye 7. Oscar Wilde 8. Speed skating 9. Ted Ray 10. One million 11. Benbecula - An island between the Uists “During his voyage, the Prince's boat was caught in a storm, and he was forced to land on Benbecula. Despite mainly being Presbyterian, Flora and the population of Benbecula were sympathetic to the Jacobite cause, and the Prince and his companions received hospitable treatment. Nevertheless, the Prince was a fugitive with a price on his head and his companions therefore sought out Flora. She disguised him as an Irish spinning maid, Betty Burke, and by this means smuggled him off the island, on 27 June, and took him "over the sea to Skye". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benbecula 12. Nathaniel Winkle New quiz tomorrow.

Perhaps we should combine the two topics in one?

The name Donkin seems to crop up quite often. In my childhood there was a family baker's shop in Bedlington owned by the Donkins. There must be Donkins around today who may have information/photos etc.

I remember a Bedlington, owned by an elderly Netherton couple, who's name escapes me just now. The dog, however, was called Piper - a lovely natured animal that we kids used to love to see and stroke when he was out and about with the owners. Piper wasn't a common name for dogs in Netherton so I wonder if he was a direct descendent? Can anybody remember the name of the couple who owned him?

Pets in institutions are the 'in-thing' today and considered to be therapeutically beneficial. Perhaps the owner (Garbutt) was ahead of the times in his thinking. More likely, however, is that taking the dog was a means to get Ned to the asylum without causing distress/anger on his part. It's also worth remembering that these places were run for monetary gain. If taking the dog meant a few extra coppers in the bank, I'm sure it would have been agreed to. With regard to understanding Ned's state of madness, it's necessary to filter off all present day knowledge of mental illness. Diagnosis was a different matter then and now. I'm sure that illnesses such as those defined in the greater groups of: psychoses (including such illnesses as Schizophrenia and Bi-polar disorders) and neuroses (including such illnesses as depression and personality disorder) were around at the time. However, they had not been fully identified or named. Some of the most common diagnoses encountered by me in old case histories (prior to 1953) are: severely retarded, simple-minded, feeble-minded, idiot, mentally deficient, of unsound mind, non compos mentis, lacks understanding, and incapable of reason. Feeble-minded or incapable of reason were applied to persons for a multitude of different reasons, some having no resemblence whatsoever to what we term mental ill health today. One of the most common I've seen is pregnancy outside of marriage! You would be amazed at the number of women in their 70s and 80s who were still sitting, now institutionalized, in mental hospitals around the UK in the 1960s, having been admitted some 50 to 60 years earlier simply because they became pregnant - without the help of a "husband"! That was enough to have you "put away", as was the common expression, and for many that meant " the further away the better". Mental illness, as we know it today, didn't need to be present at all in order to be comitted to an asylum. It was interesting to see the drawing of Dunston Lodge Asylum which headed the article you provided. Founded at the beginning of the 19th century it has many of the hallmarks of the asylum recommended in the 1845 act. This act was really an ammendment to an earlier act (around 1810 if I remember right) which advocated county care. There were however too many loopholes in that act which allowed counties to circumnavigate the law and is one of the reasons why work didn't get underway with asylum building until mid 19th century when the 1845 act enforced the earlier act. In the drawing, you can clearly see the move away from treating patients as prisoners.- which was the aim of the law. There are gardens for recreation and therapeutic work and what appears to be a farm adjacent to but outside of the asylum walls where patients could work and contribute to the running of the asylum by producing food., so was the occupational therapy of the era. I note also an enclosed courtyard where dangerous patients could be safely exercised, allowing even those a chance to see daylight and feel the weather on their faces. Many of these features are common to the later builds and marked an advance in the treatment and conditions of the asylums.