You know, I’ve got the best job in the world. Each submission that hits my inbox makes me feel like a queen—or an empress, even—presented with a Box of Delights, which, unwrapped, yields a cache of previously-unknown facts or phrases. I uncovered these little gems thanks to the writers of the winter edition of Vintage Script (on sale now!):
The Race
Janis Pegrum-Smith
Fen ice skating was a nice little earner back in the nineteenth century. ‘If you were a good skater you could win enough food and money to see your family through the cold spells, a time when there was no work to be had on the farms,’ says Janis. The sport is still alive today when the weather conditions align to produce vast areas of ice on open or flooded fields.
Janis Pegrum-Smith
Fen ice skating was a nice little earner back in the nineteenth century. ‘If you were a good skater you could win enough food and money to see your family through the cold spells, a time when there was no work to be had on the farms,’ says Janis. The sport is still alive today when the weather conditions align to produce vast areas of ice on open or flooded fields.
Fen skating
Shedding Light on the Cathedral’s People
Lynda Kempsey
Lynda recounts a delightful anecdote about a sudden fog protecting Durham Cathedral in a bombing raid in May 1942. She tells how, on a crystal clear night, Gwen Wilkinson stepped out of her house to see a sudden thick fog rise up from the Wear and envelope the cathedral, concealing it from the bombers. The bombs hit empty fields and the mist vanished as soon as the Germans had gone.
A Disappointed Man
Jess Sully
There really was an “East Hill Hermit” who lived in a cave in Hastings in the early part of the twentieth century, and Jess imaginatively tells us his story here. Incredibly, John Hancox made the cave his home for 18 years. His contentment with the simple life is touching.
Hidden History
Monica Mukherji
Hidden History is a glimpse into the private world of Monica’s grandmother via her Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Scraps from newspapers and magazines marked the pages, giving us a fascinating insight not only into Lizzie’s life, but that of women of the time.
The Stone Floor
Michelle Sweeney
Would you imagine that in the mid-eighteenth century a man could survive a milling accident in which he loses his arm, and that the medical know-how existed even then to tuck the arteries and nerves back, close the wound up and thus save the patient? Michelle’s story was inspired by a real-life case quoted in The Anatomy of the Human Body by William Cheselden, a leading surgeon and anatomist of the time.
There’s Something About Audrey
Kim Charleston
Did you know that the word “tawdry” is a corruption of “Awdrey”—St Audrey of Ely (636-679) whose fascinating story is revealed to us by Kim. Lace mementoes would be sold at an annual fair held in Ely in St Audrey’s honour. Over the years, the quality of these goods deteriorated, and they were eventually seen as cheap and tacky. Lace knick-knackery aside, this influential woman played a major role in developing the Christian church in early medieval England, founded a powerful female network who helped shape the political and religious landscape for years to come, and was one of the first “celebrity” saints.
Lynda Kempsey
Lynda recounts a delightful anecdote about a sudden fog protecting Durham Cathedral in a bombing raid in May 1942. She tells how, on a crystal clear night, Gwen Wilkinson stepped out of her house to see a sudden thick fog rise up from the Wear and envelope the cathedral, concealing it from the bombers. The bombs hit empty fields and the mist vanished as soon as the Germans had gone.
A Disappointed Man
Jess Sully
There really was an “East Hill Hermit” who lived in a cave in Hastings in the early part of the twentieth century, and Jess imaginatively tells us his story here. Incredibly, John Hancox made the cave his home for 18 years. His contentment with the simple life is touching.
Hidden History
Monica Mukherji
Hidden History is a glimpse into the private world of Monica’s grandmother via her Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. Scraps from newspapers and magazines marked the pages, giving us a fascinating insight not only into Lizzie’s life, but that of women of the time.
The Stone Floor
Michelle Sweeney
Would you imagine that in the mid-eighteenth century a man could survive a milling accident in which he loses his arm, and that the medical know-how existed even then to tuck the arteries and nerves back, close the wound up and thus save the patient? Michelle’s story was inspired by a real-life case quoted in The Anatomy of the Human Body by William Cheselden, a leading surgeon and anatomist of the time.
There’s Something About Audrey
Kim Charleston
Did you know that the word “tawdry” is a corruption of “Awdrey”—St Audrey of Ely (636-679) whose fascinating story is revealed to us by Kim. Lace mementoes would be sold at an annual fair held in Ely in St Audrey’s honour. Over the years, the quality of these goods deteriorated, and they were eventually seen as cheap and tacky. Lace knick-knackery aside, this influential woman played a major role in developing the Christian church in early medieval England, founded a powerful female network who helped shape the political and religious landscape for years to come, and was one of the first “celebrity” saints.
St Audrey of Ely
The Life and Times of Samuel Pepys, 1633-1703
Rosemary Morris
We all know Samuel for his diary, but did you know that he had a huge influence on reforming the navy and had a hand in laying the foundations of the civil service? He was also suspected of treason around the Popish plot and imprisoned in the Tower of London. With his diary stretching to a million and a quarter words, no doubt there are many, many more treasures to discover.
The Fights Return to Newmarket
Edward Clark
A beautifully written piece about the history of boxing in Newmarket. It has brought to my attention a marvellous word: "tatterdemalion", meaning a person wearing tattered or ragged clothing, a ragamuffin.
The Painter and the Girl in the Red Dress
Susan Johnson
‘You had to hold down the sneck a certain way to get that quietness.’ What is a sneck? A sneck is a latch or catch of a door or gate in Scots and Northern English dialect. Well, I never knew that!
Edward Clark
A beautifully written piece about the history of boxing in Newmarket. It has brought to my attention a marvellous word: "tatterdemalion", meaning a person wearing tattered or ragged clothing, a ragamuffin.
The Painter and the Girl in the Red Dress
Susan Johnson
‘You had to hold down the sneck a certain way to get that quietness.’ What is a sneck? A sneck is a latch or catch of a door or gate in Scots and Northern English dialect. Well, I never knew that!
Fisherwomen, Cullercoats by Winslow Homer (who provided inspiration for Susan's story)
The Invitation
Katy Darby
‘She looked no older. She was wearing a coquettish navy blue hat with a cream feather, and a suit to match, blue serge with white piping. She wore dark glasses with white frames and did not take them off to kiss him. He held on to her white-gloved hands and spread her arms wide, the better to look at her. She accepted his scrutiny, smiling. She didn’t used to wear such brilliant red lipstick, he thought. ’ A beautiful description of a dazzling woman on meeting her ex-husband after some time had elapsed. The red lipstick, and his reaction to it, says it all.
Katy Darby
‘She looked no older. She was wearing a coquettish navy blue hat with a cream feather, and a suit to match, blue serge with white piping. She wore dark glasses with white frames and did not take them off to kiss him. He held on to her white-gloved hands and spread her arms wide, the better to look at her. She accepted his scrutiny, smiling. She didn’t used to wear such brilliant red lipstick, he thought. ’ A beautiful description of a dazzling woman on meeting her ex-husband after some time had elapsed. The red lipstick, and his reaction to it, says it all.
Everything a Woman Ought to Know—1911 Style
Mary Grey
Mary tells us how this handbook for women not only contains all manner of advice on domestic management and dress, but also commentary on women’s increasing role in business and political life. But my favourite pearl of wisdom has to be, ‘A stout woman should never wear light colours’.
Mary Grey
Mary tells us how this handbook for women not only contains all manner of advice on domestic management and dress, but also commentary on women’s increasing role in business and political life. But my favourite pearl of wisdom has to be, ‘A stout woman should never wear light colours’.
The winter edition of Vintage Script magazine is on sale now.
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