Friday 19 June 2009

Petticoat Lane Market


Petticoat Lane Market (picture right) is a fashion and clothing market located on Wentworth Street and Middlesex Street in East London. It is one of a number of traditional markets, lying to the east of the City of London. A few hundred yards to the north is Old Spitalfields market, and across Commercial Street, to the east lies Brick Lane Market. A half mile further east is the Columbia Road Flower market. Petticoat Lane Market was not formally recognised until an Act of Parliament in 1936, but its long history as an informal market makes it possibly one of the oldest surviving markets in Britain.
In Tudor times, Middlesex Street was known as Hogs Lane, a pleasant lane lined by hedgerows and elms. It is thought city bankers were allowed to keep pigs in the lane, outside the city wall; or possibly that it was an ancient droving trail. The lane's rural nature changed, and by 1590, country cottages stood by the city walls. By 1608, it had become a commercial district where second hand clothes and bric-a-brac were sold and exchanged, known as 'Peticote Lane'. This was also where the Spanish ambassador had his house, and the area attracted many Spaniards from the reign of James I. Peticote Lane was devastated in the Great Plague of 1665, the rich fled and London lost a fifth of its population.

From the mid-18th century, Petticoat Lane became a centre for manufacturing clothes, and the market served the well to do in the City, selling new garments. About 1830, Peticote Lane's name changed again to Middlesex Street, this was to record the boundary between Portsoken Ward, in the City of London and Whitechapel, which coincided with the Lane. However, the old name continues to be associated with the area.


Left: Petticoat Lane in the 1920's.

From 1882 a wave of immigrants, Jews, fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe, settled in the area. Jewish immigrants entered the local garment industry and maintained the traditions of the market. The severe damage experienced throughout the East End during World War II, served to disperse the Jewish communities and the area suffered a decline. The market, however, continued to prosper and a new wave of Asian immigration beginning in the 1970s restored the areas vitality - centred on nearby Brick Lane.

The market was always unpopular with the authorities, being largely unregulated and in some senses illegal. The rights of the market were finally protected by Act of Parliament in 1936. A prominent businessman, Alan Sugar, got his start as a stall holder, in the market.

Sit And Watch The World Go By!

This is a picture of a public toilet in Houston
The lady is about to enter .....


Now that you've seen the outside view,
take a look at the inside view .....


It's made entirely of one-way glass!
No one can see you from the outside,
but when you are inside it's like sitting
in a clear glass box.
Now would you ..... could you .....???

Ever Wondered Why

On a Myer hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping. (Darn and that's the only time I have to work on my hair).
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On a bag of chips: You could be a winner. No purchase necessary. Details inside. (The shoplifter special?)
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On a bar of Palmolive soap: Directions: Use like regular soap. (And that would be how?)
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On some frozen dinners: Serving suggestion: Defrost. (But it's just a suggestion.)
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On Nanna's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom). Do not turn upside down. (Well..duh, a bit late, huh).
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Slick Advertising


Obviously installed by an erectrician!

Marriage

Husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding anniversary!
***
The husband yells, "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, Here Lies My Wife - Cold As Ever!"
***
"Yeah?" she replies. "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, Here Lies My Husband - Stiff At Last!"
***
(HE ASKED FOR IT!)

Maxine's World


A Contemporary Poem

I want a floating duck house
I want to clear my moat
I need to mend my tennis court
That's why I need your vote.
I have to build a portico
My swimming pool needs mending
My lovely plant need horse manure
And the Aga needs much tending.
A chandelier is vital
Mock Tudor boards are great
My hanging baskets won awards
And I've earned a tax rebate.
I need a glitter toilet seat
My piano so needs tuning
Maltesers help me stay awake
And my orchard must need pruning.
I could have said the rules were wrong
And often thought I should
But somehow it was easier
To profit all I could.
The public really have to see
That the rules are there to test
And by defrauding taxpayers
We were just doing our best.
The Speaker of the House has gone
Our sacrificial beast
But the public are still braying
For our corpses at the feast.
What do the public want from us
These vote-wielding ingrates
They really should be grateful
To be financing our estates.
The message is so very clear
We're merely learning late
That the British way of living well
Is to screw the bloody state.
(Author unknown)