Mind your grammar (school).

For those that nostalgically pine for the return of the grammar school this might make you think a little. I have a copy of the Flintshire Education Committee's annual report into the 11+ examination results for 1954 and it makes for a good read. It has the name of every child that passed the exam and were on their way to those 'broad sunlit uplands' of a grammar school education. The rest were consigned to the secondary moderns. The tests given to the pupils was included in the report, but these have been mention in a previous blog. However, what caught my eye this evening on re-reading the report was the numbers taking the examination and the numbers actually passing. As can be seen from the image above (taken directly from the report) in Flintshire as a whole 2,030 eleven years olds set their young brains to solve an eclectic range of questions. Only 543 were successful, which is a little under 27% of the total number of candidates. To the modern mind it seems remarkable that children at the age of 11 were selected and channelled into different life pathways. I would probably not passed the 11+ yet have benefited immeasurably from higher education; I went to what one Labour minister described as a 'bog-standard comp'. 

White whine

The title of this mini blog could also be 'first world problems'. Apparently there is something called a 'meme' on the internet that pokes fun at us in the prosperous first world worrying about utterly trivial matters. My daughter spots white whine within seconds. I  mused whether I should have a black or white iphone; 'white whine' she instantly pointed out. When one starts thinking about it there appears to be alot of white whine around. I will offer a few examples from my own world and that of close friends that shall remain anonymous. How about, 'what should I do with my Tesco vouchers?'; yep, a real first first world problem. Another, 'I'm tired at eating at the same restaurants'. Maybe, 'there isn't enough cheese in my salad'. Or, 'the printer has run out of ink'. Even, 'I have had to park too far from the gym'. My own piece of angst today was whether carbon rims would do the same job as aluminium ones on my bicycle wheels.

If you search the internet there is a lot more white whine. The whole point is that someone from the third world would be incredulous that we might worry over such trivia.  Perhaps all this may be a little unkind to people around me struggling to make the best of life; in fact, I am the worst at worrying over trivial matters. However a bit of perspective is not necessarily a bad thing.

Graffiti in Caerwys

  Every town and village suffers from mindless graffiti. It disfigures public spaces and contributes to the decline of neighbourhoods. However some of it can shed light on the history of the locality. I have already blogged about the 15th and 16th century graffiti on   the main church door in Llanynys, in the vale of Clwyd. I have now found some similar graffiti in Caerwys, again on a church door. This time it is relatively modern dating from the late 18th century. 

The graffiti can be found on a small side door on the northern side of St Michael's church.

The graffiti artist conveniently dated his work at 1780.

It is easily possible to identify the T P  RWC. I have no idea what they represent, but they offer a mysterious view of one aspect of Caerwys life from another age. In addition, it is sobering the reflect that this graffiti was written in the decade that saw the founding of the USA, and yet we don't particularly value this kind of evidence on our door-steps.

No Gods and Precious Few Heroes

No Gods and Precious Few Heroes is just about the best history book title I know. It is actually about 20th century Scottish history, but that's not important right now, as it is the title that matters. It was the title that came into my head when I first read the doping revelations surrounding Lance Armstrong. I, like most I suppose, like a good hero. It must come from our love of the heroic characters in literature - but we want them for real. Lance Armstrong was definitely someone I had put on a pedestal. I have followed his career with a sense of awe for many years; that moment in the Alps when he destroyed the German pretender to his TdF throne Jan Ullrich was, for me, one of the great episodes in modern sport. His book, About the Bike, merely confirmed his status in my eyes. However, it turns out to have been a sham. All drug induced and based upon cheating and bullying others to take the chemical enhancements. It seems almost everyone was at it; perhaps we should all have known better. The title of this blog sums it up perfectly.

We now only need to find out Neil Armstrong's 'great step' for mankind was filmed in Hollywood.

Man of Caerwys

In 1945, as the Second World War was coming to an end, a soldier from Caerwys wrote to the Parish Council setting out the desperate need for improved housing in the area. He was echoing the call from many that the suffering experienced by all classes before and during the war now must be addressed. He might have added a call made at the end of the first world war of 'homes fit for heroes'. This soldier when he returned to civilian life played a central role in the civic life of Caerwys for the rests of the 20th century, and indeed into the 21st. Yesterday he cut the ribbon that opened a new business venture in the town, namely Will's News, which has relocated to much larger premises on the town square. The building which now houses Will's News was the very building where our soldier was born some 102 years ago. The old soldier is Tom Anwyl: a remarkable Man of Caerwys.

Tom Anwyl - Man of Caerwys - opens Will's News.

Autosales

As far as I can recall my close family members only did two jobs: they either taught or sold cars. My first part-time job involved washing and then polishing countless second-hand cars.  My grandad established Autosales in the 60s, and then my uncle soon joined him when he left school. The garage was based in an old farm barn; there was even an ancient set of bellows to serve the blacksmith. Part of the building still stands today. I spent a good part of my youth working there or simply hanging around the garage pretending to be useful. Anyway, last week my uncle who ran the garage until it closed twenty years ago sadly died; my grandad had died many years ago. After the funeral I called into Tesco for some provisions. The car parked next to me had been bought from Autosales judging from the window sticker around 30 years ago. A strange coincidence?

Caerwys in old photographs.

I have over one hundred historic photographs of Caerwys, the earliest dating from the 1870s. As I have blogged before, dating them precisely can often be difficult. So here is a challenge, see if you can date these two images. The answer to within a decade will win the prize. 

Of course, this is a trick question. I took both of these photographs this morning. The absence of road-markings gives an impression of  South Street and the Institute from a different era. Add to that the photo-shop technology and the fake is complete.