Month: March 2022

Celebrations & Holidays

New Year’s Day

The start of a new year has been set variously at 1st January, 1st March and 25th March in times past, but […]

The start of a new year has been set variously at 1st January, 1st March and 25th March in times past, but Britain finally reverted to 1st January for its New Year’s Day from 1752 onwards. Each of these dates relates to a re-birth or change, either through seasonal onset or by religious association. 1st January was originally chosen because Janus, a Roman god, was the bringer of beginnings and endings, portals and passages.

As New Year’s Eve celebrations revolve around staying up for midnight and beyond, it is only fair that New Year’s Day should be a Bank Holiday, thereby circumventing mass absence from work! It is the last day of the Christmas & New Year holiday (except in Scotland) and the school Spring Term begins immediately afterwards.

Making a New Year’s Resolution to improve or challenge yourself is traditional, as is ‘first-footing’; to bring luck for the coming year, the first visitor after midnight should be a dark-haired man bearing at least one gift ~ a lump of coal, some salt, shortbread, whisky or a silver coin. Some say a blonde-haired man (resembling a Viking) would be positively unlucky, while others the reverse. Either way, an empty-handed first-footer is deemed unlucky.

(Image: pxhere.com)

20/03/2022
3 min
3 years
207 words

Sport

Rounders

An ancient British game called ‘town-ball’, ‘base’ or ‘base-ball’ were the forerunners of the sport of rounders. Indeed, ‘base-ball’ was both included […]

An ancient British game called ‘town-ball’, ‘base’ or ‘base-ball’ were the forerunners of the sport of rounders. Indeed, ‘base-ball’ was both included in the first printed children’s book in 1744 and in a Surrey newspaper report of 1749 of such a pursuit in which the then Prince of Wales and Earl of Middlesex played in bad weather for several hours.

Rounders became a staple of school sports from the 1800s onwards, particularly for girls as an alternative to cricket. In 1943 a group of teachers decided it was high time for a standard set of rules to be drawn up for the benefit of county competitions, thereby giving rise to the establishment of the National Rounders Association. International matches began in the mid-1970s for adult devotees.

As a largely recreational game, any number of players can be in each of the two teams, as long as they are equal. Officially the maximum is 15 but only 9 can be fielding (any remaining wait behind the backstop as potential substitutes) and the minimum is 6 to ensure there is a bowler, backstop and sufficient fielders to cover the four ‘posts’ or whatever objects are used to mark the corners of a square around which batters must run.

(Top image: Mike Finn at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)

16/03/2022
3 min
3 years
211 words

Religion

Vicars and Vicarages

The leader (‘incumbent’) of a Church of England parish church is known as a vicar, the equivalent of a priest, and his/her […]

The leader (‘incumbent’) of a Church of England parish church is known as a vicar, the equivalent of a priest, and his/her title is Reverend. The role is earned after several years’ training and at least three as a curate (assistant vicar). The Bishop of a diocese (region) appoints the vicar to a vacancy. A rent-free house, called a vicarage, is traditionally a substantial part of the job’s perks.

The vicar wears a long black cassock under a shorter robe called a surplice. The cassock has a stand-up collar with a front gap by which a white insert is displayed. Over the shoulders hangs a long fabric stole, sometimes richly embroidered. The vicar may have a team of helpers covering administration, music and some of the preaching and teaching. There are also the Church Wardens and the Verger.

Centuries ago the vicar frequently lived on an upper floor of the church but after clergymen were allowed to marry post-Reformation, more comfortable accommodation was deemed necessary; hence the building of vicarages either adjacent to the church or very close by. Today, large vicarages have generally been sold off and replaced with small, modern properties, while some vicars make independent arrangements.

(Image: The Diocese of York at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0)

12/03/2022
3 min
3 years
211 words

Law

Police & Crime Commissioners

The hierarchy of UK police ranks, in ascending order, is generally as follows:- Constable Sergeant Inspector Chief Inspector Superintendent Chief Superintendent Assistant […]

The hierarchy of UK police ranks, in ascending order, is generally as follows:-

Constable
Sergeant
Inspector
Chief Inspector
Superintendent
Chief Superintendent
Assistant Chief Constable
Deputy Chief Constable
Chief Constable

From 1964 to 2012, Chief Constables were answerable to ‘Police Authorities’, but the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (2011) replaced these with Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Police & Crime Panels. In Essex, N.Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire they also oversee fire and rescue services, so are called Police, Fire & Crime Commissioners (PFCCs).

Their role is to be a wide-ranging liaison officer and to manage the budget for their police force, including deciding how much residents should contribute to policing costs in their council tax. They must produce a list of objectives to demonstrate how they plan to ensure police effectiveness. Each PCC/PFCC employs a team to assist, for instance, in awarding grants to local charities for crime prevention, rehabiliation and research.

Although ex-police officers can be nominated, PCCs/PFCCs are actually appointed by local elections every 4 years, i.e. it is not a promotion from within police ranks. People with zero policing experience can be put forward, either by political parties or as an ‘independent’. However, they all tend to have top executive or professional backgrounds.

(Image: Birmingham City Council at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)

07/03/2022
3 min
3 years
214 words

Quoting Neil Oliver...

I love Britain more than anywhere else in the world. With all my heart I declare that those of us born here, or who have made a home here by choice, are the luckiest, most blessed of all people. I am British. I will always be British.