The Victorians (Part 5)

Victorian Leisure

In the Victorian period work inside and outside the home took so much more time than it does today and working people had far less leisure time. There was little money to spare and no radio, television, cinemas and sports centres. People found all sorts of ways of enjoying what free time they had.

Whilst the Victorians dreamt of improvement and progress through work, the years between 1837-1901 saw the greatest development in leisure pursuit ever witnessed.The period gave a more structured approach to leisure, with the creation of parks, libraries, art galleries and museums. In most large towns there were theatres and music halls that were popular and cheap. Men played or went to watch rugby, football and cricket.

Technology changed as well, allowing the production of cheap books, newspapers and musical instruments. 'The National Trust' came into being, which helped conserve the countryside and improved transport, which made days out more accessible to everyone. Victorian class differences also existed in leisure activities. Although the lower classes attended the same events as the upper class, they had their own entrances and locations within music halls, restaurants etc.

Victorian Schools

Early in the Victorian era, wealthy families would have a nanny to care for the children. Oftentimes, she would teach them the basic skills of reading and writing. For girls, the mother might teach them to sew, to sing, or play a musical instrument. Fathers often taught their sons Latin.

During the same time period, poor children rarely learned to read or write. From a young age sometimes 5 years old, they were expected to work and help provide for the family. Some communities attempted to educate their poor children and established Ragged schools Supporters of the school would provide a teacher or teach the children themselves.

Education changed for children with passage of the 1870 Education Act that made school mandatory for everyone between the ages of 5 and 13. Girls and boys attended community schools to learn the three R's, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Maxine's World

Looking Back - Bradford Stadium Fire/The Daily Sketch

On this day in 1971, The Daily Sketch newspaper which was founded in 1909 was published for the last time. At its peak the Daily Sketch achieved a circulation of 1.3 million copies a day but in its latter years readership of the paper had been in decline. But the former editor of the Sketch, David English, remained with the company. He was appointed editor of the Daily Mail after the Sketch's closure was announced.

Bradford Stadium Fire

On this day in 1985, a fire that broke out in a stand at Valley Parade ground, the home of Bradford City Football Club, killed 56 people and left about 265 injured. The match being played was Bradford City v Lincoln City in front of 11,000 fans. One of the victims was 86 years old former club chairman, Samuel Firth, who died in hospital from burns.

The match began in an atmosphere of celebration as Bradford City had just been promoted to the second division. Just before kick-off Bradford City captain Peter Jackson was presented with the Third Division trophy. Five minutes before half time at 3.40 p.m. a small fire was noticed three rows from the back in Block G and fire-fighting equipment was requested. Within minutes flames were visible and police started to evacuate the stand. But the blaze spread very rapidly - within four minutes the whole of the roof and the wooden stands below were on fire and police struggled to save those who were too stunned or weak to escape. There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit that was padlocked. Eventually two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gates open. The death toll might have beenhigher had it not been for the courage of police officers and 22 spectators later presented with bravery awards. It is thought the fire may have been started by a discarded cigarette end. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund £3.5m for the victims and their families.

Wildlife Pictures No.4

Another wonderful picture from our Wildlife Pictures series.

Another picture in tomorrows Journal

(Click image to enlarge)

The Problem With Rules

So, the bubble has finally burst on MP's expenses. Whilst ordinary hard working people struggle against the recession many of our politicians are laughing all the way to the bank.
First it was greedy bankers, now it is greedy politicians. The worst aspect of the whole sorry mess is that they are laughing at the very people who elected them, the very people who are funding their outrageous expense claims through their ever increasing taxes.
Yesterday, the Daily Telegraph disclosed details of Labour politicians expenses after a leaked database fell into the newspapers hands. Today it is the turn of Conservative politicians to be exposed.
What will happen as a result of this exposure? Precisely nothing! This is because technically they have done nothing wrong, they have claimed within the rules. We all know there have to be rules in society, without them chaos would reign. The problem with rules is, unless they are fair and based on basic morality, they can also provide loopholes for people to use them for unfair personal gain. Thus, these morally bankrupt guardians of the state can stand in front of the television cameras and say 'I did nothing wrong - I claimed within the rules'.
We can only hope that a more fair and sensible set of rules will replace the existing ones and force politicians to behave in a way more acceptable to their constituents. They are certainly not going to do it voluntarily.

Who Said I'm Going To The Vets?

They'll have to find me first!

Brainteaser

The answer to yesterdays visual brainteaser was found by studying the tiger's stripes. The stripes along his body spelt the word 'hidden' and the stripes down his back leg spelt the word 'tiger'. Well done to those of you who spotted the answer!