Feb

A Walk on the Winter Side

by Joyce McGreevy on February 4, 2020

An intrepid traveler on a beach in East Sussex, England is proof of the power of wanderlust over the forces of winter’s chill. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Winter at an English beach is definitely “chill.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Winter Wanderlust in East Sussex

Rows of wooden beach huts are locked up tight, their colors vibrant as summer memories. Gray waves lunge at the Seven Sisters, chalk cliffs along England’s South Coast. January winds drive sand in fitful circles around deserted picnic tables.

Traditional English beach huts on a deserts beach in East Sussex reminds a traveler with winter wanderlust that summer will return. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Before beach huts were introduced in the 1900s, changing for a swim was done in a
bathing machine that, for modesty’s sake, was towed out to sea.
© Joyce McGreevy

But here we come in our oilskin jackets, woolen scarves flapping gamely in the wind. We are the winter travelers, hardy wanderers who love to travel out of season. This year, winter wanderlust leads some of us to East Sussex.

The Seven Sisters chalk clods on England’s South Coast inspire wanderlust, attracting tourists even in winter. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Do the Seven Sisters cliffs look familiar? They stood in for the White Cliffs of Dover
in the movie “Atonement.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Call us daft if you want, but we don’t mind. After all, we can’t hear you through our sensible “tea-cozy” hats.

Overwintering, underpaying

There are distinct advantages to traveling in winter. Affordability for one. Some of my favorite sojourns have coincided with cold, rainy seasons. Despite the Einstein Effect on my hair, it never dampens my spirits. With steep discounts on accommodation, I happily pack an umbrella.

Rainy English weather and a lush green garden in East Sussex remind a traveler that winter travel has its rewards. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

England’s rainy days yield green winter dividends.
© Joyce McGreevy

My holiday base is a red brick bungalow with a sweeping view of the English Channel. To the east is Seaford, whose quiet, polite atmosphere belies a tumultuous history. Centuries ago, when it wasn’t being attacked by French pirates, the town had a reputation for looting—and causing—shipwrecks. It also tended to burn down with alarming frequency.

A churchyard in Seaford, East Sussex evokes the contrast between the tranquility of the setting and the turbulence of the local history. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Things eventually quieted down in once rowdy Seaford.
© Joyce McGreevy

Fortunately for crown and country, not to mention life and limb, the River Ouse silted up. This rendered Seaford worthless as a port but great at producing remarkable people.

The doctor who first diagnosed dyslexia lived in Seaford. So did three of England’s prime ministers, a NASA astronaut, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the logo designer for Johnny Walker Black, and a Who’s Who of famous actors.

Exploring East Sussex

You don’t need a car to meander along England’s South Coast. Even small towns boast frequent daily rail services.

A train in East Sussex, one of many, makes it easy to follow your winter wanderlust and travel between the historic towns of England’s South Coast. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The train to Newhaven will drop off passengers for the ferry to Dieppe, France.
© Joyce McGreevy

Train stations here have been hard at work since 1840, when the railway connected England’s capital to the south coast. Soon, a steady supply of Londoners streamed—or rather, steamed into seaside resorts.

Follow your winter wanderlust to the train station in Rye, East Sussex, which dates back to the mid-1800s when the British railway connected London to England’s South Coast. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

When railways arrived in Sussex, they provided an alternative to waterways.
© Joyce McGreevy

Brighton is the most famous, a bohemian boomtown that attracted Regency high society and working-class day-trippers. It’s also set the scene for a long list of movies.

Brighton Palace Pier in winter has an eerie magic that inspires wanderlust to travel to East Sussex, England in the off season. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

At historic Brighton Palace Pier, a winter storm comes out to play.
© Joyce McGreevy

Farther east, Hastings may look familiar to fans of the British television series “Foyle’s War,” a detective drama set during World War II.

Here in 1066, William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings, radically altering Britain’s history by wresting it from Scandinavian influence. As William’s Norman courtiers smuggled new French words into the Anglo-Saxon language, the resulting mix became modern English.

Hastings, East Sussex, a key location for the British television series “Foyle’s War” and England’s steepest funicular railway are inspire travelers with wanderlust, even in winter.

For a scenic shortcut in 1066 Country, make haste to Hasting’s funicular railway.
Photos by Pixabay and Pxhere

A Pocketful of Rye

Don’t overlook the smaller towns. One of the most captivating is Rye. For centuries, it prospered as a royal port—and a popular haunt of smugglers. Over time, the sea receded by two miles, and Rye became less lively, much to its benefit.

The lyrics of Rudyard Kipling’s “A Smuggler’s Song” on a wall in East Sussex reflect the turbulent history of England’s South Coast. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Poet Rudyard Kipling, a man of Sussex, collected local lore.
© Joyce McGreevy

Today, Rye deals chiefly in visitors, who come for the sheer pleasure of wandering its beautifully preserved streets.

Mermaid Street in winter means fewer tourists in the picturesque town of Rye, which inspires a traveler whose wanderlust has led her to visit the historic towns of East Sussex, England. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Some buildings in Rye are so old that they were renovated in the 1400s.
© Joyce McGreevy

To experience Rye in January is to discover the best reason for winter travel: no crowds. You can explore the twitterns, scenic alleyways that link the labyrinthine streets, without walking a gauntlet of kidney-crushing elbows. You can linger in idyllic settings without crashing anyone’s photo opp.

In Rye, a twittern, or scenic alleyway offers tranquility to a traveler with wanderlust for a winter holiday in East Sussex, England. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The twitterns of Rye set an Anglophile traveler’s heart a-twitter.
© Joyce McGreevy

Rye is so small you can’t get lost, except in reverie. Stroll the cobbles of Mermaid Street and you may feel as if you’ve stepped into a literary novel.

You have.

In the 1920s, author and former mayor E.F. Benson used a barely disguised version of Rye as the setting of Mapp and Lucia, his popular series of humorous novels. In brief, it’s an epic battle of brilliant wits and wealthy twits. Two public television adaptations were also filmed in Rye.

Even before Benson’s tenancy, Lamb House was home to another famous novelist, Henry James. In 1898, the author was on a quest for a “charming, cheap old” refuge when he spotted a painting of the place and fell in love with it. During 19 years there he wrote many of his greatest novels.

A view of the rooftops of Rye, a picturesque English town in East Sussex, England, is ample reward for a traveler with wanderlust for a winter vacation in England. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

“Old, square, red-roofed, well assured of the place it took up in the world, “
wrote Henry James of his home in Rye.
© Joyce McGreevy

Winter Pleasures

Summer in East Sussex buzzes with entertainment, like the world-famous famous Glyndebourne opera festival and Eastbourne’s Magnificent Motor Rally.

A replica of the 1902 halter skelter on a winter’s day evokes wanderlust for summer excursions to the Brighton Palace Pier on England’s South Coast. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Since 1902, revelers have raced to the top of the helter skelter
—in summer, that is.
© Joyce McGreevy

But the quieter pleasures of winter have a richness all their own. Brisk walks make a virtue of visiting pubs with open fires and friendly locals. Old bookshops, eccentric museums, and ancient churches become places to linger, for true fascination cannot be rushed.

Oh, I see: The slower pace of winter can deepen one’s sense of place.

A tiny bookshop in Rye, a picturesque town in East Sussex, inspires wanderlust for winter travel to England. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Ideal for one or two customers at a time, Rye’s Tiny Book Store accommodates countless fictional characters.
© Joyce McGreevy

And so, I settle in one rainy evening with a cup of tea and a copy of Mapp and Lucia. On the page, it’s summer in Rye, a terribly hot June morning, and the eglantine is in full flower.

Thanks to winter wanderlust, I can picture it all so clearly.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Adventure Travel/Art of Travel/England/Literary World

Jan

London, Lost and Foundling

by Joyce McGreevy on January 20, 2020

An array of silver charms seen on Marchmont Street are evocative markers of Britain’s past, inspired by historical tokens at London’s Foundling Museum. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I spotted one—then several—fascinating artifacts in the pavement. What were they?
© Joyce McGreevy

Historical Markers Lead to Fascinating Discoveries

I’d walked along Marchmont Street often yet never noticed them—small, mysterious objects embedded in the pavement. Unlike London’s “blue plaques,” historical markers at eye level that link figures of the past with buildings of the present, the Marchmont Street objects were easy to overlook.

On Marchmont Street, London a token embedded into the pavement becomes an historical marker for those with the focus to spot it. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Some historical markers hide in plain sight.
© Joyce McGreevy

Here was public art at its least public, eloquent objects underfoot, shyly waiting to be seen and heard. Yet they, too, were historical markers, clues to a poignant chapter of London’s past.

A metal object embedded in the pavement on Marchmont Street marks a poignant chapter of London’s history. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Who had set this into the pavement? And why?
© Joyce McGreevy

Shining a Light on History

Marchmont is one of my favorite London streets, a place of bookshops, cafés, art house cinemas and pocket parks. Of its history, I knew that it was named for an earl, and that he’d been governor of Britain’s first charity organization for children—a home for “foundlings,” as abandoned infants were referred to long ago.

As for the mysterious objects, I’d never noticed them until that morning, when a glint of sunlight on rain-washed pavement caught my eye.

A heart shaped silver token on a London Street is an historical marker and a symbol of the parent-child bond. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I wondered whose initials these could be.
© Joyce McGreevy

There they were, a scattering of silver tokens. What could these fascinating artifacts mean? I had to find out.

A silver token engraved with a name and birth date and found on a London street becomes an historical marker, prompting the author’s visit to the Foundling Museum. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Why did I sense an urgency about the recording of
this name and birth date?
© Joyce McGreevy

Tokens of Affection

Created by artist John Aldus in 2006, each token represents the bond between parent and child. In the London of the 1700s, that bond was tested to the breaking point as extreme poverty forced countless women to separate from their children.

According to one historian, mothers who relinquished infants to the care of a nearby “hospital” (a term used broadly then) were urged to “affix on each child some . . . distinguishing mark or token, so that the children may be known hereafter, if necessary.”

It might be a heart or a locket, a brooch or a humble bottle tag. Each token signified the hope of reunion.

Where had the children gone? As historical markers, the tokens pointed the way—to the Foundling Hospital, just around the corner.

London’s Foundling Museum, the former Foundling Hospital, contains poignant treasures and surprising historical discoveries. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

At what is now the Foundling Museum, the original tokens are still on display.
© Joyce McGreevy

Following the Clues

In its time the Hospital had been a place of hope. Prior to 1739, abandonment was rampant and often fatal. Parishes were overwhelmed and some refused to help children labeled “illegitimate.”

Thomas Coram, a ship captain who’d calmly weathered the traumas of life at sea, was stunned to see children dying in the London streets. For 17 years, Coram campaigned to create a refuge, convincing Marchmont and other prominent Londoners to offer support.

A historical marker tells the story of British sea captain Thomas Coram, who campaigned to create London’s first charity for children, overcoming widespread prejudice about children born into poverty or outside of marriage. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

While a statue of Coram gave few clues to his character,
this historical marker revealed his compassion.
© Joyce McGreevy

Surprising Discoveries

Something I hadn’t expected to see at the former hospital was a collection of priceless paintings. How did they relate to the practical needs of at-risk children? Historical markers solved the mystery.

In 1739 as the Hospital began welcoming children, portraitist William Hogarth found the perfect way to raise public awareness of the charity—he donated several masterpieces and convinced artists like Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough to do the same.

The Foundling Hospital became London’s first public art gallery, a place where people could gather while supporting a worthy cause. Hogarth the great painter had also proved a genius at PR.

A Rousing Chorus of Support

Soon afterward, Hogarth asked a musician friend for a favor. Little did either man guess that it would change history. In 1742, the musician’s latest work had received dismissive reviews at its London debut. Hogarth asked his friend—George Frederic Handel—to try again, this time at the Foundling Hospital.

Buoyed by a rousing Hallelujah chorus, the new, improved performance of Handel’s “Messiah” was a phenomenal success. So many people wanted to see it that performances had to be added and it raised a fortune for the children’s charity. Instead of fading into obscurity as Handel had feared, it became Great Britain’s most beloved choral work.

A London choir evokes the historical connection between Handel’s Messiah and the first British charity for children, Thomas Coram’s Foundling Hospital. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A London choir’s song has a surprising connection to the Foundling Hospital.
© Joyce McGreevy

One More Surprise in Store

As I left the museum, a volunteer told me to keep an eye out for another historical marker, just up the street. I soon found out why.

An historical marker, one of London’s blue plaques, identifies Charles Dickens’ home on Doughty Street near the Foundling Hospital, a charity that influenced his novel Oliver Twist. (public domain image by Wally Gobetz)

Did this “betoken” one more connection?
© Wally Gobetz/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In 1837 author Charles Dickens moved to nearby Doughty Street, taking regular walks through the Hospital grounds. Dickens was so moved by accounts of “good Captain Coram’s heart” that he raised funds for the children’s charity organization and wrote about it in his most famous works. In Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, the orphaned Oliver’s true identity hinges on the discovery of . . . a token.

A silver token engraved with a flower gathers moss on Marchmont Street, a marker of history, unnoticed by most passersby. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I had come full circle, back to the tokens of Marchmont Street.
© Joyce McGreevy

Today Is Historically Remarkable

Coram, as the children’s charity organization is known today, has expanded as its goals have evolved. They now include upholding children’s rights and empowering parents to provide a loving, secure environment to their child. The former Foundling Hospital has become a place to celebrate the power of individuals and the arts to change lives.

Oh, I see: When you follow historical markers into the past, you make important discoveries about the present. Which might just inspire you to contribute to making a better future.

See some of the original tokens here. (Scroll down.)

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 3 Comments

Cultural Symbols/Discoveries/England/On Foot/Travels to the Past

Aug

Cultural Encounters with a Competitive Edge

by Meredith Mullins on August 12, 2019

Bullfrog who is part of one of the most bizarre competitions in the world and also a part of the cultural encounters of competitions around the world. (Image ©

Is this the celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County?
© iStock/Stevelenzphoto

Five of the Most Fascinating Competitions in the World

Grab your frog, your worm, your spouse, your crying baby, your cheese-chasing outfit, your cherry pits, your cockroaches, and your mustache wax.

Let the games begin.

From Calaveras frog jumping, to British cheese chasing, to Japanese baby crying, to Finnish wife carrying, to Indian mustache competitions, it’s time for some competitive cultural encounters.

What is it that drives us to compete . . . besides that thrill of victory? And, more to the point, what is it that drives us to compete in competitions unique to our cultures?

Most competitors in these kinds of contests say the same thing: it’s just fun.

But it may also be the cultural connection. Often, the competition is part of a country’s traditions and customs, shared with pride.

We will leave cherry pit spitting, worm charming, and cockroach racing for another day and focus here on an OIC Moments introduction to five of the world’s most fascinating competitions.

Hip hop at its best
Courtesy of Frogtown

A Hip Hop Dream: The Calaveras Frog Jumping Competition

Mark Twain made this competition famous in his first well-known short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” based on a tale he heard in a bar in Angel’s Camp, California during the gold rush.

A bar bet was offered that the jumping frog “Dan’l Webster” could outjump any frog around. A city slicker visitor took the bet and, while Dan’l Webster’s owner went to get the city slicker a frog to compete, the visitor filled Dan’l Webster with buckshot.

When the race started, Dan’l Webster was, as Mark Twain described, “planted like a building.” He was so heavy he could not jump. So the city slicker’s frog won the race and the $40 bet.

Fast forward to the present, where, each May in Angel’s Camp (since 1928), the frog jumping competition continues (minus the buckshot).

Frogs, like current champion Rosie the Ribeter (holding the world record since 1986 of nearly 22 inches), Jumping Jack Flash, E. Davey Croakett, Springs, You Can Croak, San Francisco Warty Niners, and Will B Happening, compete to jump the farthest, cheered on and guided by their frog jockeys.

Slum Frog Millionaire may hold the record for the worst jump, says his frog jockey.
© Merita Callaway

The frogs rest at the “frog spa” until it’s their turn to race. Then they are placed on a small green faux lily pad. They must start with all four feet (including toes) on this “launch” pad.

The next three hops are what count, and must be completed within one minute.

The frog jockeys, naturally, want their frogs to jump in a straight line. However, frogs have their own idea about how, where, and when to hop, making the competition a bit unpredictable.

Some frogs just sit (an homage to Dan’l Webster?), even though their jockeys are yelling, pounding on the stage, and doing anything they can think of to motivate their frog.

How do you motivate a frog?
Courtesy of Frogtown

Some frogs place height rather than distance as a priority, and some make a good first jump but then zig zag or U-turn resulting in a short measurement or even a negative distance.

If a frog breaks Rosie the Ribeter’s world record, an additional $5,000 is part of the prize. However, no recent frog has come close to the 1986 record.

So . . . search for that perfect frog from that secret place for the 2020 competition and begin the training regime. And don’t worry . . . be hoppy.

Extreme Cheese

What better way to welcome spring than to tumble down a steep hill in pursuit of a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese?

The annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake in the Gloucestershire, England countryside attracts locals as well as daredevils (or cheeselovers?) from around the world.

The competition, which is thought to have begun long ago as a pagan rite of spring, has been popular since the 1800s and was first mentioned in writing in 1826.

The thrill must be in the “journey,” not the “destination,” since no one ever catches the cheese. The Double Gloucester gets a head start and is heavy enough to reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.

The contestants, on the other hand, slide, stumble, dive, somersault, flip, fly, and bounce like rubber balls down Cooper’s Hill—like toy humans whose owners should know better than to hurl their breakable bodies down such a steep slope.

Every year, there are injuries such as fractured bones, bruises, sprains, dislocations, and torn muscles. But everyone seems to have a good time, in spite of the inherent danger. If it’s misty or raining (as it often is in the Cotswolds), the steep hill becomes even more challenging.

Not only do the competitors have to scramble down the hill in pursuit of the cheese, they have to claw their way up the hill to position themselves for the start of the race.

The competition is so wrought with injuries that the official competition was closed in 2010. The rogue competition continues.

If video does not display, watch it here.

The winner is awarded the wheel of Double Gloucester cheese—made by the same cheesemaker for the past 30+ years). (It is interesting to note that during WW II rationing, the competition used a wooden cheese with a tiny bit of real cheese in the center.)

What is the secret to success? As one of the past winners offered, “If you go fast from the beginning, the hill will do the rest.”

What seems to work best is a basic philosophy of reckless abandon.

Why Would You Want To Make a Baby Cry?

The Naki Sumo baby crying competition has the answer to why it’s not cruel to make a baby cry—and why a parent pays $150 to enter a baby in this competition.

In the case of this 400-year-old Japanese tradition, the baby’s cries ward off evil spirits as well as portending good health for the baby who breaks into tears first. (A rare instance where being good natured doesn’t count for much.)

The April competition takes place at several Japanese shrines, but the most famous event is at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo.

Babies compete in pairs and are held by sumo wrestlers who are, on their own, some might say a bit scary. But it is up to the sumo referee to incorporate clever scare tactics to get the babies to cry.

The referee can wear a mask (often the bird demon tengu), can shout, or can just yell Nake Nake (Cry! Cry!).

The first baby to cry is the winner. If the babies cry at the same time, the loudest crier is the winner.

If video does not display, watch it here.

Strength and Endurance in Wife Carrying

Some competitors in the Wife-Carrying Competition seem to think its Finnish origin is because, after a long dark winter, people just want to go a bit crazy.

Others believe the tradition of Wife Carrying has deep roots in local history. In the Finnish legend, “Ronkainen the Robber,” a gang of men pillage villages and carry the women off on their backs to marry them.

Today, in Sonkajärvi, Finland, the Wife-Carrying Competition takes place on a 278-yard obstacle course that is said to be the distance needed to be safe from these pursuers of yore.

The man carries the woman through the course on a sand track with several obstacles, including waist-high water.

A challenging obstacle course makes wife carrying more difficult than you might think.
© Nick Lambert/Sunday River Resort

The woman doesn’t have to be the wife of the man. The man can convince his wife, “steal a wife” (or so say the organizers), or select any woman who is willing to be carried through an obstacle course on his back.

The woman must be at least 18 years of age and weigh at least 108 pounds (although these rules may differ depending on the country of the competition). Some competitions require helmets for the women; some do not.

The winner receives the trophy, as well as the “wife’s” weight in beer. Awards are also given to the most entertaining couple, the best costume, and the strongest carrier.

Wife Carrying is gaining popularity around the world. Competitions are also held in North America, Poland, Australia, China, and England.

Mustache Magnificence

There are mustache and beard competitions around the world, where categories like most creative beard, most realistic mustache, most Dali-esque mustache, best Fu Manchu, best sideburns, and fullest beard are in the spotlight. Countries vie to be the next facial hair leader.

For a different kind of contest, we travel to India and the mustache competition at the Pushkar Camel Fair, where length, creativity, and volume are the focus of attention.

Men grow their mustaches for years in anticipation of entering the competition. They arrive with their mustaches tightly coiled or carefully woven, so that they can unfurl them dramatically for the crowds.

Some swing their mustaches like lassos. Some raise their arms triumphantly, mustache ends in each hand. Some just strut and smile because they know their mustaches are enviable. They don’t need to win a prize to tell them that.

Each year that these unique competitions occur, they become more embedded in the culture’s customs and traditions. Yes, everyone is there to have fun, but they’re also part of a cultural encounter, which gives them further insight into the country’s traditions. And that makes the competitions even more meaningful.

To prepare for next year’s fascinating competitions:

Calaveras Frog Jumping at Frogtown in Angel’s Camp: May 14-17, 2020

Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake in Gloucestershire, England: May 25, 2020

Baby Crying Competition in Tokyo, Japan: April 26, 2020 (Of course to enter this one, you have to have a baby born in 2019.)

Wife Carrying Competition in Finland: July 2020

Wife Carrying Competition in North America: October 12, 2019, Sunday River Resort

Pushkar Camel Fair in India: November 4-12, 2019

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

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