Filthy Cities ...

[Hurler on the Bitch]

Fascinating show on BBC 2 this weather with Dan Snow. He did medieval London and this week it was revolutionary Paris. Absolutely amazing to see how filthy cities were - especially the 'Shambles' - which was the place were all the animals were slaughtered and meat sold - all in one process. There is a place still in Armagh called the 'Shambles' and the Belfast version was where Castlecourt is now. Indeed, Royal Avenue was built to do away with all the unofficial butchers' shops in that area. All the leftovers were dumped in the Farset River (now under Primark and High Street - indeed on hot days there is still a stench from the river. Great stuff and New York next week.

[Orior]

Yes, a very interesting show.

[The Subbie]

Thought this was about Newry "City" or equally it couldn've been about that other heaving metropolis Lisburn "City"

[Capt Pat]

There is Fishamble Street in Dublin where the Messiah was first performed. The aniversary was yesterday a couple of hundred years ago.

[Leo]

Parked last week in a street behind the Ashling Hotel in Dublin - beside Phoenix Park & Garda HQ - the whole street was filthy and seriously littered - clearly hasn't seen a cleaner in years!
So give my vote to good old Dublin.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

There is a street called Shambles Lane running parrallel to Duke Street in Castlebar.

[stephenite]

There is a street called Shambles Lane running parrallel to Duke Street in Castlebar.

And since when was Castlebar a city?

[BarryBreensBandage]

Thought this was about Newry "City" or equally it couldn've been about that other heaving metropolis Lisburn "City"

Musn't be that long a programme - you could cover Newry in 5 mins, Lisburn in 3.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

There is a street called Shambles Lane running parrallel to Duke Street in Castlebar.

And since when was Castlebar a city?

It held a Corporation title at one stage, think it went around the time of the famine when the Lucans ripped down most of the town as the town was cleared of the poor. It was the HQ/Capital of the 1798 Irish Republic. Its the county town and largest town in the county. So it may not be a city but I think it can be included in this thread.

[Orior]

Anyone on GAABoard filthy rich?

[Puckoon]

Parked last week in a street behind the Ashling Hotel in Dublin - beside Phoenix Park & Garda HQ - the whole street was filthy and seriously littered - clearly hasn't seen a cleaner in years!
So give my vote to good old Dublin.

I was home there for a couple weeks in March - and I couldnn't get over the amount of litter on the roadsides. Everywhere was disgusting - but especially from Dublin to Ardee. What is happening with littler over there? It wasn't all discarded bottles and cans and crisp packets from passing motorists - there was bin bags full of stuff just lying around every layby and roadside all throughout the south.

On a completely unrelated note - all the cows in the south were lying on their holes enjoying their St Patricks day as we drove north - but as soon as we crossed the border those presbyterian ones were up on their feet munching and working away.  They obviously don't celebrate the big welshman.

[Dinny Breen]

 Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June.     
However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom   
today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.                                                                     
                                                                                                                       
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water,   
then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water   
was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..   
                                                                                                                       
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get   
warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and     
sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It's raining cats and dogs.                   
                                                                                                                       
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and
other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded 
some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.                                                           
                                                                                                                       
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate
floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their       
footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping   
outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.                               
                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                       
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the
fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for   
dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food   
in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in 
the pot nine days old..                                                                                               
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up     
their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little   
to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..                                                       
                                                                                                                       
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of  the lead to leach onto the     
food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes 
were considered poisonous.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                       
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests
got the top, or the upper crust.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of     
days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the   
kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would
wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.                                                                           
                                                                                                                       
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up       
coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and re-use the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25     
coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they   
would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a   
bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,   
someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.