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DID YOU KNOW ?? LIFE IN "GOODE OLDE' ENGLAND  Cats in Post Offices Cats have been in the official pay-roll of the British post office for more than a century. They are not employed to sort out or deliver mails, of course, but to keep letters from being eaten by mice. The problem was especially bad in London in the mid-1800s when mice invaded the mail sorting room. Mouse traps and rat poisons proved ineffective and in 1868, the Secretary of the Postal Department approved hiring of three female cats at a weekly allowance of two cents each. Within months the rodent population had shrunk dramatically, and the other post offices received the go-ahead to hire cats. Many did and, as the felines became more prominent in the work force, their pay improved. In 1953 the Assistant Post Master General assured the House of Commons that female mouse-hunters received very adequate maternity benefits and enjoyed the same wages and employment opportunities as male cats. Today cats are on the pay-roll of at least three London postal sites at an average wage of 1.60 Pounds a week -- Reader’s Digest [American] March 1983 Bathroom in Early England One of the few luxuries not to be found even in the most luxurious in early England was the bath room. As early as 1812, it is said that the Common Council in London refused Lord Mayor’s request for a shower bath on the time honoured excuse that other Lord Mayors had done without a shower bath and if this Mayor requires a luxury he should provide a temporary one at his own cost. By 1832, however, they had come to think that the Mansion House should contain a bath with hot water supply, probably because Lord John Russell had a bath, an enormous dishpan affair, installed in his London House. Baths, however, did not escape the usual adverse criticism of what was new, and daily bathing, it was threatened would produce an alarming increase in rheumatic fever, lung complaints and other diseases. -- Famous British Historian G.M.Tevelyan in “History of England” Wife Beating In the latter half of the 15th century, wife-beating was a recognized right of man and was practiced without shame by high as well as low. Similarly the who refused to marry the gentleman of her parents’ choice was liable to be locked up, beaten and flung about the room, without any shock being inflicted on public opinion --Historian G.M. Trevelyan in ‘History of England” Woes of a Bachelor Gary Locker is complaining because he has to work all day in an office alone with 120 good looking girls. A handsome, six-foot, 18 year old bachelor, he is the only man in a Post Office Accounting Department in Cardiff, and the girls spoil him to death, he said. Gary is begging his union to get him transferred to another department. His official reason—hardship. “Don’t get me wrong” Gary says “I adore girls—in small doses. When the odds are 120 to one against, it is frightening. All day it is Giggling, lipstick, rouge, powder, nail polish and ocean of scents with varying odours. It is nerve-racking and it can be embarrassing”. But .... poor Gary must put up with it, since his application for transfer has now been rejected. "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra |
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Interesting stuff! GBU, Gavin
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Interesting blog!!
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This is really interesting!
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5/14/2013 7:27 pm |
Love the cat story. We Wallas had barn cats for just that purpose. No pay though - just all of the fresh milk they could drink. Spiritwoman ^i^
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Interesting stuff! GBU, Gavin  "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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Apparently, 'the postman who was owned by the cat' was the beneficiary. Thanks Akamatt - have a nice day tomorrow. "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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Interesting blog!! "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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This is really interesting! . How was your day ?Have a great day tomorrow. "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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Hi Friendly, I think a couple of add-on's to this might interest you. The Wife beating bit was accompanied with the phrase; "With a stick no bigger than a man's thumb" And then the Bathroom bit, even during the early days of Buck Palace, during a heavily attended party, they would post notices around the hallways that read; "Please do not defecate/urinate in the closets and corridors." Of course that was before Royalty moved in. They looked at the world a little different then...lol About the stick no bigger than thumb is interesting indeed - thanks for this addition which I had omitted although not by design. Interesting about the notices too.  Have a wonderful day, Moot. "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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Love the cat story. We Wallas had barn cats for just that purpose. No pay though - just all of the fresh milk they could drink. There are some others too not posted here which may be even more interesting and humorous. Have a wonderful day tomorrow.  "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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Many thanks, MySeek2day. As technology advances and makes more available to us, values and lifestyles change. Can you imagine that a husband was allowed to beat his wife (?) and the other one is that all property owned by a woman became that of her husband after she married him with no claim on it should they divorce. It is preposterous to ever imagine a situation like that today. Have a great day and Sunday thereafter. "To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle" - Zarathustra
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