Let’s Go Shopping!

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SarahND
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by SarahND » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:44 am

Wonderful, Alan! Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People sounds like just what the world needs right now! I'm willing to give them a try to get over this Long Covid roller coaster I'm on.

[cheers]
Sarah

WilmaM
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by WilmaM » Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:30 am

Please get that bottle forensicly examined, it could hold the cure !
Wilma

Anne H
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by Anne H » Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:57 am

I could be doing with some of those little pink pills :-

[cheers]
Anne

garibaldired
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by garibaldired » Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:08 pm

Where's Dr Williams when we need him?! :lol:

Thanks, Alan.

Best wishes,
Meg

AndrewP
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by AndrewP » Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:46 pm

When I was a young child, one of our local GPs had a jar of Smarties on his mantelpiece. If a mother brought an ailing child into his surgery, you would be surprised what could be cured by some wise words and a couple of Smarties.

All the best,

Andrew P.

Currie
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by Currie » Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:20 am

Thanks everyone,

This week we’re shopping in Dundee, way back in 1865. The streets are crowded and we’re dodging other shoppers left, right, and centre. There’s something up ahead! It’s slowing us all down! It looks like …………… a perambulator!

Read all about it in the Dundee Courier, Monday, September 11, 1865.

“OBSTRUCTIONS ON THE FOOTWAYS.”

Sir,— I observed a letter in the Courier and Argus of Wednesday last, signed “A Citizen,” complaining of certain parties claiming a privilege “to obstruct the footways by wheeling their children in small wicker carriages, and sometimes allowing even children to do so, “to the great danger of those passing along.” Now, I have no objection to “A Citizen” writing on any trivial subject he chooses; and do not even object to his ungallantry (I was going to say unmanliness) in giving vent to his injured feelings and fears with regard to wicker carriages being wheeled on the public footways; but I decidedly deny that perambulators are an obstruction, and dangerous to the lieges. They are a most valuable and useful invention, as many a “trauchled” housewife can testify, are very light in their construction, and easily and gently wheeled along. But “certain parties” are always objecting to something or another; and even a harmless perambulator does not escape their virtuous indignation. Ye mothers and servant-maids of Bonnie Dundee! take the charitable advice of ‘‘A Citizen,” and keep your wicker carriages at home, burn them, or destroy them, because they are ‘‘dangerous.” If you have delicate children who require airing, and you are not able to carry them, why, stay at home, and let the delicate little olive branches fade and wither, and sit beside them yourselves till they no longer trouble you. Never mind air or exercise to yourselves—that is nothing; do what I advise you, and one “Citizen,” at least, will bless you and your delicate cherubs.

By-the-bye, stop a bit, you might get bells, and hang them on the front of your “coachy-poachies,” to warn “A Citizen” of your approach, after the manner of the cab-horses in time of snow. Perhaps that would relieve the timidity of “certain parties.” When your “guidman comes hame at e’en,” and asks you to “come and gie the bairns the air,” tell him, in that case, his hard work is not done yet, for he must needs carry little Johnny for a mile or so in his arms, because you yourself must carry baby, for perambulators are to be put down—they are a public “obstruction.” If “Ta-ta” objects and gets angry give him the consolation that it is for the “public weal,” and he must hold his tongue; and if he be a duck of a husband, he is sure to keep his mouth close—rayther. Really, ladies, it is too bad of you to love that delightful promenade, the narrow of the Murraygate! It must be very pleasant, no doubt; but “the time was” when you would have preferred a broader footway. “ The time was,” also, when ‘‘crinolines,” and other “obstructions,” were not heard of. The next subject for “A Citizen's” pen will probably be your hoops.

The times change—and customs also—and we change with them, but that is nothing to “A Citizen.” I would ask that champion of public safety whether he should not try and put down hoops, for he will surely admit that a hundred more accidents have happened through their use than the hurling of a useful perambulator. “A Citizen” must either be a fledgling who knows nothing about the upbringing of children, or he must be an old curmudgeon of a crusty bachelor who never tasted the sweets or the sorrows of matrimony. If “A Citizen” were a working man —a father—and had a family requiring fresh air, he would be glad to avail himself of the friendly aid of a harmless perambulator. Suppose he had a child who had been for months not able to set his foot on the ground, and the Doctor tells him that that child must be taken out daily or twice a day to the caller air, will he or his wife be able or willing always to carry him? I trow not. Circumstances alter cases. Delicate children sit comfortable in perambulators, and frequent airing in them does often restore them to health and strength, and enable their parents to throw expensive physic to the dogs. Taking everything into consideration, then, Mr Editor, I am of opinion that there are greater public “obstructions” in the world, and a great deal more useless things, than a wicker.
PERAMBULATOR.
Dundee, September 9, 1865.


PERAMBULATOR also mentioned crinolines as being obstructions. Crinolines were not only obstructive, they were dangerous. There were many reports in the newspapers of horrible deaths to women and children caused by their crinoline catching alight, and I won’t repeat those.


Elgin Courant, Friday, December 20, 1861

CRINOLINE ACCIDENT.—On Friday evening, as a number of young women were standing in High Street, Inverness, looking at a marriage party which was passing, the wheel of a cart caught the crinoline of one of them, and dragging her down, passed over both her legs. Fortunately the cart was empty, and no serious injury was the result.—Inverness Courier.


Dundee Courier, Wednesday, August 31, 1859

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT FROM CRINOLINE.—An accident which has been attended with severe, and possibly fatal results, happened a few days since at an archery meeting held in the grounds of Mr W. Wilshire (late M.P. for Yarmouth), near Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. It appears that Mrs Chesshyre, the wife of an Essex clergyman, who was among the party, and was dressed in the prevailing style of fashion, suddenly sat down on the grass, and in so doing, snapped one of the steel hoops which supported her dress. Unfortunately, the sharp end penetrated a tender part of her body, and inflicted a severe internal wound. Medical assistance was fortunately at hand, and the hemorrhage was stopped with the greatest difficulty. The lady still remains in most precarious state.


Dundee Courier, Friday, August 15, 1862

A LADY BLOWN INTO THE SEA THROUGH HER CRINOLINE.—One day last week, as a lady visitor at Margate was walking down the steps of the jetty, the wind, which was blowing almost a gale at the time, caught under her crinoline, which was of very ample dimensions, and forced her over into the sea. A sailor near, seeing the position of the unfortunate lady, promptly jumped into the water, and saved her life. When got out, it was found that she had received a severe cut over one of her eyes, caused, as is supposed, by her head coming in contact with one of the boats. She, however, was not materially injured, although almost dead from fright.
(That’s her about to leave the jetty. https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads ... 4x1024.jpg )


Paisley Herald, Saturday, January 8, 1859

CRINOLINE ACCIDENT.—It was reported at the Western Police Office last night, that Mr James Butters, a flesher, residing at 343 Sauchiehall street, got his leg broken under these extraordinary circumstances:—He was passing along Sauchiehall street, when he met a lady, dressed in the usual circumlocutary fashion of the day, when in endeavouring to pass her a foot got entangled in some of the unmentionable hardware below her dress, and he fell violently to the ground. The fair owner of this new order of man-traps sailed on, and sweetly smiling to another passenger, asked him to be good enough to pick up the fallen unfortunate! The injuries were examined by Dr Grey, and were found to be as before stated.—Bulletin.


John O’Groat Journal, Thursday, July 18, 1861

A BOY NEARLY STRANGLED IN CRINOLINE. —A humorous correspondent is responsible for the following:—As a young lady in the Highlands of Banffshire attended Divine service last Sabbath in the village of Tomintoul, and was passing to her seat, wearing an extraordinary quantity of crinoline, the dangerous article fastened about a boy's neck, who was so light that the bouncing lass thought it was nothing but the voluminous dress floundering between the seats. Much praise is due to a gentleman that was going behind her, who acted cleverly in rescuing the boy from the temporary gallows else the case might have been more serious. We are glad, however, that the boy sustained less injury than was supposed.


Fife Herald, Thursday, November 18, 1858

PITLESSIE.—ACCIDENT BY CRINOLINE.—At the close of the afternoon service the other Sabbath in the U.P. church, a lady retiring with the rest of the congregation brought her crinoline skirts in contact with the collection plate, and upset the same with its precious contents of coppers, with a tremendous crash on a poor old woman's toes. Being troubled with corns, the puir body spent the rest of the nicht in a pitiful manner.


Stirling Observer, Thursday, September 30, 1858

CRINOLINE.—ANOTHER DISTRESSING ACCIDENT.—A few days ago, an elegant fascinating young lady, with her, fashionable dress crinolined to the utmost, attempted to pass between a lamp post and a house in Blossomgate, Ripon, when, horrible to relate, she struck fast, and was, of course, for a while, an object of ridicule to sundry “dreadful’’ small boys that happened to be near the spot. After several fierce struggles, the unfortunate fair one succeeded in extricating herself from her uncomfortable position by backing out. Our “special correspondent,” with his special promptitude, yesterday visited the locality alluded to, measured the space where the young lady was caught in a trap, and found it to be exactly 3ft. 5in. in width! Now, gentlemen of the gas committee, ain’t you ashamed of yourselves to allow a nuisance like this to remain for an hour? Down with the post at once, and suspend your lamp from ironwork projecting from the adjoining wall. —Richmond Chronicle.


Fife Herald, Thursday, May 26, 1864

CRINOLINE ON THE PAVEMENT.—The difficulty of getting along the street by the pavement is daily increasing, from the daily-increasing width which female garments are arriving at. Walking the pavement is becoming difficult, if not dangerous, from the presence of crinolines. If a bevy of them is seen approaching, ay, if only one is approaching with a tolerably tall lady inside, there is no use in a male walker trying to keep the pavement, he has no other course to follow than to step the strand and take the causeway, however crowded with carts the causeway may be. Of all the things in this world, crinolines seem to be the least reasonable, and to have the least regard for the convenience, or even for the safety of others. They do not seem to think that there is anybody in the world but themselves, or that anybody has a right to walk the street but themselves, If two of them meet on the pavement they must stand and have a talk, and then they block all passage, either up or down, by the enormous expansion of their base lines. The stream of passers approaching on both sides has to flow out on the causeway to get round them and flow onwards.

Pity the lame old woman, or lame old man, or the child under the same bodily misfortune on these occasions, They have to sprauchle across the strand, and then sprauchle back again to get past them, or they have to stand close up to the wall and wait patiently, wait till the crinoline cease prattling and separate, leaving the way clear. Surely there ought to be some rule subjecting this obtrusive article of dress to certain restraints in promenading the pavement. It ought not to be allowed to stand glowering into clothier's windows at frills, and laces, and shawls, and other articles of its own kind; neither should it be allowed to stand chatting with another fellow crinoline which it chances to meet with on the plainstones, These are two rules that ought to be laid down and strictly enforced, for truly it is a nuisance that requires to be abated in some shape or another, and they who desire the enforcement of some such rules are not to be considered ungallant, or unfriendly to the sex, quite the contrary—

“We wish to push them to their own exalting,
And ‘gainst their own propensity for halting.”




In a battle of the pavement between a crinoline and a perambulator it seems the perambulator would win. The Dundee Courier reported on Wednesday, October 11, 1865 that the crinoline of a lady had caught in the wheel of a perambulator and she fell into the road and was run over.

A nightmare scenario might be a trio of crinolines, side by side, each pushing a fully loaded perambulator along the footpath. It’s unlikely even a Troop of Dragoons could fight their way past something like that.


Handy for social distancing I suppose.

Alan

SarahND
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by SarahND » Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:25 am

Yes! Perfect for social distancing! Only let's make the men wear them this time around... :lol:

WilmaM
Posts: 1870
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 10:46 am
Location: Falkirk area

Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by WilmaM » Wed Oct 21, 2020 12:19 pm

Love it!
The language is wonderful :
trauchled housewife
guidman comes hame at e’en
Divine service last Sabbath
the puir body spent the rest of the nicht in a pitiful manner.
sprauchle across the strand, and then sprauchle back again

Adds so much extra colour to the tale.
Wilma

Anne H
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Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by Anne H » Wed Oct 21, 2020 12:40 pm

Hi Alan,

The perambulators were a great invention and still going strong. The crinoline dresses, on the other hand caused a lot of trouble.

Wonderful articles!

[cheers]
Anne

garibaldired
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Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:42 pm
Location: Dorset, UK

Re: Let’s Go Shopping!

Post by garibaldired » Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:49 pm

Absolutely brilliant, Alan.

Thanks so much for keeping our spirits up =D>

Love Sarah's idea :lol:

Meg
Last edited by garibaldired on Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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