Sanctury in Holborn

Dear Readers ~ El Moano again!

An interesting little spot in Holborn is Ely Place. Before the postcode came into being, the actual address was Ely Place E.C.1 Cambridgeshire. This is because the place was the home of the bishops of Ely. There was a palace at one time. They had a palace here because every so often they were called to sit in Parliament .

The church, aside from Westminster Abbey, is the only surviving work from the reign of Edward I (1239-1307) . The crypt is even older - early Norman and well worth a visit. In an alley way is The Mitre pub - still on the same site since 15th century. The reason, apart from it's age, it is regulary visited it has part of a tree growing inside the pub. Lastly, if you where living in the very early period of the Medieval Times and you where being chased by the King's men or the townsfolk and you managed to get to the gates of Ely Place you could claim sanctuary.

So go and pay it a visit it's free and part of Holborn heritage

Cheerio for now

El Moano

Positive Thinking

It has been a pleasure being able to use the internet and broadband . We, the older generation, missed out on this technological revolution and late 20th century advancement. As they say it is never too late to learn - so we are giving it a try to see what we have missed and how we can learn and enjoy ourselves in the autumn of our lives.

It is sometimes a steep learning curve - it's hard to absorb the skills as the receptive parts of brain cells slow down with age and it takes 10 times more effort now than as a teenager to store and reactivate the memory. But we cannot turn back the clock, nor can we rejuvenate our physical strength, mental faculties and concentration.

Perhaps our fathers said similar things while we were growing up. It is a changing world and man’s thirst for knowledge will always be there and more development will come. Maybe the new found knowledge will enhance our lives. Misuse of it will lead to total destruction of the universe or mankind.

Each individual has something to contribute through his/her experience and positive thinking. Being mortal we have a limited time on this Planet. If we can contribute something for the next generations this Earth will be a better place to live in.

What is holding us back are greed, jealousy, power and lies. We must embrace the teachings of Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King. We sincerely hope that we will not see the likes of Hitler, Hussein and Polpot again. As Louis Armstrong sang ‘What a wonderful World’.

It is our duty to make sure that we cut back on CO2 emissions, chlorofluorocarbons and all forms of pollution which contribute to global warming. We must not use up all the natural resources otherwise the next generations will not have much to sustain them. So let us be creative and have positive thinking.

Holborn Facts and Folklore

Dear Fans ... it's me El Moano.

I thought I'd give you a rest from one of my rants. Who said hooray?!

This is a small pocket book of information about Holborn.

Firstly, Red Lion Square. Folklore says that the head of Sir Walter Raleigh was buried here after it was taken down from the Temple Bar in Fleet Street. He lost his head when he fell out with James I.

Secondly, a piece of Victorian history. If you walk down the bottom of Bed Row where it meets Brownlow Street you will find a large hand pump for fresh water. How could the poor scullery maid have handled this and then walked to the other end of Bed Row with two buckets at least five times a day? She really was the poor skivvy.

If you care to stroll across High Holborn - pass through Little Turn Stile and turn left at Lincoln Inn Square - you will come to The Soames Museum. It is a wonderland of curios from everywhere - showing how they would have lived in the 1780s or about that. It really is a one person collection of its time.

When leaving the museum, go across the square to Portsmouth Street to The Old Curiosity Shop made famous by Charles Dickens. It is a strange building. How it still stands is a mystery. Then go a short way to Carey Street (the expression 'to be in Carey Street' meant that you were on the way to debtors prison). Anyway, in this street is a pub called The Seven Stars which is at least 3 hundred years old. It's a strange fact that it never had an inside loo til the 1970s.

Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed our little stroll.

El Moano

Is Football becoming a new religion?

Over the last few years soccer has taken the centre stage in almost every country, some elite players are earning a fortune. One can see Churches, Temples, Mosques and other religious places are less than quarter full whereas socccer matches bring in thousands of spectators. Everybody wants to be Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, George Best, Maradona or Zinedin Zedan so that they can earn a fortune and to lead a glamourous life style. Think of the old adage 'If you do not study or educate yourself you will be left at the bottom of social ladder'. Although it is still true in some extent, when young kids see their soccer Idols driving a Ferrari, Porche, Rolls or Mercedes without any output from their brain cells, it creates a negative and unreachable situation. Young kids playing truants and dream of being superstars.

As time goes by, their aspirations come to a dead end. In some cases this leads to drug taking smoking, drinking and other substance misuse which may cause more social unrest.

But football is a beautiful game. It pays superstars handsomely, as they bring in gate receipts and revenue from TV and satellite advertising. The clubs can pay them from their vastly increased income.

We cannot condemn the games whether it is soccer, tennis, cricket or golf. Parents, at the outset, tell their children what is achievable and what is not. But if their kids are talented or showing some kind of special interest, they should be encouraged.

I watch the game regularly and enjoy the excitement, the skill, the passings and movements of the players but I never watch a game if I have other more important things to do. I think people who watch matches or games should do so in their leisure.

Some young people know more about Rooney, Robson, Ronaldo or Thiery Henry than about their school homework.

Owing to cutbacks by local councils, swimming pools, libraries, football, tennis and other sports facilities suffer - and we cannot create superstars of tomorrow. Look at Wimbledon, it is one of the four classic events in the annual sporting calendar but we have not found another Fred Perry since 1936 - although Andy Murray may be the answer to our prayers!

A piece of Dickens

"Some London houses have a melancholy little plot of ground behind them, usually fenced in by four high whitewashed walls, and frowned upon by stacks of chimneys, in which there withers on, from year to year, a crippled tree, that makes a show of putting forth a few leaves late in autumn, when other trees shed theirs, and, drooping in the effort, lingers on , all cracked and smoke-dried, till the following season, when it repeats the same process, and perhaps, if the weather be particularly genial, even tempts some rheumatic sparrows to chirrup in its branches. People sometimes call these dark yards "gardens"; it is not supposed that they were ever planted, but rather that they are pieces of unreclaimed land, with the withered vegetation of the original brickfield. No man thinks of walking in this desolate place, or of turning it to any account. A few hampers, half a dozen broken bottles, and such like rubbish, may be thrown there, when the tenant first moves in, but nothing more; and there they remain until he goes away again, the damp straw taking just as long to moulder as it thinks proper, and mingling with the scanty box, and stunted everbrowns, and broken flower pots, that are scattered mournfully about --a prey to "blacks" and dirt.

Copied by Walter

Charles Dickens - From Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

A one-off thing

My husband called into his favorite pub for a drink on his way back from work a few weeks ago. When he got home he discovered that his mobile phone, a note book with all his telephone numbers, a medical card and about £150 in cash had been expertly lifted (as they say) from an inside pocket. He didn't think it was worth reporting so just put it down to bad luck.

A couple of weeks later at a very early hour there was a knock at the door. It was a policeman asking him to come to the police station as something had been handed in for him to collect. And lo and behold! When he arrived he was handed his mobile, his note book, the medical card, and of all things £50 in notes!

The police were astonished and said they had never known such a thing before.

Was it a person with a strong conscience!!

Beware they want to renage on our pensions

Dear Holbornites

It's your Ace reporter El Moano.

I would like to bring to the attention of the great British public that certain members of the House of Lords can meddle with the pensions of postmen who are in danger from foreign invasion of the Royal Mail.

It's alright for Lord Mandelson to tell us it's okay with his pensions (yes plural - he has more than one). It is a sad sign of the times that essential services are now in the hands of companies whose headquarters are on foreign soil - so they are more responsive to the country of their ownership - it looks very gloomy?

There is one bright hope our heroic hero in shining armour is Frank Dobson MP who has said in an email to El Moano that he is totally against any partial sell off.

I know Sir Frank will slay the privatisation dragon.