Writing's an imaginary rocket that can take me to all sorts of places. That’s me re-commenting on a comment from Colette.
Here I am at take-off with: UK jobs that have disappeared since WW2.
National hangman. Yes sir, we Brits were breaking felons’ necks back in the fifties The night before, people gathered round the relevant gaol; nominally (see pic) to protest against capital punishment, more likely to share the buzz. To avoid national shame hangman had a Frenchy sort of surname: Pierrepoint. Ran a pub (and yes, I know the name) while fashioning nooses.
Chimney sweep. To emphasise his authenticity he didn’t wash. Came covered in soot. Attached a collection sack (also sooty) to the fireplace by nailing it to gaps between the surrounding ceramic tiles. Was forcedly jolly, unusual in that part of Yorkshire.
Door-to-door milkman. Ladled milk from a sort of bucket which must have weighed a ton. Customer provided the receptacle, typically a jug; as a token towards hygiene the jug was then covered with a lace doily with glass beads round the edges.
Oral campaigner. Only saw him once. He stood bareheaded in our street (about 125 yards long) and, lacking amplification, shouted pitifully, urging us to vote against the opening of cinemas on Sunday. Was he successful? Haven’t a clue.
Ancillary job for trolley-bus conductors. Often the bus’s poles detached from the overhead cables carrying the power. The conductor descended, walked to the back, drew an equally long bamboo pole (with hook) from a tube under the bus, and hooked the power poles back up to the cables. Lots of dangerous amps.
Outdoor newspaper vendors. From sites at street corners in the city they yelled their presence, sometimes summarising the main headlines. Generally thought to be “characters”.
A merry little post this morning. I thought about the newspaper boy delivering for the local newsagent early in the morning for pocket money. They are still hanging in there but a dying breed. Most well known entrepreneurs claim to have started their business life this way.
ReplyDeleteIf I was involved with the trolley buses I'm sure there would be occasions when the bamboo poles had not been put back by the previous operator.
Your recent frequency of posts makes me think that this a guise to enable you to overcome the discipline of a three hundred word restriction for each post - the inner journalist rattling at the cage.
(1) I wasn't referring to newspaper delivery boys but to vendors, usually aged adults, operating from "street corners in the city" as I said. Sometimes mildly amusing when adding spice to their sales pitch by summarising the main story: "Churchill to give up cigars" (Please note, an entirely fictitious example), using strange exaggerations of pronunciation common only to them.
ReplyDelete(2) It would be hard to misplace one of the bamboo poles. They were, I think, the same length as the bus. I realise your intention was joky but often a grain of truth helps.
(3) I have never tried to explain completely the 300-word limit because it's unlikely to be appreciated by those who haven't written for a living. Also some of the original rationale was born out of the conditioning I was subjected to during the era of hot-metal typesetting now superseded by much more flexible DTP. A factoid of little interest to most readers
There's a partial explanation on November 26 (Tone Deaf: New T&C): "The reasons (for the limit) were complicated and related to my non-retired life. But I did have a quickie response: writing too much is more likely to draw complaints than writing too little."
As to those complicated reasons, the most important has to do with style in the broadest sense. In Tone Deaf, the way I write and the way I handle subject matter is directly connected to the 300-word limit. I write in that expectation and the compressed prose, plus its rhythms, reflect that deliberate restriction. I have no desire to write more, a claim that is supported when I find that the initial draft exceeds 300 words and I trim it accordingly.
But style is much more more than the way words are presented. It is the basis of a satisfactory structure and may well depend on what's missed out. Writing to a known length requires careful emphasis on what's important.
There's more but already I sense your eyes glazing over. Suffice to say that your idea that I am hampered by the limit is that of an outsider. If anything the limit was the result of decision by the "inner journalist" although that's a locution I'm not drawn to.
I'm intrigued by the outside newspaper vendors, especially after reading in your comment to Sir Hugh that they "strange exaggerations of pronunciation common only to them." A separate culture within a separate culture, for me. And hangmen, within your lifetime? Really? Amazing.
ReplyDeleteColette: Fedorovno, who had commented to an earlier post, wanted to respond to your above comment but couldn't get Blogger to work. I am passing on her message:
DeleteHi R,
I find I am unable to comment on your blog today (tech change?) but would have advised Collette of the usual newsvendor cry in London: 'Stahnooozestannaarr'. The evenings of course.
And just for you, my last and rather hippy GP was called Dr Pierrepoint... He had a twin brother too, beat that. Fed.
RR re-re-comment. The vendor's message was intended to convey the names of three London evening newspapers: "Standard, News and Star."
Thanks, Fedorovno!
DeleteColette; Capital punishment in the UK ended in 1965; I was thirty at the time. I'm sure I have seen street newspaper vendors in US movies going way back. Often used as plot continuation devices - typically proclaiming the verdict in a trial.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are right. They are portrayed in movies usually in large cities like New York City.
DeleteArtificial intelligence is speeding along at such a rate I wonder what other occupations will be added to the list in very short order. A couple of times a year we visit a local sushi restaurant and on our last lunch there we ordered from an iPad on the table and the food was delivered by a very cheerful robot! We may not go back!
ReplyDeleteDMG: Given the worldwide lurch to the right it's quite conceivable that capital punishment may be re-introduced in several of the more rabid countries. What better employment for a truly up-to-date robot.
ReplyDelete