As time marches on things
that were once important pass into history, and then vanish
altogether. If you have ever thought that this was a shame
then this is the book for you. The subtitle to this book is
“An
A-Z of forgotten landmarks and lost traditions” and
this is what you can find within. Discover why Bristol did
not produce a fleet of luxury airliners, find out about lost
languages like Polari and Norn, lost Roman towns and villages
last inhabited during the Black Death, a military canal, the
oldest railway tunnel and more
This is the sort of book that is just made for coffee tables
and anywhere else you want to put a book that is just asking
to be dipped into. Illustrated with many line drawings and
filled with short, very readable accounts it is an ideal gift
if you can bear to part with it. The topics are presented
alphabetically and listed at the front together with the county
they can be found in. The cover too gives a hint as to what
can be found in here, from duck decoys to lamplighters, Fritchley
Tunnel to Woodstock Palace. If you live in the UK many of
the topics might already be known to you such as King John’s
lost treasure, Borley Rectory, debutantes and Doggerland whereas
others have familiar names but less familiar tales behind
them. Paying on the nail, the atmospheric railway, knockers
up, back to backs and more have explanations (short and to
the point) that are fascinating and less well known. Others
such as Britain’s largest nude figure, Munitionettes,
Phyllis and Ada and West Tofts had eluded me entirely until
I opened this book. This is not a book to read in one sitting
but it is a lot of fun to dive in, pick a subject and find
out about it. I have seen other books offering something similar
but this one is free of being overly sensational and just
presents the facts, which are interesting enough on their
own. A great stocking filler at under a tenner.
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