REV RON GREENALL: Every picture tells a story

First of all, a few facts about what happened in this week in times past that has relevance for us today.
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower factsRev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Read More
Click here for more stories

It was way back in 1678 that John Bunyan published the first art of The Pilgrim’s Progress, while the WI movement came into being on February 19, 1897.

In this week in 1878, Thomas Edison got his patent for the phonograph, the first machine for recording sound.

Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower factsRev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was also in this week in 1858 that Edwin T Holme, of Boston in the USA, invented the world’s first burglar alarm.

Now to that old phrase, “Every picture tells a story.”

Images do speak loudly to us and bring back many memories.

The first three I give you are all about school.

Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower factsRev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts

With inclement weather at this time of year, our PE lessons so often had to be inside. The gym equipment on the first one can bring good or fearful memories.

So what about the school bell? When it was rung you got in line fast. If you did not your punishment was writing 50 lines at least.

So the call of the bell or whistle were absolute commands at the start of the day.

Now why the polishes in my third picture today?

Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower factsRev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Well after inspecting your hands and neck to make sure you were clean, the next thing was a shoe inspection.

You had your gym shoes in your PE kit and woe betide the lad or lass who forgot them on PE day.

Now I am again off to the seaside.

Historical records show that in 1788, Blackpool was only, “a few houses in line with the sea”.

Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower factsRev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts
Rev Ron Feb 19 PE memories, shoe polish, Blackpool front and tower facts

It was the craze for sea bathing that began the trek to Blackpool, Southport, Morecambe Bay, Lytham, etc and until the arrival of the railway, this was a major journey on foot or in horse and carriage.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I read recently that, in 1800, one of the good reasons for going to Backpool was that the Rev Mr Elston delivers most excellent admonitions” –sermons I take that to mean!

Back to my original statement that every picture tells a story.

In 1662, a writer in the first Elizabethan age states, “Pictures are the books of the unlearned”.

I hope the text and pictures I use are ones you enjoy and prove how wrong the learned Bishop who wrote those words was.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Just to remind you the three old pictures are from what you have sent me over my quarter of a century of writing these weekly pages.

And my seventh, proves a picture can be a fact sheet as well as this is about Blackpool Tower.