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The Staffordshire Hoard
In July 2009 the largest ever hoard of Anglo-Saxon artefacts was unearthed
by metal detectorist Terry Butcher. On November 25th 2009 the Treasure
Valuation Committee met at the British Museum and declared the hoard
to be worth £3.285million, a sum that will divided between
Mr Butcher, the finder and the landowner, farmer Fred Johnson.
Known as the Staffordshire Hoard, it contained over 1,600 complete
artefacts including sword fittings, Christian crosses and parts of
helmets. They are made of gold, some decorated with garnet, a deep
red semi-precious stone. They date to either the late 7th or early
8th centuries AD are of of such high value that they probably belonged
to the King of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia.
18 of the pieces are on display at the British Museum on the first
floor at the top of the stairs by the main entrance. There is something
so exciting about seeing these ancient and fascinating objects that
were so recently undiscovered and lying in the ground.
The British Museum has just published a book about the hoard, some
of the profits of which will go towards the purchase of the treasure
so that it can be permanently on public display, both at the British
Museum and in museums closer to its Midlands home.
Check out the website www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk.
Also, it has been announced that the BBC, in conjunction with the Museum,
is going to broadcast a series of 100 15 minute long programmes on
Radio 4, starting on January 18th 2010. The controller has said of
the series, entitled 'A History of the World in 100 Objects', "this
is by quite a significant margin the most ambitious and thrilling
project I've ever been involved in".
Champagne Charlie, Burlington Bertie and the Ratcatcher:
The weird world of the Music Hall
Within 5 minutes walk of the Tower of London is one of the most
evocative historic buildings in London; WILTON'S MUSIC HALL. It is
on the list of the most endangered buildings in the World and is
the oldest music hall in the world, 150 years old this year. It feels
it is in danger of crumbling away which somehow makes you feel really
connected to the past.
I have been researching the history of the Music Hall for a tour with City and Village Tours. Highbrow it's not. This was entertainment for the masses before there were any screens for the X Factor to hit. Due to licensing laws brought in to keep the drunkenness to a minimum, no act could last more than 20 minutes, there was no stage, only a 'platform' and you weren't supposed to rehearse. In other words, it was meant to be a bit like karaoke where you were just plucked out of the audience.
Of course it didn't work like that. Acts became well-known and and went from one hall to another, like stand up comedians do today. They had catch phrases and songs that everyone knew and could join in with. One of the most famous was Champagne Charlie, the stage persona of George Leybourne who was a 'swell', dressed like a young aristocrat with a top hat and cane and swigging from a bottle of Moet et Chandon champagne, which he was paid to advertise (he died in his early 40s of scirrosis of the liver).
Many of the music hall performers sang of falling on hard times.
'Burlington Bertie' was performed by Ella Shields, a male impersonator.
My favourite part of the song is in the last verse in which she sings:
I'm Burlington Bertie I rise at ten thirty
And Buckingham Palace I view.
I stand in the yard while they're changing the guard
And the queen shouts across "Toodle o"!
The Prince of Wales' brother along with some other
Slaps me on the back and says "Come and see Mother"
But I'm Bert, Bert, and royalty's hurt,
When they ask me to dine I say no.
I've just had a banana with Lady Diana
I'm Burlington Bertie from Bow.
The Music Halls started to die out with the rise of radio and then television but there is some fantastic scratchy film of music hall entertainers on youtube. My favourite is Wilson, Keppel and Betty doing the Egyptian Sand Dance in the 1930s - View Video.
And as for the ratcatcher, (this story is only for the strong stomached)........
One of the acts was a man who would go on to the platform with a cage covered with a cloth. He just sat there, doing nothing, while an accomplice went round the audience collecting money in a hat. When they reckoned they had enough money, the man on stage took the cloth off the cage to reveal a rat. He picked it up, opened his mouth and in it went. If he timed it right, he bit the head off the rat before it in went too far. Rats like disappearing down dark holes, mouths included! The ratcatcher was one of the turns that would have been seen at Wiltons, as probably was the first and last cancan to be danced in this country.
To visit Wiltons, go to their website www.wiltons.org.uk to see
when an event is on. The RSC have just spent a couple of months there
and there is about to be a production of Venus and Adonis by John
Blow.
To find about more about the music hall look at the great online archive at peopleplayuk.org.uk. There are also some 78 recordings of some of the real greats of the music hall on www.clara.net/rfwilmut/musichll/musich.html.
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