#Charles Solly

[moviesandmania]

SNAKE HOTEL (2023) Preview of British monster movie with trailer

Snake Hotel is a 2023 British sci-fi horror monster movie involving incarcerated prisoners, bizarre experiments and roaming giant snakes. Directed by Charles Solly (SkullHunter; Manhunt) from a screenplay written by Harry Boxley (Mary Had a Little Lamb; Cinderella’s Curse; Snake Hotel; Easter Killing 2; Dragon Fury 2: Return To the Mountains; The Area 51 Incident; Van Helsing). Director Charles…

[xtruss]

Twenty-Five Years Before The Wright Brothers Took To The Skies, This Flying Machine Captivated America

First Exhibited in 1878, Charles F. Ritchel’s Dirigible Was About As Wacky, Dangerous and Impractical as Any Airship Ever Launched

— June 11, 2024 | Erik Ofgang

“When I Was Making It, People Laughed at Me a Good Deal,” Charles F. Ritchel Later Said. “But Do They Did at Noah When He Built the Ark.” Illustration by Meilan Solly/Images via Wikimedia Commons under public domain, Newspapers.com

Charles F. Ritchel’s Flying Machine Made a Sound Like a Buzzsaw as its pilot turned a hand crank to spin its propeller. It was June 12, 1878, and a huge crowd, by some accounts measuring in the thousands, had gathered at a baseball field in Hartford, Connecticut. The spectators had each paid 15 cents for a chance to witness history.

The flying machine—if one could really call it that—was an unsightly jumble of mechanical parts. It consisted of a 25-foot-long, 12-foot-wide canvas cylinder filled with hydrogen and bound to a rod. From this contraption hung a framework of steel and brass rods that the Philadelphia Times likened to “the skeleton of a boat.” The aeronaut would sit on this framework as though it were a bicycle, controlling the craft with foot pedals and a hand crank that turned a four-bladed propeller.

The device did not inspire confidence.

“When I was making it, people laughed at me a good deal,” Ritchel later said. “But so they did at Noah when he built the ark.”

A self-described “professor,” Ritchel was the inventor of such wacky, weird and wild creations that a recounting of his career reads as though it were torn from the pages of a Jules Verne novel. Supposedly friends with both P.T. Barnum and Thomas Edison, Ritchel for a time made a living working for a mechanical toy company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he designed talking dolls, model trains and other playthings. But he was more than just a toymaker.

Left: Charles F. Ritchel filed more than 150 patents over his lifetime. Right: Ritchel's 1878 patent for his flying machine — Photographs: Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

Some years after the flying machine demonstration, the inventor proposed an ambitious attraction for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World’s Fair): a “telescope tower” that would rival France’s Eiffel Tower. The design consisted of a 500-foot-wide base topped by multiple nested structures that rose up over the course of several hours, eventually reaching a height of about 1,000 feet. After this proposal was rejected, Ritchel launched a campaign to raise funds to build a life-size automaton of Christopher Columbus, which the Chicago Tribune reported would speak more than 1,000 phrases in a human-like voice, rather than the “far-away, metallic sounds produced by a phonograph.”

By the mid-1880s, Ritchel claimed to have filed more than 150 patents. Not all of them were fun. He invented more efficient ways to kill mosquitos and cockroaches, a James Bond-esque belt that assassins could use to inject poison into their targets, and a gas bomb for use in land or naval warfare.

Yet never in his career was his quirk-forward blend of genius and foolishness more apparent than on that June day in Hartford. Because the balance of weight and equipment was so delicate, Ritchel was too heavy to fly the craft. Instead, he employed pilot Mark W. Quinlan, who tipped the scale at just 96 pounds. Quinlan was a 27-year-old machinist and native of Philadelphia, but little else is known about him. The record, however, is crystal clear on one count: Quinlan was very, very brave.

When preparations for the craft were complete, the crowd watched in eager anticipation as Quinlan boarded the so-called pilot’s seat. The airship rose 50 feet, then 100 feet, then 200 feet. Such a sight was uncommon but not unheard of at the time. The real question was: Once the craft was in the air, could it be controlled?

The first heavier-than-air flight (in which airflow over a surface like a plane wing creates aerodynamic lift) only took place in 1903, when the Wright Brothers conducted their famous flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. But by the late 19th century, flying via lighter-than-air gases was already close to 100 years old. (This method involves heating the air inside of a balloon to make it less dense, leading it to rise, or filling the balloon with a low-density gas such as helium or hydrogen.) On November 21, 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes completed the first crewed, untethered hot-air balloon flight, passing over Paris on a craft built by the Montgolfier brothers. Later, balloons were used for reconnaissance during the French Revolutionary Wars and the American Civil War.

A drawing of the Montgolfier brothers' hot-air balloon Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

But free-floating balloons were, and still are, at the mercy of the winds. While balloon aeronauts can achieve limited control by changing altitude and attempting to catch different currents, they can’t easily return to the spot where they took off from, which is why even today, they have teams following them on the ground. Mid-1800s aviation enthusiasts dreamed of fixing this problem, which led to the development of dirigibles—powered, steerable airships that were inflated with lighter-than-air gases. (The word dirigible comes from the French word diriger, “to steer”; contrary to popular belief, the term, which is synonymous with airship, is not derived from the word “rigid.”) While some early aeronauts successfully steered dirigibles, none of these rudimentary airships could truly go against the wind or provide a controlled-enough flight to take off and land at the same point consistently.

In 1878, Ritchel was unaware of anyone who had successfully taken off in a dirigible and landed at the same spot. He hoped to change that with his baseball field demonstration. A month earlier, Ritchel had exhibited the airship’s capabilities during indoor flights at the Philadelphia Main Exhibition Hall, a massive structure built for that city’s 1876 Centennial Exposition. But there is no wind indoors, and the true test of his device would have to be performed outdoors.

After rising into the air, Quinlan managed to steer the craft out over the Connecticut River. To onlookers, it was clear that the aeronaut was in control. But as he flew, the wind picked up, and it began to look like a storm was gathering. To avoid getting caught in the poor weather and facing an almost-certain disaster, Quinlan steered the craft back toward the field, cutting through the “teeth of the wind until directly over the ball ground whence it had ascended, and then alighted within a few feet of the point from which it had started,” as the New York Sun reported.

Ritchel's dirigible, as seen on the July 13, 1878, cover of Harper's Weekly Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

The act was hailed far and wide as a milestone. An illustration of the impressive-looking flying machine was featured on the cover of Harper’s Weekly.

“The great problem which inventors of flying machines have always before them is the arrangement by which they shall be able to propel their frail vessels in the face of an adverse current,” the magazine noted. “Until this end shall have been achieved, there will be little practical value to any invention of the kind. In Professor Ritchel’s machine, however, the difficulty has been in a great measure overcome.”

Across the country, observers hailed Ritchel’s odd but impressive milestone in flight. In the years and decades that followed, this achievement was forgotten by almost all except a select group of aviation historians.

Wikipedia incorrectly lists the flight of the French army dirigible La France as the first roundtrip dirigible flight. But this event took place six years after Ritchel’s Hartford demonstration, in August 1884. Why has a flight so seemingly monumental in its time been relegated to the dustbin of history?

Given his eccentric nature and creativity, it’s easy to root for Ritchel and think of him as a Nikola Tesla-like genius robbed of his rightful place in history. The reality of why his feat was forgotten is more complicated. As Tom Crouch, an emeritus curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, says, it’s possible Ritchel’s craft was the first to complete a round-trip dirigible flight. But other aircraft in existence at the time probably could have accomplished the same feat in favorable conditions. “La France made the first serious round-trip,” Crouch says.

Additionally, while Ritchel’s machine worked to a point, it wasn’t a pathway to more advanced dirigibles. Richard DeLuca, author of Paved Roads & Public Money: Connecticut Transportation in the Age of Internal Combustion, points out that the hand-cranked nature of Ritchel’s craft made it nearly impossible to operate with any kind of wind. “On the first day, he got away with it and directed the ship out and over the river and back to where he started, and that was quite an accomplishment,” DeLuca says. “But the conditions were just right for him to do that.”

Dan Grossman, an aviation historian at the University of Washington, has never come across evidence that any later pioneers of more advanced dirigible flights were influenced by Ritchel. “There are a lot of firsts in history that got forgotten because they never led to a second,” Grossman says.

An artist's depiction of the La France airship Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

The day after their first successful public outdoor flight in Hartford, Quinlan and Ritchel tried again at that same ballfield. This time, the weather was less cooperative, and the wind came in sharp gusts. Still, the pair persisted in their attempt. “Little Quinlan, even if he does only weigh 96 pounds, has confidence and nerve enough to go up in a gale,” the Sun reported. Up he went about 200 feet, but this time, the wind carried him away with more force. Quinlan was “seen throwing his vertical fan into gear, and by its aid, the aerial ship turned around, pointing its head in whatever direction he chose to give it.” Although he could move the ship about, “he could not make any headway against the strong wind.”

Quinlan descended about 100 feet, trying to catch a different current, but the wind still pushed him away from the ballfield. He raised the craft, this time going higher than 200 feet, but still couldn’t overcome the wind and was soon swept off toward New Haven, vanishing from sight like some real-world Wizard of Oz.

Eventually, Quinlan safely brought the airship down in Newington, about five miles away from Hartford. The inventor and his pilot were unfazed by this setback. They held more public exhibitions that year with a mix of success and failure—including an incident that nearly cost Quinlan his life. During a July 4 exhibition in Boston, the machine malfunctioned and continued to rise, soaring to what the Boston Globe estimated to be 2,000 feet. Quinlan couldn’t get the propeller to work, and the craft continued to rise, reaching as high as 3,000 feet.

Terrified but quick-thinking, Quinlan tied his wrist and ankle to the craft and swung out of his seat to fix the propeller, using a jack-knife he happened to have on him as a makeshift tool. The daring midair repairs worked, and the craft gradually descended. Quinlan landed in Massachusetts, 44 miles from his starting destination, after a 1-hour, 20-minute flight.

Per Grossman, the human-powered method Ritchel attempted to utilize was doomed from the start. “In the absence of an internal combustion engine, there really was no control of lighter-than-air flight,” he says.

Ritchel stubbornly refused to consider powering dirigibles with engines and did not foresee how powerful a better-designed aircraft truly could be.

“I have overcome the fatal objection of which has always been made to the practicability of aerial navigation—that is, I have made a machine that can be steered,” Ritchel told a reporter in July 1878. “I claim no more. I have never pretended that a balloon can be made to go against the wind, and I am sure it never could. It is as ridiculous as a perpetual motion machine, and the latter will be invented just as soon as the former.”

Left: A page from Ritchel's ballooning scrapbook National Air and Space Museum Archives. Right: The scrapbook covers the years 1878 to 1901. Photographs: National Air and Space Museum Archives

Even so, Ritchel was influential in his own way. “He was one of the first to really come up with the notion of a little one-man, bicycle-powered airship, and those things were around into the early 20th century,” says Crouch. After Ritchel, other daring inventors launched similar pedal-powered airships. Carl Myers, for example, held demonstrations of a device he called the “Sky-Cycle” in the 1890s.

Ritchel stands as one of the fascinating early aeronauts whose work blurred the line between science and the sideshow. “I refer to them as aerial showmen, these guys who came up with the notion of making money [by] thrilling people [with] their exploits in the air,” Crouch says.

According to Crouch’s 1983 book, The Eagle Aloft: Two Centuries of the Balloon in America, Ritchel and Quinlan took the airship on tour with a traveling circus in the late 1870s. Ritchel also operated his machine at Brighton Beach near Coney Island. He sold a few replicas of his device and later attempted to develop a larger, long-distance version of the craft powered by an 11-person hand-cranking crew. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this idea failed to gain momentum, and Ritchel faded from the headlines. Soon, the exploits of new aeronauts would upstage him, among them Alberto Santos-Dumont’s circumnavigation of the Eiffel Tower in 1901.

Left: Alberto Santos-Dumont's first balloon, 1898. Right: Santos-Dumont circles the Eiffel Tower in an airship on July 13, 1901. Photographs: Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

Despite many earlier dirigible flights, Crouch and Grossman agree that the technology only became practical when German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin built and flew the first rigid dirigible in the early 1900s. Over the first decade of the new century, Zeppelin perfected his namesake design, which featured a fabric-covered metal frame that enclosed numerous gasbags. “By 1913, just before [World War I] begins, Zeppelin is actually running sightseeing tours over German cities,” Crouch says, “so the Zeppelin at that point can safely carry passengers and take off and land from the same point.”

For a brief period, airships ruled the sky. (The spire of New York City’s Empire State Building, built in the 1930s, was famously intended as a docking station for passenger airships.) But the vehicles, which use gas to create buoyancy, were quickly eclipsed by airplanes, which achieve flight through propulsion that generates airflow over the craft’s wings.

While the 1937 Hindenburg disaster is often viewed as the end of the dirigible era, Grossman says that’s a misconception: The real death knell for passenger airships arrived when Pan American Airways’ China Clipper, a new breed of amphibious aircraft, flew from San Francisco to Manila in November 1935. “Partly because they flew faster, they could transport more weight, whether it’s people or cargo, mail, whatever, in the same amount of time,” Grossman explains. “They were less expensive to operate, they required much, much smaller crews, [and] they were less expensive to build.”

Airplanes were also safer. “Zeppelins have to fly low and slow,” Crouch says. “They operate in the weather; airplanes don’t. An airplane at 30,000 feet is flying above the weather. Weather, time after time, is what brought dirigibles down.”

Today, niche applications for passenger airships endure, including the Zeppelin company’s European tours, as well as ultra-luxury air yachts and air cruises. But “it’s always going to be a tiny, tiny slice of the transportation pie,” Grossman says.

Crouch agrees. “People still talk about bringing back big, rigid airships. That hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t think it will,” he says.

The USS Los Angeles, a United States Navy airship, in 1931. Photograph Public Domain Via Wikimedia Commons

In some ways, Ritchel’s flying machine was a microcosm of the larger history of dirigibles: fascinating, fun and the perfect fodder for fiction, but ultimately eclipsed by more efficient technology.

As for Ritchel, he died, penniless, of pneumonia in 1911 at age 66. “Although during his lifetime he had perfected inventions that, in the hands of others, had brought in great wealth, he died a poor man, as he lacked the business ability to turn the children of his brain to the best advantage to himself,” wrote the Bridgeport Post in his obituary.

Even so, the public had not forgotten the brief time three decades earlier when Ritchel and his airship ruled the skies. As the Boston Evening Transcript reported, his flights captured “the attention of the world. In every country and in every language, newspapers and magazines of the day printed long stories of the wonderful feats performed by the Bridgeport aviator and his marvelous machine, of which nothing short of a cruise to the North Pole was expected.”

— Erik Ofgang is the co-author of The Good Vices: From Beer to Sex, The Surprising Truth About What’s Actually Good For You and the author of Buzzed: A Guide to New England's Best Craft Beverages and Gillette Castle: A History. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, Thrillist and the Associated Press, and he is the senior writer at Tech & Learning magazine.

[nebula-starlight]

Masterlist of Active RP OCs

Everveil / The Abyss

[Formerly the homeworld of the race known as qualits, it’s now the shackles holding an eldritch manifestation prisoner by way of a life-giving tree.]

• Void

• The Obsidian

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Stormcrest

[Located deep in the sea, this is a grand underwater kingdom run by sea serpents.]

• Adaquis Brekal

• Casnar Neolark

• Somal Neolark

• Siren

• Laven “Lavena” Silskiva Rhallon

• Evoti

• Asier Rhallon

• Uzur

• Mori Neolark

• Calypso

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Rhallis

[After a power struggle during one point in Stormcrest’s past, stragglers founded this watery refuge for any and all outcasts.]

• Wyvel Rhallon

• Matodi Rhallon

• Donaerius “Donis” Engasd

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Shadeblight

[A forced exile by a Stormcrestian king caused a group to come together and make an isolated colony all on their own.]

• Quam

• Aliz Noctus

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Elvindal

[A small rural country town that seems unassuming to the normal passerby. It’s what’s hidden in plain sight that’s the most dangerous after all.]

• Rachael Altripa

• Elurin Lupis

• Eleanor Gertrude Burchwood

• Xiavo Khoi Pestrill

• Myleanixes “Milo” Vandure

• Yvona Sollis

• Kale Tigne

• Lila Tellster

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The Manor / Cavalier Cove

[The main RP setting I & several friends use our OCs for. I won’t list out their respective blogs out of fear I’d forget someone but nevertheless - This seaside town and surrounding forestland sits in a liminal space where anything can happen. Though the manor looks to be abandoned, that’s very much not the case as it’s home to a rather large found family and watched over by an unseen group of supernaturals known as The Founders.]

• Darlene “Scribe” Bailey

• Sonhi Silskiva Moreno

• Talno Ignis

• Vipro Ignis Forrester

• Absoleen Scribe Pyrehearth

• Elix Charles

• Osera Charles

• Mijeorie “Mije” Engasd

• Derek “Tren” Strader

• Rylan “Rilan” Pines Strader

• Fey Azure Beck Strader

• Violia Neolark

• “Violia”

• Celine “Jocyn” Pines Strader

• Nathan “Nate” Bailey

• Stirillia “Stein Haas” Ignis

• Luki

• Alixis Zepre

• Mirym

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Arboresia

[This territory belongs to @isa-ghost and @deaths-presence and interested individuals should go to their blogs to learn more.]

• Ivanaarius “Ivan” Rineson

• Yiller “Crow” Makito

• Dimistruus “Noc” Noctryxx Alcotto

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Undetermined Locations

[As of now these OCs do not have a place they’re settled down in or said place hasn’t been developed.]

• Siru

• Elory “Elo” Skylar

• Luna Noelle Silskiva-Skylar

• Mercédès “Mercy” Newt Dogwood

• Aenos

• Parue

• Coelle

• Moa

• Antonio “Butcher” Petray

• Lovina Wilmoth

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“GENERAL ESCAPE AT TORONTO JAIL FRUSTRATED BY A NARROW MARGIN,” Toronto Star. May 4, 1921. Page 1. ---- PRISONERS WHO FIGURED IN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM TORONTO JAIL From left to right are shown: Water Hale, chauffeur, bed as a material witness in the trials of Hotrum. McFadden and the Conleys following the Sabine murder and many robberies; Charles Heber, sentenced to three sears in Kingston for robbery, who is one of the men suspected of sawing a bar from the jail window; Roy Hotrum, awaiting trial charged with murder, who is suspected of sawing a bar from his cell door; George Clemence sentenced to 3 years in Kingston, on whom the saws were found: Eddie Goodfellow, sentenced to Burwash, and Solly Flaterwasser, sentenced to Burwash. Goodfellow and Flaterwasser are suspected of being implicated in the attempt to escape ---- Notorious Criminals Awaiting Transfer to Penitentiary, as Well as Prisoner Held on Serious Charges, Saw Bars of Cells and Almost Gain Their Freedom. ---- SOAP USED TO HOLD SEVERED BARS IN PLACE === Two daring attempts to escape from Toronto jail, by criminals convicted and others waiting trial were discovered and frustrated within.twelve hours over night through the vigilance of the jail guards. With these attempts, it makes three since Friday. 

The first attempt, which would have been a wholesale get-away, involving eleven men, was being effected in a wing on the third floor,where Charles Heber and George Clemence were found by Guard Spanton standing, suspiciously near a window, in the bathroom, at 9.30 last night. Guard Spanton examined the bars of one of the windows, and a section of a bar, about one foot in length, came out with the pull of his hand. Heber and Clemence were sentenced to three years and are waiting to be called as witnesses in other trials and later to be taken to Kingston penitentiary.

The next attempt was discovered at 10.30 this morning by Governor Major G. Hedley Basher, while he was testing the cell doors and windows. He found that a bar had been cutout of the cell door occupied by Roy Hotrum, awaiting trial with William McFadden, charged with murdering Cecil Sabine. Hotrum was not in the cell at the time, and had been transferred to another cell while his cell was being cleaned. 

McCullough's Escape Recalled. From details given to The Star by Governor Basher, it seems that, due to the crowded conditions of the jail, he had been forced to place fourteen men in a wing not suitable for housing prisoners, such as he is holding at the present time. This wing is in the northeast section of the jail, on the top, third floor, directly over the death cell, looking into Riverdale Park.

"All prisoners were put in their quarters at eight o'clock," said Governor Basher, "and lights extinguished. It was at nine-thirty when Guard Spanton visited the corridor, making his rounds, when he saw Heber and Clements, not in their beds, but standing by a window in the bath-room. He examined the bars, and found one had been sawed, and then held in place with soap."

The window is about ten feet from the ground, and the bar, when taken out, left a space about a foot square,insufficient, to permit a man to get through. If a second bar had been removed, it would have made it possible for a man to get out. From the window to the ground is a sheer drop of thirty-six feet, into the death.yard, containing "murderers' row."

A jump of this distance would have certainly caused injuries, and a further difficulty would have been encountered in scaling the fifteen-foot jail brick wall skirting the jail. In the room with Heber and Clemence were the following men: Robert Colestock, Hewart Gunn, Hughie Dickie, Reginald Thomas, Eddie Goodfellow, Walter Why. Walter Hulse, John Tinsley and Solly Flaterwasser. Goodfellow has been sentenced to two years less one day in Burwash. Walter Hulse is the driver of the taxi in which the Conleys, Hotrum and McFadden operated, and is held as a material witness in their coming trials. Flaterwasser is going to Burwash.

Two Small Saws Located. Following the discovery, Governor Major Basher questioned the men.They all denied knowing anything of the attempt, but on searching them, two small four-inch pieces of hacksaws were found secreted in Clemence's clothes.

He also denied knowing anything about it. Unable to find an admissions to the leader, or as to the one who conceived the attempt. Governor Basher singled out Heber, Clemence, Goodfellow and Flaterwasser as suspects, and immediately isolated them, to "let them cool off," to use Major Basher's words. The bar had been sawed clean through at both ends. The marks are quite fresh, and would indicate that the work on them had been very fast, as the men had been in that room only two days.

The cell which Hotrum occupied is next to one occupied by John Doughty and two cells distant from the one formerly occupied by Arthur Conley, who attacked Guard Crowe on Friday night last. Hotrum had apparently worked fast, in the last day or so,and completed his work on this bar, although if he had gained freedom through his cell door, he would have only been in his corridor, and no nearer freedom.

Hotrum is now in another cell, and although he was searched this morning, nothing was found upon him.that would have aided him in sawing the bar. Men Have Been Separated. How the saws were taken into the men is not yet known by Governor Basher, although it is assumed they were taken in either by the men them-selves, through means unknown, or in food taken to the prisoners by their friends. Men who go into the jail are stripped of their clothing at their first admittance, but it might have been when they were taken to the police court that they obtained the saws. Heber was in the court of general sessions recently as a witness while the Conleys, Hotrum and McFadden have not been there for some time.

To-day, Major Basher stated he had broken the men up entirely. McFadden, Hotrum and the Conleys have been taken away from coming indirect contact with other prisoners and are in close confinement.

"What action are you going to take?" Major Basher was asked. "Are you going to cut off visitors to the men, or parcels coming in?"

"We cannot stop everyone who wants to visit prisoners," Major Basher replied, "or parcels coming in, but in view of what has taken place since Friday, I am going to stop all visitors or parcels to the Hotrum, McFadden and Conley gang.”

Must Have More Accommodation. Prior to the attack made by Arthur Conley upon Guard Crowe on Friday last, there has been rumors afoot throughout the jail that something was going to be done, and in view of the fact that the trials of Hotrum and McFadden were first set for Thursday and now set off until next week, something in the nature of an attempt to escape has been anticipated. After Conley's attack, more were heard among the men,that "that was nothing compared to what was going to happen."

Governor Major Basher told The Star that it was absolutely imperative that the east wing of the jail be reopened in view of the crowded.condition. The wing was closed some time during the war, with the hope that prisoners would be taken care of at Burwash. "The wing should be opened not only to take care of the large number of prisoners, but in order to classify the men," said Major Basher. The plumbing of the wing is not yet in a fit condition to put men in. There are 120 men in the jail, and according to Major Basher, it requires one guard to ten men.

[mancity-fc]

Kevin De Bruyne is Manchester City’s most important player and one of their most consistent performers under Pep Guardiola, but he’ll turn 31 in June and is entering the twilight years of his career. This means City will have to consider eventually replacing De Bruyne, and Norwegian manager Trond Sollied believes Charles De Ketelaere is the man to do it. He told De Standaard (h/t Sport Witness): “De Ketelaere is fantastic. The big clubs should see that, right? Otherwise you are blind. He can go anywhere. I don’t think City need him right now. They already have so many, but they do play a system that would suit him like a glove.” Sollied is a highly experienced manager who’s coached at Bodø/Glimt, Rosenborg, KAA Gent, Club Brugge, Olympiacos, Heerenveen, Al-Ahli, Lierse SK, Elazigspor and KSC Lokeren, so he’s been in the game for three decades. His endorsement of De Ketelaere should mean a lot as a result. He added: “Kevin De Bruyne must have been surprised when he saw him train for the national team. De Ketelaere looks like a smart boy to me. His father is a doctor, so he must have learned something.” De Bruyne joined City from Vfl Wolfsburg in 2015 and has gone on to make 288 appearances in all competitions, scoring 74 goals with 113 assists. He’s made 26 appearances across the board this season, scoring seven goals with six assists, and will be a hard player to replace. De Ketelaere is a 20-year-old attacking-midfielder who has made 107 appearances for Club Brugge, scoring 22 goals with 19 assists. This season, he’s had a hand in 24 goals from 36 games and looks to have a bright future. But whether City are paying attention remains to be seen. In other news, Man City ‘tried to sign’ Atleti man ‘on three occasions’, 22 y/o still ‘wants to leave’ #Mancity, #ManchesterCity, #premierleague, #livematch, #livestream, #skysports, #premierleaguetv, #epl, #epl2023, #premier league, #premierleaguetable, #epl table, #eplfixtures, #ipl2021 live, #premierleaguefixtures, #fantasypremier eague, #eplresults, #epllivescores, #premierleague results, #pltable, #chelseafixtures, #eplscores, #arsenalfixtures, #premier leaguestandings, #eplstandings, #plfixtures, #eplschedule, #ipllive 2023, #dstvpremiership, #premierleaguetable2023, #pslfixtures, #epllive, #premiershiptable, #eplresultstoday, #eplfixturestoday, #Bitcoin, #Dolars

[pickleussyfever]

Mannklok

[kenconffetti]

A dumb excuse to draw Molly ♥‿♥

[ato-dato]

Ah yes, that part of the epilogue where we learn that molly left Dutch to go back to Dublin and live in an environment suited for her but still visits Sadie sometimes. My favorite part.

[cufflinksandstyle]

Looking A Lot Like Christmas

Green and white French cuff shirt from Charles Tyrwhitt. Tiffany & Co. emerald cufflinks. Tiffany & Co. Atlas watch. Red cashmere sweater by Allen Solly. Bespoke Colombian emerald ring.

[wqp88888]

Nickname

Abbreviation

Proper Name

Abe

Abrm

Abel, Abraham, Absalom

Abner

Abraham

Addy, Atty

Adam

Al

Albert, Allan, Allen, Alfred

Alec, Alex, Alick, Ally

Alexander

Alf

Alfred

Andy, Andie

Andrew, Alexander

Archie

Archibald

Arnie

Arnold

Art

Arthur

Baldie

Archibald

Barnie, Barney

Barnabas

Bart

Bartholomew

Ben

Benjn

Benedict, Benjamin, Ebenezer

Benezer

Ebenezer

Bern, Bernie

Bernard

Bert, Bertie

Albert, Bertram, Cuthbert, Egbert, Halbert, Herbert, Hubert, Lambert, Osbert

Bill, Billie

Wm

William

Bob

Robt

Robert

Bram, Bramley

Abraham

Cal

Caleb

Charlie, Chuck (American)

Chas

Charles

Chris

Xian, Xopher

Christian, Christopher

Clem

Clement

Cliff

Clifford

Colin

Nicholas

Cuddie, Cuddy

Cuthbert

Cy

Cyprian, Cyril, Cyrus

Dai, Dave, Davie

David

Dan, Danny

Danl

Daniel

Dand, Dandie

Andrew

Daniel

Donald

Derick

Frederick

Des

Desmond

Dewi

David

Dick

Ricd

Richard

Dixon

Benedict

Dobb

Robert

Dod, Doddy

George

Dodge

Roger

Dom

Dominick

Don, Donnie

Dond

Donald

Donald

Daniel

Doug

Douglas

Drew

Andrew

Dump

Humphrey

Duke

Marmaduke

Eben

Ebenezer

Ed, Eddie

Edgar, Edwin

Ed, Eddie

Edwd

Edward

Ed, Eddie

Edmd

Edmund

Eli

Elliot, Elias, Elijah

Elmo

Erasmus

Eph

Ephraim

Erik

Frederick

Ern

Ernt

Ernest

Ewen

Owen

Frank, Frankie

Fras

Francis

Fred

Fredk

Alfred, Frederick

Gabe, Gaby

Gabriel

Gary, Garret, Garth

Gareth, Gerard

Ged

Jedidiah

Gene

Eugene

Geoff, Giff

Geoffrey, Jeffrey

Geo

George

Gerard

Jarrett

Gerry

Gerald, Gerard

Gervase

Jarvis, Jervise

Gib

Gilbert

Gord

Gordon

Gorry

Godfrey

Greg

Gregory

Guido

Guy

Gus

Angus, Augustus, Gustav

Hab

Herbert, Robert, Halbert

Hal

Harold, Henry

Hank (American)

Henry

Hank (English)

Hankin

Harry

Harold, Henry

Heck

Hector

Henery, Henrie

Hy

Henry

Hez

Hezekiah

Hick, Hitch

Richard

Hodge

Roger

Hobb, Hop, Hopkin

Robert

Hy (American)

Hy

Henry

Ike

Isaac

Izzy

Isadore

Jabe

Jabez

Jack

Jno

John

Jake (American)

Jacob

Jamie, Jim

Jas

James

Jarrett

Gerard

Jarvis

Gervase, Jervise

Jed

Jedidiah

Jeff

Jeffrey, Geoffrey

Jerry

Jerh

Jeremiah

Jerry

Jery

Jeremy

Jerry

Jere

Jerome

Jon

Jonn

Jonathan

Joe, Joey

Josh

Joseph, Josiah

Jock

John, or any Scotsman

Josh

Joseph, Joshua, Josiah

Ken

Kenneth

Kit

Christopher

Larry

Laurence, Lawrence

Lem

Lemuel

Len

Leonard

Leo

Leopold

Les

Leslie

Lew, Lou

Lewis, Louis

Mac

Malcolm

Manny

Emanuel, Immanuel, Manuel

Matt

Matthew

Max

Maximilian, Maxwell

Mickey, Mike, Miles

Michl

Michael

Monty

Montague

Morie

Maurice, Morris

Nab

Abel, Abraham

Nat, Nate

Nathl

Nathan, Nathaniel

Ned, Neddy

Edward

Nick

Nichs

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Nobb

Robert

Noll

Oliver

Norm

Norman

Numps

Humphrey

Nye

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Owen

Ewen

Oz, Ozzie

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Paddy, Pat

Patrick, or any Irishman

Perce, Percy

Percival

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Peter

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Phil

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Philip

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Rd, Ricd

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Robt

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Stan

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Steve

Stephen, Steven

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Taddy

Adam

Taffy

David, or any Welshman

Ted, Teddy

Edward, Theodore

Terry

Terence

Thad

Thadeus

Theo

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Tim, Timmy

Timothy

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Bartholomew

Tom, Tommy Thos Thomas

Tony Anty Anthony

Val

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Vic

Victor

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Vib

Vivian

Waldo

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Will, Willie, Wilkin Wm, Willm William, Wilbur

Zac, Zach, Zack

Isaac, Zachary

Zac, Zach, Zack Zachh, Zachs Zachariah, Zacharias

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Zeke

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[sciencespies]

The True History Behind 'The Last Duel'

https://sciencespies.com/history/the-true-history-behind-the-last-duel/

The True History Behind 'The Last Duel'

Meilan Solly

Associate Editor, History

Two aspiring knights stood side by side, one welcoming his first son and heir, the other acting as his godfather—“virtually a family member,” according to historian Eric Jager.

Just over a decade later, however, the two men, Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, met on a field in Paris for a highly publicized duel to the death. Jager chronicled how the former friends’ relationship devolved—and the woman and rape allegation at the center of the conflict—in the 2004 nonfiction book The Last Duel. Now, the story of the 1386 trial by combat is the subject of a blockbuster film of the same name. Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Matt Damon as Carrouges, Adam Driver as Le Gris and Jodie Comer as Carrouges’ second wife, Marguerite. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men.

On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. Marguerite, who had accused Le Gris of raping her, watched from the sidelines; clad entirely in black, she was keenly aware that her husband’s defeat would be viewed as proof of perjury, vindicating her attacker and ensuring her execution by burning at the stake for the crime of bearing false witness.

“Lady, on your evidence I am about to hazard my life in combat with Jacques Le Gris,” Carrouges said to Marguerite in the moments leading up to the duel. “You know whether my cause is just and true.” She replied, “My Lord, it is so, and you can fight with confidence, for the cause is just.” And so Le Gris’ trial by combat began.

From the mechanics of trial by combat to the prosecution of sexual violence in medieval society, here’s what you need to know about the true history behind The Last Duel ahead of the film’s October 15 debut. (Spoilers ahead.)

A bit of a refresher from your high school class on medieval France: At the top of society was the king, advised by his high council, the Parlement of Paris. Beneath him were three main ranks of nobility: barons, knights and squires. Barons like Affleck’s character, Count Pierre d’Alencon, owned land and often acted as feudal lords, providing property and protection to vassals—the term for any man sworn to serve another—in exchange for their service. Knights were one step above squires, but men of both ranks often served as vassals to higher-ranking overlords. (Le Gris and Carrouges both started out as squires and vassals to Count Pierre, but Carrouges was knighted for his military service in 1385.) At the bottom of the social ladder were warriors, priests and laborers, who had limited rights and political influence.

In short, yes. The first two chapters of the three-act film, penned by Damon and Affleck, draw heavily on Jager’s research, recounting Marguerite’s rape and the events surrounding it from the perspectives of Carrouges and Le Gris, respectively. (Jager offered feedback on the film’s script, suggesting historically accurate phrasing and other changes.) The third and final section, written by Holofcener, is told from Marguerite’s point of view. As Damon tells the New York Times, this segment “is kind of an original screenplay … because that world of women had to be almost invented and imagined out of whole cloth.”

The film adaptation traces the trio’s relationship from its auspicious beginnings to its bloody end. After Marguerite’s rape, Carrouges petitions the French court to try Le Gris through judicial combat. (Writing for History News Network, Jager explains that “the ferocious logic of the duel implied that proof was already latent in the bodies of the two combatants, and that the duel’s divinely assured outcome would reveal which man had sworn falsely and which had told the truth.”) Marguerite, as chief witness in the case, will be executed if her husband loses the duel, thereby “proving” both of their guilt.

Much like Jager’s book, the film doesn’t offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. Carrouges views himself as a chivalrous knight defending his wife’s honor, while Le Gris casts himself as the Lancelot to Marguerite’s Guinevere, rescuing her from an unhappy marriage. Only in the final section of the film, when Marguerite is allowed to speak for herself, does the truth of the men’s personalities emerge: Carrouges—a “jealous and contentious man,” in Jager’s words—is mainly concerned with saving his own pride. Le Gris, “a large and powerful man” with a reputation as a womanizer, is too self-centered to acknowledge the unwanted nature of his advances and too self-assured to believe that, once the deed is done, Marguerite will follow through on her threat of seeking justice.

Jodie Comer of “Killing Eve” fame portrays Marguerite de Thibouville.

Patrick Redmond / 20th Century Studios

“The penalty for bearing false witness is that you are to be burned alive,” an official tells Marguerite in the movie’s trailer. “I will not be silent,” she responds, teary-eyed but defiant.

The film’s shifting viewpoints underscore the thorny nature of truth in Marguerite’s case, which divided observers both at the time and in the centuries since. Some argued that she’d falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindicative husband. Enlightenment thinkers Diderot and Voltaire favored Le Gris’ cause, decrying his “barbaric and unjust trial by combat” as an example of “the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages,” writes Jager. Later encyclopedia entries echoed this view, seemingly solidifying the question of Le Gris’ innocence.

Jager, for his part, tells Medievalists.net that he “never would have embarked on writing this book if I had not believed Marguerite.” Le Gris’ lawyer, Jean Le Coq, arguably summarized the case best, noting in his journal that “no one really knew the truth of the matter.”

Born into a noble Norman family around the 1330s, Carrouges met Le Gris, a lower-born man who rose through the ranks by virtue of his own political savvy, while both were serving as vassals of Count Pierre. The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges’ jealousy. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends.

In 1384, Carrouges and Marguerite encountered Le Gris at a mutual friend’s party. Seemingly resolving their differences, the men greeted each other and embraced, with Carrouges telling Marguerite to kiss Le Gris “as a sign of renewed peace and friendship,” according to Jager. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges’ wife—described by a contemporary chronicler as “beautiful, good, sensible and modest”—and Le Gris. (At this point, the two men were in their late 50s, which places Damon at close to the right age for his role but Driver a good generation off the mark.)

Miniature of Le Gris and Carrouges’ duel, as depicted in a medieval illuminated manuscript

British Library

Detail of a miniature of a 1387 joust between John de Holand and Regnault de Roye

British Library

Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. But Marguerite certainly made an impression on Le Gris, who likely still held a grudge against his litigious former friend: After running into the newly knighted Carrouges in January 1386, Le Gris sent a fellow courtier, Adam Louvel, to keep an eye on Marguerite, who’d been left behind with her mother-in-law while Carrouges traveled to Paris. As Jager explains, “With a motive, revenge against the knight, and a means, the seduction of his wife, all [Le Gris] needed now was an opportunity.”

No one really knew the truth of the matter.

Le Gris’ window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. According to testimony later provided by Marguerite, she heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Louvel. Recognizing the courtier, who claimed to have come to ask a favor and warm himself by the fire, she allowed him to enter the house, at which point he turned the conversation to Le Gris, saying, “The squire loves you passionately, he will do anything for you, and he greatly desires to speak to you.” Alarmed by the sudden shift in tone, Marguerite attempted to rebuke Louvel, only to turn around and see Le Gris, who’d snuck in through the unlocked door.

Le Gris quickly turned violent, forcing her upstairs and enlisting Louvel to help restrain her as she desperately fought back. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, “Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too.” In response, Marguerite said, “I will keep quiet. But not for as long as you need me to.” Tossing a sack of coins at the young woman, Le Gris taunted her, claiming that his friends would give him an airtight alibi.

“I don’t want your money!” Marguerite replied. “I want justice! I will have justice!” 

When Carrouges returned home three or four days after Marguerite’s rape, he found his wife “sad and tearful, always unhappy in expression and demeanor, and not at all her usual self.” She waited until the two were alone before revealing what had happened and urging her husband to seek vengeance against Le Gris. Barred from bringing a case against Le Gris herself, Marguerite had to rely entirely on her husband to mount legal action.

The majority of medieval rape victims lacked the means to seek justice. Per historian Kathryn Gravdal, a register of crimes recorded in four French hamlets between 1314 and 1399 lists just 12 rape or attempted rape cases, as “only virgins or high-status rape victims”—like Marguerite—“actually had their day in court.”

Marguerite was barred from bringing a case against Le Gris herself. Instead, her husband, Jean de Carrouges, took action on her behalf.

20th Century Studios

Those who did report their rapes found the odds “really stacked against them,” with the onus on the survivor to “make a big judicial issue of it as quickly as possible,” says historian Hannah Skoda, author of the 2012 book Medieval Violence. She adds, “If there’s any gap between the act and … making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.”

Medieval law treated rape as a horrific crime on par with other capital offenses. But conceptions of rape varied widely, with some commentators arguing that women enjoyed being taken by force and others accusing survivors of falsely accusing men in order to trick them into marriage. (Rapists sometimes escaped punishment by marrying their victims.) The dominant belief that women had to enjoy sex in order to conceive further complicated matters, leaving those impregnated by their rapists on even shakier legal ground. Marguerite, who found herself pregnant soon after the attack, largely left this fact out of her account, either due to uncertainty over the child’s paternity—he may have been conceived before Carrouges left for Paris—or an awareness that making this claim would weaken her testimony in the eyes of the court. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris’ trial by combat.

Italian poet Christine de Pisan (seated, at left) was one of the few women of the medieval period to write about rape, once arguing, “Rest assured, dear friend, chaste ladies who live honestly take absolutely no pleasure in being raped. Indeed rape is the greatest possible sorrow for them.”

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Because rape was viewed less as an act of sexual violence than a property crime against the victim’s husband or guardian, rapists often avoided harsh penalties by paying a fine to the man in question. The burden of proof lay almost entirely on victims, who had to prove they’d resisted the rapist’s advances while recounting their testimony in precise detail. Even a small mistake, such as misstating the day the attack happened, could result in the case being thrown out and the victim being punished for perjury.

“Marguerite tells her story, and she knows … that she needs to be extremely consistent, despite this absolutely horrific trauma that she’s just gone through,” says Skoda. “She has to relive it over and over again—and she gets it right.”

Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerite’s case to Count Pierre. Given the count’s strong relationship with Le Gris and combative past with Carrouges, he was quick to dismiss the claim, even arguing that Marguerite “must have dreamed it.” Undeterred, Carrouges raised an appeal with the king.

The fate that awaited Marguerite if her husband’s attempts failed—being burned at the stake for bearing false witness—represented an extreme example of the potential repercussions faced by accusers. “If the case is not proven, then [the woman] doesn’t just get to walk away,” says Skoda. “She’s going to face some kind of penalty.” Instead of being executed, however, most women on the losing side of rape cases endured “custodial or financial [punishment], which in medieval terms is kind of the end of everything anyway,” according to Skoda.

Despite the threat of public humiliation and potentially deadly outcome of disclosing one’s rape, women like Marguerite spoke out, perhaps as a way of working through their trauma or simply refusing to “passively accept [what had] happened to them,” says Skoda. Pointing out that women’s voices are actually “loud and clear,” albeit filtered through the court system and notaries, in many medieval documents, the historian explains, “It’s a really nice way of sort of flipping our stereotypes of the Middle Ages. … It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. But that doesn’t mean that women were silenced. They still spoke out, and they still fought against the grain.”

French law stipulated that noblemen appealing their cause to the king could challenge the accused to a judicial duel, or trial by combat. Known as the “judgment of God,” these ordeals were thought to have a divinely ordained outcome, with the loser proving his guilt by the very act of defeat. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. 

Legal historian Ariella Elema, whose PhD research centered on trial by combat in France and England, says judicial duels were most common in “cases where the evidence was really unclear and it was difficult to solve the [matter] by any other means.” Such clashes had become increasingly rare by the late 14th century, with lawyers largely using the prospect of duels to incentivize individuals to settle cases out of court. Of the judicial duels that actually took place, few ended in death. Instead, Elema explains, authorities overseeing trials typically imposed a settlement after the fighters had exchanged a few blows.

For Carrouges and Le Gris, whose dispute had sparked widespread interest across France, settling the case would have been viewed as “either an admission of guilt or [a] false accusation,” says Elema. “There [wasn’t] going to be a settlement without one of them losing their reputation.”

After hearing both parties’ testimony, the Parlement of Paris agreed to authorize a duel—France’s first trial by combat for a rape case in more than 30 years. According to Jager, the court “may have feared taking sides and arousing even more controversy, deciding instead to grant the knight’s request, authorize a duel and leave the whole perplexing matter in the hands of God.”

Five contemporary or near-contemporary chronicles offer accounts of what happened when Le Gris and Carrouges met on December 29, 1386. Jean Froissart, writing after the duel, describes Marguerite praying as she watched the fight, adding, “I do not know, for I never spoke with her, whether she had not often regretted having gone so far with the matter that she and her husband were in such grave danger.”

A 1540s depiction of judicial combat in Augsburg in 1409, between Marshal Wilhelm von Dornsberg and Theodor Haschenacker

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Elema’s interpretation of the sources differs from Jager’s comparatively colorful recounting. As she argues, “Instead of a duel that was long and drawn out and involved many different weapons and a whole variety of exciting scenarios, it seems to have been a very short affair that shocked the audience.”

Two likely eyewitnesses—the author of the Chronicle of the Monk of Saint-Denis and Le Coq—agree that Le Gris landed the first blow, piercing Carrouges’ thigh with his sword. In Le Coq’s words, his client “attacked his adversary very cruelly and did it on foot, although he would have had the advantage if he had done it on horseback.” By drawing blood, writes Elema for the Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community, Le Gris prevented the king from halting the duel, as “once the scales had tipped in one fighter’s favor, no one could stop the fight without the appearance of partiality.”

A seasoned warrior with more fighting experience than Le Gris, Carrouges quickly rebounded from his injury, gaining the upper hand and pushing his opponent to the ground. Unable to rise due to the weight of his body armor, Le Gris resisted Carrouges’ calls to confess, declaring, “In the name of God, and on the peril and damnation of my soul, I am innocent of the crime.” Enraged, Carrouges delivered the death blow, perhaps by stabbing Le Gris’ exposed neck or thighs. Le Gris’ final moments appear to have been grisly even by the standards of the day: The monk of Saint-Denis, who served as Charles VI’s official historian, reported that Carrouges “killed his enemy with great difficulty because he was encased in armor.” In accordance with tradition, authorities dragged Le Gris’ body to the gallows and hung him as a final insult to his sullied reputation.

Though Scott’s film and its source text afford the fight the weighty title of the last duel, Le Gris’ trial by combat was far from the last duel to ever take place. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris—a decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. Duels of honor, as well as judicial duels authorized by other governing bodies, continued to take place centuries after Carrouges’ triumph. 

The knight’s victory saved both him and his wife, earning the formerly notorious couple wealth and prestige. Carrouges died roughly a decade after the duel, falling in combat against the Ottoman Turks. Marguerite’s fate is unknown, though later historians convinced of the falsity of her claims suggested she retired to a convent out of shame.

Far from echoing these Enlightenment-era assessments of Marguerite’s misguided intentions, the film adaptation of The Last Duel presents the noblewoman as its protagonist, the “truth teller [whose account is] so much more resonant, strong and evident” than her male counterparts’, as Affleck tells GMA News.

Carrouges died at the Battle of Nicopol in 1396.

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Charles VI, pictured here attacking his companions during a bout of mental illness, presided over the duel.

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The actor continues, “It’s an anti-chivalry movie in some sense because the great illusion of chivalry is that it was about … [protecting] the innocent female. And in fact it was a code, a manner of behavior that denied women’s basic humanity.”

Skoda and Elema argue that Marguerite’s case exemplifies the complexity of medieval society, which is often painted in broad, reductive strokes.

“People tend to think of the Middle Ages being less sophisticated than they actually are, but there’s this this huge, fascinating legal tradition that’s the origin of pretty much all of Western legal tradition,” Elema says.

Skoda adds, “It’s all too tempting to talk about the Middle Ages as this horrible, misogynist, patriarchal, oppressive society, as a way of even implicitly just saying, ‘Look how far we’ve come.’ … Whereas to complicate what things looked like in the 14th century complicates what we’re doing now.”

Based on a True Story

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[talk-to-the-mercs]

Who is this weird charles guy, engie? -rock

Charlie: Ah, curious, aren't you. I regret to inform you that, much as I would love to answer your questions, I am forbidden to by contract.

Charlie: I do not care about contracts, I recognize the name you've given me, and I do not serve them. Do with this information as you please.

[Rustling, the faint slamming on metal.]

Charlie: Hear that? I do believe our friends are nearby.

Engineer: SOLLY?! DEMO?! Hold on, we’ll getcha out of there! Aw, god damnit…I left my skeleton key at the base…this’ll take at least an hour ‘a weldin’, this door’s so thick…

[Click. The jangling of keys]

Charlie: They were hidden in the kitchen cabinet, or do you not remember this..?

[The hiss of a heavy door swinging open.]

B.L.U Demo: [unintelligible mumbling]

Soldier: HUH GAWS THEW?! STAYT YU BUTHNETH!

[Translation: WHO GOES THERE?! STATE YOUR BUSINESS!]

Engineer: Solly…? What…what the hell didja…?

Soldier: I ESCATHED THE THPIES! THE HATH BE CUNARD, BUTH I GATHE THEB A GUD OL DOTH OF UNCLE THAM!

[Translation: I ESCAPED THE SPIES! THEY HAD ME CORNERED, BUT I GAVE ‘EM A GOOD OL’ DOSE OF UNCLE SAM!]

Engineer: [chuckling, verge of tears] Oh my god…

Charlie: [soft laughter] Ah... Would you like me to help your friend, there..? [barely holding back a snicker] Seems... A bit stuck?

Engineer: [sniffing] Yeah, let’s, uh…getcha outta there. ‘Fore your tongue freezes off. [laughing] God damnit, Soldier…

Soldier: I DIDTH UMWERICA PWOUD!

[Translation: I DID AMERICA PROUD!]

Engineer: You sure did, son. You sure did.

B.L.U Demo: Nngh…

[Lighter clicking]

Charlie: Ah ah ah- No, no, keep still... Tsk- You'll get burnt if you keep doing that... There we go...

[END OF TRANSMISSION]

@noivoom

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Bail of $10,000 Fixed For 7 Men, 1 Woman,” Toronto Star. October 24, 1932. Page 2. ---- Former Accused of Stealing Furs, Latter With Having Burglars’ Tools ---- Seven men charged with shopbreaking appeared before Judge Coatsworth in men’s court to-day and were remanded until Oct. 28. At the request of Crown Attorney McFadden bail was set at $10,000 for each of the accused.

The men charged with stealing furs from the Lubek Brothers Fur Company, Queen St., last Wednessay, are Joe Valentino, Mike Pacelia, Max Walsh, Joe Dorazio, Nathan Tusker, John Sylvester, Morris Rosenbaum, and Max Beaver.

Hilda Reynolds, charged with having burglary tools, was also remanded. Her bail was also fixed at $10,000. There was also a charge of receiving against Beaver.

Counsel W. B. Horkins asked that the period in remand be short. ‘Thee men were doing nothing when arrested,’ he said. ‘They were driving along the highway. The crown only wants to find something to charge them with.’

In setting such a high bail Mr. McFadden explained that the charge against the accused eight was a very serious one.

Fourteen inebriates appeared in early court and seventy men were charged with vagrancy. The number seven was a common factor in with these offences, but did not seem to alter the fortune of any of the accused parties. The bad luck of some just continued on its undisturbed way.

Charles Maddill, Albert Moran, Leo McLaughlin, and Thos. Harris were fined $10 or ten days for being drunk. James Griffin was assessed $20 or 20 days for the same offence.

‘I just got out from the farm on Saturday, your honor,’ pleaded Richard Kelly, charged with being drunk. ‘Won’t you please give me a chance?’ ‘I will to-day, but not the next time,’ replied the bench.

‘I want time to pay the fine,’ said Philip Martin, charged with being intoxicated. He spoke before he even asked how he pleaded to the charge. ‘There’s no fine to pay. I am going to remand you for sentence,’ said Magistrate Tinker. ‘I don’t have to pay?’ cried Martin in an incredulous voice. It was his first offence.

Minor Got Liquor ‘I woild ike to meet one of these ‘friends’ who give liquor to a youth of 18 years,’ said Magistrate Tinker, when the case of Harold Rice, charged with being drunk, came up. ‘I’d see that they got at least a month.’

Rice was remanded for sentence and put on probation for a year.

Solly Sidenburg admitted that he had been in court before. ‘But not for being drunk,’ he added. He was remanded for sentence.

Martin Cullerton said that he had just come from the jail farm. ‘I was there for three months last time. I won’t get drunk again if you give me a chance,’ he said. He looked very surprised when he was given another chance and remanded for sentence

For begging on King St., William Phillips was fined 10 or 10 days. P.C. 159 arrested him.

Carl Regis, charged with vagrancy, was remanded until Oct. 27 on a bond of $500.

James Care was charged with being a vagrant. P.C. 754 said he discovered accused peeking in a window on Danforth Ave. Care was remanded for sentence and warned to abandon the foolish practice of looking in windows.

Jack Sunshine was remanded until Oct. 31 to the Psychiatric Hospital on a charge of vagrancy.

Louis Pantila was charged with attempted self-destruction. Inspector Guthrie’s questioning brought out the fact that accused was so drunk at the time that he did not know what he was doing.

He was remanded for sentence and advised to be more careful of himself.

Police Magistrate A. E. Cainan, of Picton, was a guest on the bench with Judge Coatsworth during the latter part of court.

Could Lose Shirt at Track Judge Coatsworth found Abahram Marshak guilty of theft from William Doherty, a trucker, from Athlone, Ont.

Doherty appeared in his blue overalls to accuse Marshak, 20, of the theft of $4 in the form of two pari-mutuel tickets.

‘I was watching the races at Dufferin on Saturday,’ said Doherty, ‘when Marshak approached me and asked me what horses I fancied. We talked for a while and then I took out a $10 bill, intending to bet $2 of it. Marshak snatched the bill and before I could stop him got five tickets on Locara. He gave me three of the tickets, but said he lost the others.’

‘I saw Marshak snatch the bill,’ said Inspector Greer of the provincial police, who made the arrest.

‘I find you guilty of theft,’ said Judge Coastworth.

‘There was 15,000 people at Dufferin,’ said Counsel Chaplan. ‘Why a man could lose his shirt there and never notice it.’

Marshak was allowed to go home and get the $4 he was accused of stealing. ‘Hurry back with it,’ said the bench, ‘so Mr. Doherty can get back to his farm.’

Marshak was told to go home to get the $4 and to come back tomorrow.

[annelapedusbrest-blog]

MY MEMORIES OF JOHANNESBURG - City of GOLD.

article published 4 Feb 2009. Written and compiled by Anne Lapedus Brest.

MEMORIES OF JOHANNESBURG,   CITY OF GOLD

Written and Compiled By

©  ANNE LAPEDUS BREST

On the 4th February 1961, when I was 14 years old,  and my brother Robert was 11, our family came to live in Johannesburg.  

 We had left Ireland, land of our birth, leaving behind our beloved Grandparents, family, friends, and a very special and  never-to-be-forgotten little furry friend,  to start a new life in South Africa, land of Sunshine and Golden opportunity…………… The Goldeneh Medina…...

We came out on the “Edinburgh Castle”, arriving  Cape Town 2nd Feb 1961.  We did a day tour of Chapmans Peak Drive,   Muizenberg,  went to somewhere called the “Red Sails”  and visited our Sakinofsky/Yodaiken family in Tamboerskloof.

 We arrived at Park Station (4th Feb 1961), Jhb,  hot and dishevelled after a nightmarish train ride, breaking down in De Aar and dying of heat.

 We lived in Becker Street, Yeoville, Robert went to K.E.S and I went to Barnato Park (aka Johannesburg Girls’ High) in Berea.  Robert was in Cadets , I played hockey, and bunked school (with Gilda Goldblatt!!)  Our next-door neighbours were Michael and Sandra Golding,  Zena and Teddy Cohen lived in Becker Street also and Ronnie and Nigel Baskin lived in Yeo Street near the Richters -  Selma and Charles Richter,.

 Girls at Barnato Park lived in mainly Hillbrow,  Berea, Yeoville, Bellevue,  Houghton, Orchards, Melrose and Dunkeld.  After school, many of us would catch the 19 bus from Tudhope Avenue  Berea to Raleigh Street, Yeoville, but many girls were collected by beautifully coiffed and bee-hived mothers with long painted nails, arriving to collect them in huge fancy Chevrolets, with  big cats’ eye tail-lights.

 ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA ……………………………. 

Oy, but I had to get used to so many new expressions ……..

“ See you this arvy, Hey? “  and    “See you just now, Annie”    (I learnt the hard way that “Just Now” didn’t mean immediately)

 “There’s the new girl in Form 3, ……..  Shame!!”    “My sister’s baby is so cute, ……  Shame!  

 People would give me directions and tell me to turn at the robot.

 Can I  Lend  your book?

 Whatever I said, the girls would answer “Is it” ?

 The shul is full of KUGELS……………….

 Why did the bus-conductor call us all  “Donkey”  when he collected our tickets????   “Thank you,… Donkey” and the Klippies would say it in a high-pitched voice. “Thank you, donkeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyy”

 You MUST come visit this arvy,   see?     You MUST go and see Cliff Richard at the Collosseum.  You MUST buy the latest Elvis Presley record.     MUST,   MUST,   MUST   (only in South Africa!  Say that “MUST” to people overseas, they think you are a control-freak).  (took me a while to get used to it!!)    

G.C. EMMMMM 

Girls would talk about great talent at a party, and they talked about Chracks , boys talked about  “good stock” .

It’s a blerry gemors!!         Stoep.      Goeie Môre ,    Lekker Bly,      

My skat.     Klop Dissel Boom gaan!      Klappies.      Lappies.    

 Wag ‘n bietjie.      I’m Gatvol !!!!    Deurmekaar.

Yislaaik!     Herrrrrrre  ! (Yurrah)       Magtig!!  …..Maggggggtigggggg  !!!       Vragtig!  …….Vragggggtigggggg !!!!!!   

Where’s the jol tonight, hey?   Do youse know?

 Don’t tune  me  kak, hey?     Ag! Yes  no  fine.     Stovies.    He’s fab - such a doll !!!,      He thinks he’s such a big Bok.      It’s not so lekker.      

 Howzzit, my China.     I smaak you.  

 Don’t chaaf my cherry, hey!     Don’t grip my cherry…

 Who do  you  think you’re  looking at,  China?    

 Don’t  tune me grief, ek sê.       Voetsak!        Sies!       Ag! Siestog, Jong!  

 My bike is buggered.  

 Bugger off !

 He donnered  her.

 She Bliksemed him

 They Revolting!  

 Sommer so …………………..

 Don’t talk to them, they are all such Rubbishes.

 Stiffies.

 It’s Kwaai……..

Well, yes , no fine, Those were the days my friend we thought they’d never end …...   

SUBURBS    

In those days a majority of the Jewish community seemed to be living in Hillbrow,  Berea,   Bellevue,  Yeoville  , Cyrildene,  Observatory,  Dewetshof, Judith’s Paarl,  Highlands North, Houghton,  Dunkeld,  Melrose, Hyde Park.

 Suburbs where a lot of Jews also  lived were Kensington,   Emmarentia,  Greenside, Doornfontein,   Mayfair.  Remember Fordsburg (Fitas). Also a Jewish area once upon a time.  

 Robert and I went to Yeoville Chader (The Bernard Patley), - Mr. SHATCHAN was the  headmaster, and teachers I remember were Miss AARONS (Bella Golubchick) , Mr. Solly GOLDBERG, Rev.  HIMMELSTEIN, and the             Shammas was a  Mr. CHAZEN (His daughters, Gertie and Hannah both went to Barnato park) and  Mrs. MAGID 

Chader Children I can remember the names of some of the “ Chader children”. Colin Koransky,     Dorian Hersch (Shear),    Terroll Hersch (Z”l),   Gilda Goldblatt (Galvad), Brenda Goldblatt (Spitz) (O”h)    Frances Taylor, and her older sister, Sharon (now in Israel),    Carmella Shapiro,     Marsha Furman,     Gerald Pokroy,     Philip Eliason,  Harry Sacks,     Alan Kaye,   Susan Kaye,   Dorothy Lewis,    Harry Sacks,   Philip Sacks,    Ada Freedman,     Ilanah Himmelstein,    Julian (Julie) Kaplan,  Meyer Kaplan,    Brian (now in Oz) and his sister Jewel Rosenthal,     Eugene Klatzko,     Martin Chaitowitz,   Hymie  Symanowitz(Z”l),    Ruth Seeff,     Sandra Katzen (Pokroy)     Robert Hershfield,     Mervyn Gerszt,     Bernard Kromelick, Derek Hammerschlag (I think that was his name)  Wolfie Tepper,   Marlene Tepper,   Stanley Chitiz,   Manny Magid,    Melanie & Beverley Segal.

 I must have been a real “chrack” in those days, coming from Ireland, funny clothes, and even funnier out-of-control curly hair, and an accent nobody could understand.  I found it hard to make friends, but I eventually palled up with Gilda Goldblatt (now Galvad) , (daughter of Leslie (Z”l) and Mona Voloshen Goldblatt (O”h),  from Webb Street.   Leslie (Z”l)  was a Choirester in Wolmarans Street Shul) and Gilda and I have remained friends to this day.

 Girls at Barnato Park whom I remember offhand,    Pam Ginsberg (Melzter)   Pam Gladstone (Nathan),  Denise Seeff,     Ruth Seeff,    Susan Simon,     Molly Robinson,    Rhona Shroder (aka Rhondie Shrondie)  (Ullman) ,    Phyliss Goldblatt (Rubin),   Geraldine Blumberg,  Debbie Rabinowitz,  Jacqui Hotz,  Sharon Rafel (Rubin),    Leah Smith,   Ann Kaiser,  Ann Moscow, Barbara Diane Levy,   Barbara Levy,    Lynette and Jennifer Margolis,   Carol and Margaret Kowalsky ,  Gloria (Gola) Levine (Ash),  Gilda and Brenda Goldblatt,   Eugene Klatzko, ,   René Mazelle,  Jill Gonski, Felicity Nathanson,   Avril Kaye,  Jackie Susman (Woolf) (her sisters Helen and Andy went to Athlone) .   Pam Kohn,   Lydia Burstein,   Ada Folb,   Sharon Cooperman (Fehrer)  Beryl Andrews,   Heather Round (Levy),  Joan Gracie, Merriel Pratt, Hilda and Charlotte Brinkman, Ann Mullins, Susan Simon, Doreen Simon, Marilyn Silansky, Carole Silansky (Sands) Verite Hirshowitz, Ruth Samuel (Segal),    Vivien Alexander,    Renée Kunz,   Lorraine Goldberg,    Marilyn Silansky and her sister Carol Silansky, ,   Yvonne  Shochet,  Janet King,  Pam Kewley,   Adah  Ben Yehuda,   Roslyn Abramovitz,  Joan Cooper,  Bernice Frid (Vunck),  Suzanne Lutrin (Resnick) (O”h),    Helen Rothschild,   Joyce Tischauer,   Helen Leftin,    Maureen Nagel (Ruskin),   Gabriella Albrecht,  Sharon Smith (Munitz),   Pam Levy,  Deborah-Ann Fanaroff,   Jacky Centner (Cannon),  Lydia Burstein, Ronelle Shepherd,  Cynthia Muller,  Marsha Sosnovick, (Jansen)    Karen Israelsohn,  Joan David (Elkon),   Sheina & BatSheva Romm,   Lorraine Nussbaum (Silver),   Susan Hommell,     Kela Saltzer , Barbara Beira,   Shoshanna Kaplan (Kaplan)  , Myrna Katz,  Isobel Strasbourg (Mehl) , Isobel Thomson, Vivienne Lee,  Meryl Michaelmore,  Vivienne Fritz, (Head Girl)     Patsy Coetzee, (Vice Head Girl)  Philla Moller, Gillian Coleman, Sheena Haarhof,  Glen Marshall, Naomi Tabachowich,   Ailsa Bowley, Sheena Hayworth, And  some girls from Mrs. Oppenheimers extra Afrikaans lessons class were, Vasiliky someone from Greece, Daria someone from Italy,  Jean Smith (?)  from Rhodesia, Jacqueline someone from England, Marilyn Patricia Myers from England,  and teachers, Miss Todd, Roberta Evans, Miss Cohen (later Mrs. Gevisser), Miss Miles with DOG - George, Miss Langley (head), Miss Rosewarne, Miss Walmsely ,  Miss Hodkin,  Miss Jones (Vice Head), Miss Horn, Miss Dankwerths, Miss Martin, (later Mrs. Gold), Mrs Morrison, and one or two Barnato Park Dogs, who came along to school with teachers.  I think Miss Evans had a little Muttie trouping along next to her?  

SCHOOLS     Athlone Girls , Athlone Boys,    Waverly girls,  Highland’s North,  Parktown Girls and Parktown Boys,    Northview, Greenside High,    King David Linksfield  (King David Victory Park was to follow later on)  Yeshiva College,     Rodean,     Brescia House,     St. Vincents  (for the hard of hearing).    Helpmekaar,     Damelin College,    Yale College (Marcus (Marky) Luntz) , Regis College,  Princeton College.      Yeoville Boys,   Observatory Girls, ,    Hyde Park,    The Tech.      K.E.S (King Edward School),    St. Johns,     Redhill,       St. Stithians,    Marist brothers,    Yeoville Convent,    Hirsch Lyons,    Yiddish folk,  Jeppe Boys, Jeppe Girls.   H.A  Jack,   Jewish Government.

 SCHOOL UNIFORMS. Mc Cullogh @ Bothwell.

Remember Yeoville?   The Yeoville Post Office in Raleigh Street, C.N.A, the Picadilly Bioscope  the Bug House (Oi) next door to  Yeoville Home Industries (owned by Simon and Leah Kaufman),   Kenmere Pharmacy (owned by the Marams) (next to the fruit shop in Kenmere Rd) and  Yeoville Pharmacy (owned by the Joffes) (diagonally opposite the Yeoville Baths in Raleigh St.,)  Yeoville Fruit and Flowers (Jorge aka George),   Hill Fisheries,   Crystals,   Yeoville Baths, (and a swimming coach there called Bernard  Green) and the Apollo Café across the road where they played pinball and the ducktails always hung around there with their chains, and motor bikes, all the Brekers.   Theo  Hommel (fabrics),   Fitz Bakery where the OK Bazaars in Yeoville built their new shop, corner Raleigh and Bedford, diagonally opposite the Yeoville Library.  And opposite where the 19 bus went into Berea and town), Hub Stores,    Emdins – Haberdashery – (one or two shops down from the Apollo Café,)  Denbo Jewish Bookstore,  Scotch Corner!    Billy’s Hairdresser in Rockey Street (near Raymond St)    Faigels   and the  Dae-nite Pharmacy Rockey Street, cor. Bezuidenhout,   Squires (clothing, school uniforms/shoes)

 Portuguese Fish and Chip shop in Rockey Street, all the Tailor shops going down into Rockey Street, and Jekisons Tailors, and a  guy called Bokkie Jekison who was the Tailor there  (great looking bloke, with a great looking brother, I think his name was Eugene)  both so easy on the eye!). Bokkie recently told someone that on the 7th April he will have been at the shop for 55 years  California Tailors, and the Yeoville Recreation Center in Raleigh St, where Sandra Stein won the “Miss Yeoville” competition in about 1962 .(Bokkie Jekison died before the 7th April, suddenly, whilst out on a walk)

Water Polo at the Yeoville Baths. Richard LEE was a water-polo player, he lived in Yeo Street, Yeoville, I think.  Had a brother Eric LEE.  They were Highlands North school boys.  Lionel GILINSKY, another water-polo player.

 And does anyone remember the Purdy Boys, Neville and Leonard?

Some MORE of the YEOVILLE, CYRILDENE, OBSERVATORY people …… Jeff Wittles ,    Linda Shapiro,     Rex Schwartz,    Sharon  Schwartz ,     Ivan Sabbath,       Arnold Messias,     Ivan Sandler,     Louise Lazersohn ,     Barry Sacks,      Barry Bloch,     Barry Black,    Michael Walldorf (Vorsie),  Sonia Barsol,     Gerald (Jake) Fox (Z”l)  Jonny Grossmark,    Vivian Stillerman,    Charmian Clayton,   Max Gur,   Ruth Margolis,   Elaine Margolis,   Heather Garrun,   Yvette, Esther & Naomi Sofer.    Sharna & Nadja Isaacs (aka Lerman),   Colin Opwald,     Frances Siegenberg,  Nicky & Costa Kapitanopoulos,  Alfie Wood and his sister Margie Wood (now Horn),   Locky Lockstone,  Shirley Shtub  (probably Sztab),  Reuel Kaplan,  Geoff (Geoffrey)  Landsman (Z”l) ,  Reina Cohen (O’h),   Sandra Stein (Ezra) ,  Nola Stein (Fox),  Charmion Clayton,   Ivor Cohen,   Sandra Deitz ,   Spencer Hodgson,     Heather Garrun,    Linda Chitiz or Chitters ,  Marlene Teper,   Leonard Kahn  & his sister Maureen Kahn. (now Puterman)  Maureen and her husband were one of the first people to move into a new block of flats called “La Contessa”,  in Yeo & Bedford St. Yeoville)   Arnie  Jones,   Jennifer Jones,   Bernard James,    Abel de Freitas,   Sandra Tucker.  The Griffith Girls (Virg, Bernice (Bunny) and  Diane –still great friends of mine) and their brother Cedric) The Matthews Girls Hazel, and Norma, there were more sisters but I can’t remember the names) .   

GREENSIDE/EMMARENTIA   People, -   Clifford Price,    Howard Price,    Brian Ruskin, and I think Barry Pillemar ,  Suzie  & Gaby Henshel, (de Groen),  June and Yalta Gervis,   Suzanne & Linda Myers,  Aubrey Gamsu    Ada Gamsu,   Maurice Hockman, Margo and Peter Philips,

HOUGHTON people. Michael, Brian & Jennifer Lever,    Molly Robinson,  Harry & Philip Sacks,    Sharon Smith (Munitz)  

HIGHLANDS NORTH  People. -   Brian, Stanley & Karen Feinstein (Joseph),   Max Schiff (O”h)

WHO REMEMBERS   -  Hymie Brest,  (Mayfair/ Kensington)  and his friend (to this day) Alec Ross   (Bez Valley).  Certainly part of the  “Main Manne” crowd.  

 ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA …………………………………

Where’re you okes jolling to?       Jollers.     Lekker Jol.

 Where are your folks tonight.

 Volkspeeler.     The Sakkie sakkie

 I’m only chaafing, man?     Sweet Obeet.!!     Lekker soos ‘n krekker (cracker)

 Wat ‘s goedkoop is duur koop.       Stille water – Diepe grond,

 Eina!     Skyfies.   Veldskoene.    Breekers.

 Don’t tune me Chandies

 Check that little lightie, he’s  two bricks and a tickey high

 Ever since Pa fell off the bus.

 Give me a bell, hey?       Bell me.    Love you stax.     I’ll  fetch you just now

 African women sitting on the street corners calling out   HEY Mielieeeeee -  Tickey Mielieeeeeeeee.    

 Vrystaat!  

 Vat hom Fluffy.

 I’ve got Sut.

 They’re so larnie!

 My ou’ man is giving me uphill

 My Skattebol.

 I feel up to Paw-Paw.  I feel up to Maggots.

 ‘Strue’s Bob…??       No….. You LIE !!!

 SHOT !!!!!!!!   (SHOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT)

 Skit ‘n donner (donder) (the movies)

  And Observatory café where boys played pinball and they had ‘Pennyline Sweets’ where you could buy 2 for a penny  and cafés had Jukeboxes . Remember the old 78 records (those were in the fifties though) and then the LPs - wow, and when those came out we thought we’d died and gone to Heaven, and the 45 speed records.   Cassettes, and tape recorders,   reel-to-reel tape-recorders (I still have one).

Boys had a way of walking, hands in pockets, only the thumbs visable and rolled from side to side with a sort of rolling gait, and the more they rolled as they walked, the more macho they felt!  

Who remembers ????……     Debras  (Schmaltz), and  when a tub of Yoghurt cost 8c, and an Appleltizer cost the same, a bar of Cadburys chocolate cost 5c and there was a chocolate bar called “Honeycrisp” also for 5c, and you could get a Toasted Cheese  for 15c.    Stamps cost 2½ cents .  If you left the envelope open, it was cheaper…     Airletter forms in green,   airmail writing paper, airmail envelopes and Basildon Bond writing paper.

STREETS in Yeoville/ Bellevue,    -   Raleigh St,   Rockey St,   Bezuidenhout St.,  Isipingo St., Raymond St , Hopkins St,  Yeo St,    Kenmere Rd,  Fortèsque Rd,    Becker St,   Cavendish Rd,    Bedford Rd,   Webb St,   Natal St, Isipingo,   St. Georges Rd,   Ellis St.,

 YEOVILLE BOXING CLUB  - Sammy Samson  and his son Cedric who sang as a child, and he had a group at some stage called “the FireFlies”   I think Alan Goldstein who was also a child singer may well have been part of that band ( later known as Alan Gold) .

How many people remember……. The Black Steer in Yeoville   - fab apple crumble and double thick cream and  in the 1960s the price of a Steerburger, with Pickled Cucumber, fried onions and salad was 45c ……….but at the Golden Spur,  the Burger would cost you 50c and the Yeoville crowd felt that was too expensive!)  Norman’s Grill (for Prawns!) in the Jeppe Hotel.    East Africa Pavilion (well known for it’s curries, where the waiters wore a red “fez”,  The 252 Tavern.   His  Majesty’s Cellars,   69 Grill.

 and Kosher -  Connoisseur Hotel,(Gloria Rootshtain) (long gone)

 And remember-   The Rosenkowitz 6   from Cape Town, first surviving Sextuplets in the World

 And when Arcadia (Jewish Orphanage and Home for Jewish children) was in Forestown

 DAENITE Pharmacy, Orange Grove.  Owned by  Chookie BRENNER .  and the okes that worked there, Mervin  Rappoport, Issy Peimer, Cecil Chweidan (O”h), Ivan Dorff, Solly Branstein, and a girl called Lola but I can’t remember her surname.   And     Dr. Chris Barnard, (Heart Transplants Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town)

 And the …… the motor racing at   Kyalami Race Track

 And the Motor Rallys?. Anyone remember  Lionel Gilinsky?    He raced something called “Production cars” in “Endurance Races” at Old Grand Central Circuit ( Halfway House, now called Midrand) in the late 60’s and 70’s  -   and later “Historic” Cars at Kyalami Race Track.  He was known to be amongst  South Africa’s Top 3 Racing and Motor rally drivers in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.   Not bad for a boy from Welkom!!

Attorneys. -   Moss Morris & Ettlinger, (Lennie Ettlinger,   Max Levenberg,   Selwyn Cohen,   Hilliard Gordon,  articled clerks then - Rodney Berman and John Gilbert,  Also a Selwyn someone articled clerk).     Routlege Douglas   Wilson   Auret  & Wimble,      Wides , Chain & Berman  (Cyril Wides, Inky (Ian) Chain and Rodney Berman),     Edward Nathan.      Israel, During & Kossuth

Tour Operators - Springbok (Atlas) Safaris,  (Julie Lapedus).

Accountants.   Sussman and Lange (Trevor Sussman and David Lange)  (cousin of Myron Lange, the Surgeon) later known as Sussman Goddard.

HILLBROW.  We always went to The  Curzon and  Clarendon for 7/6- , ( later 75c,)  and then a Bioscope called the International (owned by Herman and Maxwell Youngelson) was opened at the top of Pretoria Street and there it would cost you between 90c and R1.00, but the seats were so comfy and the whole bioscope was so plush, that the Yeovillites felt it was well worth the extra.  

Anyone remember The  French Hairdressing Saloon    (a Mrs. Sher was the manageress) and the  OK  Bazaars and Carnival Novelty.

ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA  ………………………….

I’m going for a goof this arvy.       ‘Scopes,   Flicks, Flik,     What’s the “Aggie”?     

Hy het  haar uitgeskop, verstaan jy my?

Check my new jammy!

 We going to Durbs with the car,  probably see lots of ‘Vaalies there, all the ou toppies,   tannies  and   ooms,  nie waar nie?

My ol’ lady!       My ol’ man.    

My broer !    My sussie.    My Ouma,    My Oupa

 Knobkerrie.   Sjambok

 It’s so hot, I’m vrekking off   here.

 D’is Baie Mooi

 He lives in the Gramadoelas….

 She lives in the Bundu…

 The Dingas

 I was with Ruth, Heather and them

 Drink your SUP !!     there’s a plate on the Zinc

 Let’s make a plan…..

 Cows give us MULK!

 My one aunt    My one leg,    My one arm,    My one finger   My one toe

 Broekies

 The word “THE.  ” I learned in school that before a consonant we say “THE” .   “THE” bed,  “THE” table,  “THE” book. And before a vowel the have to prounce the “the” as “THEE”…………….  “THEE”  Apple,   “THEE” elephant,  “THEE” egg.

 So why then, do we hear (only in South Africa) people saying   “THUH” apple,  “THUH” Elephant,  “THUH” egg.  Please hold for “THUH” Operator.   And why do some of us say  “the PHOTA” when it is clearly “PHOTO”.

FOLKSINGING Era .   Who remembers the  Nite beat, run by Abe (who ran the tuck shop at the Yeoville Swimming Pool), and the folk-singers Ian & Ritchie ( Ian Lawrence and Ritchie Morris),    Des and Dawn (Lindberg)(“And the Seagull’s name was Nelson”) (Dawn wore her hair in two pigtails then) Colin Shamley,   Dave Marks (“Mountains of Men”  and “Master Jack”) Cornelia, And  The Troubador,  The College Set - Andy Levy,  Hugh Solomon,  Norman Cohen)     Keith Blundell and the Baladeers,     Aubrey and Beryl Ellis.     Mervyn and Jocelyn Miller (from Potch).   Mel, Mel and Julian (Mel Miller, Mel Green, and Julian Laxton.

BIKERS and the Hell’s Angels, wearing black leather jackets, chains and the peace sign often around their necks,  roaring down Pretoria St and Kotze St on Harley Davidsons making a helluva racket, some of the more nervous  Biker girls precariously hanging  onto their boyfriend’s backs,  but “the in girls” didn’t hold on, they somehow balanced themselves by placing their hands nonchelantly behind the seat, looking around, throwing their hair back, with a  “don’t- sig–with- me” look, lazer- beam- eyes, -looking–out- through- thick- black- fringes, and a tattoo here and there.  

And nobody did “sig” with them, either.  

 The FLYING SAUCER is where they all met.   Pretoria Street, Hillbrow.

Hillbrow’s Eateries and Coffee Bars   Doney’s coffee bar for the best cappuccino in town (who remembers  Jeftah and George, the Duke)    Café Wien (later on), with the most comfortable seats,   it was like sitting in your own lounge,  Café Krantzler,    Dunk-a-donut, The  Milky Lane,  the Florian (where the bus turned to go down Twist street to Town).    Mi Vami,   Lucky  Luke  (Steak House in the 70s),  Fontana, open 24 hours a day, (famous for their chickens roasted on a spit,)  Pikin-a-chicken,   Porter House (Frulatto and the best Pink Sauce in town) not to mention the steaks (not that I ate them being one of the Kosher Kids, but I was sorely tempted, HA HA HA) and the German Beer Keller,  The Hamburger Hut,  Golden Egg,   Bella Napoli. Kiss-Kiss.

 The CHEZA in Jeppe Street.  Famous for Muesli.

 HAIR STYLES and fashion.  We dyed our hair black with Palette where you dropped a white tablet into some black gunky muck and we all had pitch black hair. The Blacker your hair, the more “sharp” you were.   We teased it and wore it in Wings, and the bigger the Wings were, the more “with it” you were.   And remember the stiff petticoats under your many Flared skirts,   and cat-eye glasses?  Helanca stove-pipes,  in all colours.  Studded Belts, Box Pleated skirts,  and ID Bracelets (with your boyfriend’s name engraved on the inside), Plaid pinafores came later on, and a ridiculous little narrow velvet bow on a clip or hairgrip which we found a space for in the teased bird’s nest, usually just to the back of the fringe. And also a thin chiffon scarf tied around the hair.  White high-heeled shoes  (I wouldn’t be seen dead in half the things we wore then)

My Mom always said that my hair was like a Bird’s Nest at the back, but then I didn’t have eyes at the back of my head,  (just as well).  Boys wore their hair sleeked back with Brylcream and Vitalis and all bought their t-shirts from the Skipper Bar. (Arnie, Mervyn, Earle and Barry Sacks) Black t-shirts with  thin white and red stripes around the neck.   And a corresponding white tee-shirt, with black and red stripes.  If you didn’t have one of those, you were not one of the “in” boys!!!!  

 And then girls started to iron their hair.   I remember my Mother used to plonk my head onto the ironing board, and put a brown paper bag on top of it, and iron away until I had sleek straight hair, but then the minute it rained, I looked at though someone has plugged me into an electric socket….  Durbs did the same to all those who had out-of-control hair -    Frizzed them out in 2 mns flat,  in fact as soon as you got to Van Reenen’s Pass into Natal, you knew you were there because your hair suddenly was on its own mission……..

and who Whirled their hair?????  Oy -  a bittereh gelechter….. We whirled it One way, then the other way, and you had dead straight hair (until you hit the 505 Club and the first thing you’d notice is that your fringe was just “not there” anymore) and the rest of your poor hair style was all moving in different directions.  If it was raining, and you opened your front door, bang went the straight hair.

Remember those little DOEKs we wore on our head when we went to Durbs.  I have a photo of myself wearing one.

COME ON GIRLS  - who used to sleep with curlers/rollers in their hair!! and who remembers using the inside of a TOILET ROLL as an emergency roller???????  And all this lot would be covered over by a hairnet.   Of course morning brought a splitter- of- a- headache from the curlers digging into your head.  Anyone remember?  Bet you do!!!  I DO!! There you are, the big ADMIT……….   What on EARTH did we look like?  I don’t even want to think about it …………………

I always say that if I have to come back in another life, I want to come back as ME but with dead straight hair. Second choice, I wouldn’t mind coming back as one of my spoilt-out-of-control  Dachshunds either (but the  straight haired type, not the wiry haired) (ha ha)

 GYM:    Bodybuilders, weight-lifters and wannabes came strutting out of Gyms such as  Sam Busa  and   Monte Osher  all fit and glistening, with huge shoulder muscles, and killer smiles  - carrying black gym bags.  And  Reg Park’s Gym,  ALSO somewhere in Hillbrow.

YOGA:    Mannie and Alan FINGER,   Nina OBEL

MODEL AGENCIES: .  Stella Grove and Gianna Pizanello

DANCING STUDIOS and DANCERS:    Natalie Stern      the late Mercedes Molina,    Jeffrey Neiman  (Enrique Segovia) & Rhoda Rifkin,    Bernice Hotz , Gitanella   (Spanish, Ballet,) Shirley Klitzner (O”h)  (later in the 70s Hilary Etkind - taught with Rhoda and Jeffrey)    (anyone who ever loved Spanish dancing, will remember Mercedes Molina/ Jeffrey Neiman as a brilliant dance duo)  (and will remember the very sad passing away of Shirley Klitzner (O”h) when she was barely into her twenties).

 PHOTOGRAPHERS.   Maurice,   Kurt Slesinger,    Karklin,  when it was fashionable to stand your wedding photo on an small easel on the floor.  Either carpet or parquet flooring.  Stella Nova .

RUGBY. Alan MENTER   Springbok Flyhalf, and   Sid NOMIS Springbok - Center, and later Wing),   Alan is married to Pam (ex Pretoria) and his Brothers are  Brian, Robert (Robbie) and Mandy (Malcolm (Z”l)) Menter. Their Mom Esmé (O”h)  grew up with mine, in Dublin.  Syd is married to Ann.

 CRICKET.    Dr. Ali BACHER  former South African cricket captain and one of the greastet cricketers in South Africa. Ali BACHER received South Africa’s Sports Merit Award, the country’s HIGHEST athletics honour. Ali is married to Shira (I am friendly with Shira’s sister Marsha KARKLIN,) and I remember their daughter Ann being a Tennis champion when she was just a little kid of 11 in the days of the “Jewish Guild”  Other well known South African Jewish cricketers came later on, Mandy YACHAD , and later Adam BACHER, nephew of Dr. Ali Bacher

TYPEWRITERS.    My first memory of a type writer was that old black thing with with a keyboard with round circular lettering and a typewriter ribbon.   My Mom used one in Dublin,  Then I remember the Olivetti and also a swiss typewriter,  but the ones where you would have to bash a silver thing on the upper  right to go to a new line.  I remember electric typewriters, and using a white powdery Tippex  thing for covering up mistakes, except that they never quite covered them up, particularly on the carbon copies. And remember the carbon copies.. HA HA,  and when I worked for lawyers, they didn’t allow those tippex rub-outs, so one little mistake and you had to start all over again. Remember STENCILS and Roneo-ing various blurb.   I can remember using a bright shocking pink liquid with the stencils, I think.  We wrote to “Messers. So and so”, and we’d end off with “ I remain, Yours Faithfully”

 WEDDINGS  and when the Bride/Kallah would change into her “going away outfit” and the blissful couple would leave the wedding to go off on their honeymoon.  When Bride’s kept their vails on the entire night. When there were only 4 pole-holders and the Bride’s  parents paid for the entire wedding, and the Groom/Chossen’s parents would pay for the booze, the photographer and the flowers.

 THE CIRCUS   Boswell-Wilkie. I hated the circus, terrified of the animals and sorry for them at the same time, a hypnotized crocodile once got out- of- control and strarted climbing out of the ring into the screaming audience. Clowns clowning around were never my scene, and when the trapeze artists or the tight-rope walkers did their act, my heart was always in my mouth, terrified they would fall or something.  One did once, I can never get that memory out of my mind.  

ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA ……………………………………

 I dopped my exams and my folks are having a cadenza -  *Snot ’n trana  all round ….. (*Yiddish Equivalent is Vainin ‘n Kloggin, well, that is the Yiddish we used in Ireland).  

Chips, here comes the Teacher.

I’ll have a dop of brandy.

Ops me a pencil.  

Baie Dankie…….. hoor!    Aseblieftog!

Plaasjapie.

Safe my mate !!!!   (and the hand movement – very important) -   forefinger/little finger pointed up while thumb was holding middle/ ring finger down) - done with a wag-type-movement, like fast- mode windscreen wipers.

We’re Chommies  

Cheers!  

There’s a Miggie in my room.  

Kyk  daai (Daardie) Goggoh (as in insect, not as in “GOGO” -  Zulu for Granny)

Boeremeisie.     Mevrou,     Mejuffrou/Juffrou,     Meneer

Kyk na daardie lelike ding………………

 Kombi

 Gooi

 Waneer u die syn hoor, is dit agtien uur, twee en vyftig minute en dertig sekondes…………..

 Around 1964 came the Beatles, (“8 days a week”, “Love Love me do” and later, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s club Band” “Hey Jude”)  The Rolling Stones, (Angie)  the Mini Skirt era and  Mary Quant and the birth of the Discothèque .    Op Art earings in gaudy colours and the skirts continued to get shorter.  Girls wore double breasted Pin stripe suits which made a come back.  The Boutiques were born.  I remember the  BENATER family had a great boutique “Carnabies”, at the top of Rissik Street, or near there.  It was, I think, the first shop of it’s kind.  Very modern, trendy and for the young (20s and 30s).  And the Pink Panther was in Hillbrow - Also very trendy gear.

 Remember Twiggy?……….  She was on every Magazine cover, often holding her Teddy Bear, feet pidgeon-toed, with beautiful big brown eyes, and a body so thin, she could fit through a crack in the wall.   She started a trend, her, and “the Shrimp” -  (Jean Shrimpton),  and Mary Quant.

 AND   Op Art Earings     in strange shapes and gaudy colours, shorter skirts, and flattie shoes.  

 The First Disco was at the Summit Club, Marrakech,  (around 1966) with Go-Go dancers Dixie,  Felicity Fouché, and  Christine all dancing away in the micro-est of Mini-Skirts.   Johnny Martin (previously known as Martin Raff) was the owner, and I heard he also owned a club called 007.

Someone called Neville Peacock was the Marrakech DJ and there were psychdelic and ultra violet lights and if you stood under the latter, all your “klein-goed” shone like a beacon for all to see.  

And   the 505 also in Hillbrow.  Eddie Eckstein and Paul Ditchfield - The Bats played there on a Sunday ),  and the Diamonds  and  Gene Rockwell (Heart!”) as did the Basemen (Ronnie Cline on Keyboard, Ralph Simon – Singer, Rodney Caines – Bass Guitar, Leon Bilewitz – drummer and Irwin Kalis – Lead Guitar) and Clive Calder,  (Les Markowitz on drums) also played at “Club-a-go-go” and also they toured around the countryside and played at various venues.

Also Johnny Congos (“Sealed with a Kiss”),  Johnny and the G-Men,  and Johnny Sharp,   4 Jacks and a Jill.   The Staccatos.  Did I mention Manfred Mann? (“pretty Flamingo”)

 MORE CLUBS   - TJ’s  (town) and The Yellow Submarine (Hillbrow) (owned by Martin HART) and the Boat (Buccleuch) were in the latter part of the sixties  and the Downstairs later called The Purple Marmalade somewhere in Hillbrow.  Another Disco was owned by George McCauley, brother of  Ray, opposite Joubert Park (Club-A-Go-Go),  His Granny worked in the tuckshop and was always so nice to everyone.  The Band there was the “Falling Leaves” and George was in the Band.   The Electric Circus,  And  Raffles , a very fancy disco/restaurant but that was in the late 70s. Owned by Dave Kerney. (I think).  The Stable in Jan Smuts Avenue. The Out of Town Club

 And who remembers the other Bioscopes -  The   Colosseum with the twinkling lights,  Cliff Richard sang there once, and a few girls from Barnato Park were expelled for bunking school and going to his concerts.    His Majestys,   Monte Carlo (French Movies),  The  Empire,   20th Cen. Fox - Pritchard Street,  Cinerama (Claim and Noord)  In those days there was an interval after the News and the Cartoons, and Usherettes would be standing at each exit with a tray with all the Munchies and Chocolates, cold-drinks, etc. The  Apollo  in Doornfontein.  I’ve already mentioned the Yeoville Bioscopes earlier on. Who remembers the “Midnight Shows”   the Astra and the Victory in Orange Grove, The Rex in Greenside. The Plaza, the Bijou in town and some flea-bitten run down Café Bio which no decent self-respecting girl would touch with a barge-pole, but I can’t remember it.  A lot of the Yale College boys went there. But not the girls!!!!

People smoked in the bioscopes (“scopes”) then and when you looked up, you saw it all swirling around in smoke from the projector.  Nice and healthy!!   but nobody ever noticed it.  It was just a part of life in the sixties.

REMEMBER WHEN ……….  we went to Bioscope on a Saturday night, dressed up in your A-line dress, or a Box- Pleated skirt, or tiny hound’s-tooth straight skirt in black/white and your black patent high-heeled shoes, with a Black Patent leather bag to match, and your gloves (which you carried in your hand).  And later you wore your Dress with the shorter hemline, Mini-Skirts, and  your “A-line evening coat” (Jackie Kennedy), just on the knee,  and your flattie shoes, the hair teased up to the high heavens and lacquered so heavily that if it rained, you looked like glue. (Boys hated teased and lacquered hair)

And the boys wore jarmins and Elvis Presley hair-styles with thin ties made of nylon or similar in a machine-crochet style.    (Later when the Beatles came in, boys’ hairstyles changed forever, and no boy would be seen dead with Brylcream or Vitalis plastered on his head).  Boys would never  previously been seen in pastel colours, but the Beatles changed all those dark shirts for pink, mauve and lemon, with a pin collar near the tie. 

Boys would buy you a 75c box of Black Magic chocolate at Interval.  If you put it into your black patent leather handbag and never offered him one, then your name was mud, and girls judged boys by whether they opened the car door for you …. or not!

 AND SOME OF THE MOVIE STARS ….,   Natalie Wood,    Kathryn Hepburn,  Rock Hudson,   Doris Day,   Steve McQueen,   Sohia Loren,    Alain Delon (the heart-throb of the 60’s) (who remembers him in “Purple noon”) Gina Lollobridgida,   Raquel Welsh,    Bridgitte Bardot,   Ursula Andress,   Warren Beatty,  Jack Nicholson (One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest),   Shirley McLaine,     Julie Christie,    Michael Caine,  Elizabeth Taylor,   Richard Burton,    Paul Newman,    Sal Mineo,    Suzanne Pleshette,   Richard Burton,    Sean Connery,    Omar Sharif,    Charlton Heston,   Gregory Peck (to die for?) James Dean

 POPULAR MOVIES.   West side story,   King Kong,  Gone with the Wind,   Exodus,   Dr. No,   *From Russia with Love,   * (Remember in that movie, the Russian woman (was her name someone KREBBS?) who had a knife come out of her boot and it shot straight into poor Sean Connery’s shin bone. EINA!     Just thinking about it, hurts me)   Bridge on the River Kwai,    Dr. Zhivago,    Goldfinger,   (it had a great theme song in it  by I think Shirley Bassey) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,   Annie Get your Gun,    Dingaka.

 And the DRIVE INs     Old Pta Road -   Jhb Drive in,   The 5-Star (Eloff St.Ext),  The Velskoen  (If a girl was seen at the drive in with a boy, she got a “bad name” and the same for the Café Bio’s.  It was just not for a nice Jewish girl!!

 REMEMBER WHEN ….. there was NO Bioscope on Sunday nights

 THEATRES.  Alhambra (Doornfontein) ,   Brian Brooke (Braamfontein),     Market Theatre ( Newtown),     Alexander theater ,    Jacques Brel,     Apollo (Doornfontein).

 Remember the Adverts for all the Cigarettes,  Players,  Craven "A", Dunhill (remember the maroon Rolls Royce?)  Benson & Hedges (Gold) ,   Lexington (That’s the one!),   Gunston (remember him on a raft, all macho,manly, unshaven and rough and ready tumbling through impossible rivers?)   Horseshoe Tobacco,     Gold Dollar,    Texan, (which the boys would hold between their thumb and middle finger)   Lucky Strike,   Gauloise and Peter Stuyvesant (for the fun lovers, remember the wonderful places they went to and the great clothes they wore, swimming in glorious lagoons, skiing down snow-capped mountains, all the beautiful people,all  having wonderful fun?)  I never smoked,(well, I have to say that, in case my family read this article, ha ha) but after I watched the Peter Stuyvesant adverts, I really felt like buying a packet , so that I too, could go to all those magical places, and I’d look glamerous too,  HA HA   - (the power of advertising!) (A Bittereh Gelechter!!)

But it just looked so “in” to see people smoking, and girls would hold the cigarettes at the tips of their fingers, and waved their hands for effect as they spoke, shaking their fringes out of their eyes.   People who didn’t smoke, were “squares”.  

I remember Celeste GREENBLATT, taught me how to apply black pencil inside my eyelids, and ‘base” onto my face and to wear white lipstick and I taught Sandra STEIN (later Ezra) to dye her hair black, and the blacker the better, (her  Mother had a FIT)  - Golda (née Kaufman)  (O”h) whom I saw yearly in LA and she never failed to remind me ! 

FLORA and FAUNA in South Africa.  I remember once being enthralled by the most magnificent yellow creeper we had growing on the fence in Becker Street.  I took photos of it, and sent it to my friends in Dublin to show the exotic flora and fauna is this beautiful sunny South Africa, until Michael GOLDING next door, laughed his head off and said “but that’s only Canary Creeper, it’s not much better than a common garden weed”!!     African Violets,  Jasmin, Golden Shower,   Begonia Sherera,   Bougainvillea,    Pointsettia,   Birds of Paradise,  Cycads?. Maybe they do grow overseas too.

 PARTIES   in   Observatory,   Cyrildene and   Dewetshof.  We rock ‘n rolled to Elvis Presley’s   “Jail house rock” & “Don’t step on my blue suede shoes”, “Rock around the Clock”   in our flared skirts with stiff petticoats underneath, the more the better, and huge belts around our waists, and we wore flat shoes (75c at Maram’s chemist, and 95c for the leopard skin ones).   And later we twisted with Chubby Checker (Let’s Twist again, like we did last summer )   We also did a dance called the Shake – anyone remember the song “I’ll do the Shake, the hippy- hippy shake” and also a dance called the Madison.

 The Bez Valley Ou’s, on a Sat night Jol, and the Lebs  would sometimes gatecrash. Usually a Scuffle and the girl’s father would have to ask them to leave.  Sometimes, in stubborn cases the police would have to be called in to skop them all out.  And then the party continued on,    Little Richard,   Cliff Richard,   -   sometimes a few of the kids would have a bit of “dagga”, (a zol), on the stoep or in the back garden when they thought nobody was looking, and the only way anyone kopped on was because they would come back to the party with a manic laugh, and red eyes. (and of course the smell, but if you admitted to knowing the smell, then it meant you were a dagga smoker yourself!)    Trini Lopez. “If I had a hammer”

 SOCIALS at   Oxford Shul,  The Vrede Hall,    Yeoville Recreation Center,    Temple Shalom,   and Bands like “Dinkie and the Deans” - Jake (Gerald) Fox  (Z”l) (rhythm Guitar),  Barry Sacks (Lead Guitar),  Spencer Hodgson (Bass guitar)  and Errol Sack on the drums, would play, they also played at the Club 505 in “the Brow”.   Peter Lotus well known Jhb Disc Jockey,  I think he sang as well.  Lots of singers used to go to Margo’s on a Sunday Afternoon, and the crowd would all hot-foot it out there after them to hear music. I think it was Bapsfontein, or near there).    There was little else to do on a Sunday, so many places were closed.  Just remembered another band, Dave Levine and the Swinging Angels.   Les Gutfreund was one of the band and  made a name for himself as Les Goode. “Dickie Loader and the Blue Jeans”  Gene Rockwell – Heart.

NIGHT CLUBS and Bands.  Bennie Michaels,    Archie Silansky and his daughter Carole Sands     The Coconut Grove  at the Orange Grove Hotel,    Dan Hill (Ichilchik),     The Colony at the Hyde Park Hotel,    Sardi’s,    The  Mediteranean (I Cinque di Roma),  Diamond Horseshoe,   The Greek Taverna,     Ciro’s (Kruis Street)

 STORES.   John Orrs,     The Belfast,     Greatermans,     ABC Shoes, Dodo’s,   Barnes Shoes,   Ackermans,     Ansteys later Garlics,      Katz & Lourie,     Mr. Man,      Man about Town,    Stuttafords,      Woolworths,     Deans Mans’ shop,     Skipper Bar,       O.K Bazaars,     Cuthberts,     Markhams,      Millews,       K. Marks ( curtains),    Juta's,     Bothner & Polliack (records,   Henri Lidji Gallery,   Derbers Furs,     FDF (Fruit & Dried Fruits)   Vanité (Ladies clothes)     Bradlows,      Geen & Richards,     Shepherd & Barker (Furniture),    CAN,     Jaffs (Fabrics),   Mosenthals,    Dicks (Sweets) - Rissik Street, and later on  Morkels, your two year guarantee store!   Putzys.    McCullogh & Bothwell (School Uniforms).

 REMEMBER WHEN we would get all dressed up to go to town, to have tea at Ansteys sitting alongside Ladies in beautiful outfits, white gloves, smart, elegant, men in suits, with white shirts and ties

 MUSIC  Soul music was popular in the 60s,   Aretha Franklin,   Jimi Hendrix,    Carla Thomas,    Otis Redding (“sitting on the Dock of the Bay”),  Percy Sledge (“ Midnight Hour”, and Music from Brasil, Sérgio Mendes,  Herb Alpert and the Tijuana brass.

And of course, Johnny Mathis,  Charles Aznavour,  Simon and Garfunkel, José Feliciano

And ….  REMEMBER WHEN , our Mothers would ring a little bell at suppertime, and the “servant” (oi, how COULD we have??) would come in with the next course. And when your “boy” did the garden and the “girl” cooked.  

 SHULS   Lions Shul (Doornfontein),   Wolmarans street ( Rabbi Rabinowitz 50’s and 60’s, then Chief Rabbi Casper)    Yeoville Shul (Rabbi Lapin),   Adas Yeshuran (Yeoville) ,   The Bnei Akiva Shul (Raleigh Street),  Greenside Shul,    Emmerentia,     Fordsburg,   Sydenham Highlands North,  Mayfair (Rabbi Zagenov) , Kensington Shul (Rabbi Rabinowitz),   The Curve  (Observatory),   Berea Shul (Rabbi Bender and Rabbi Aloy),    Oxford Shul (Rabbi Bernhard),   Chassidic Shul (Rabbi Lipskar)     Cyrildene,    Temple Emanuel (? and  Rabbi Assabi),  Temple Israel (Rabbi Super), Temple Shalom,   Temple Beth-El (Rabbi Ben Isaacson)   Sandton Shul (BHH) Rabbi ZS Suchard (but that was in the 70’s) Yeo Street Shul.  Reverend Symanovitz from Yeoville Beth Din.  The Beth Din was in Raleigh Street then.

 CHAZONIM. Chazen Hass,   Chazen Bagley,   Chazen Dudu Fisher (1970s early 80’s),   Chazen Johnny Glück (Wolmarans) in the eighties (Choirmaster Prof. David Cohen). Chazen Hasdan, (Warmbaths) Chazen Badash, (Yeoville, Choirmaster *Malovany) Chazan Mandel (Berea Shul) – Gus Levy choirmaster.  (* a world reknowned Chazen - I did attend a concert of his here in Jhb a number of years ago), Chazen Berele Chagy

 Yeoville Shul Choir,   Lionel Levin,   Kenny and Colin Koransky  and their father, Natie Koransky, Martin Harris, Len Bobroff,  Stanley Feinstein,  Brian Feinstein,  Robert Lapedus, David Shapiro.   The Choirmaster was Mr. Himmelstein,  I think his son Lior, was in the Choir too.  Colin Opwald.   Benny Lipchick (Z”l)

 KIDS at the Yeoville Shul…. Percy Suntup,   Fivie (Phillip) and Hymie (Z”l) Symanowitz,   Olga Berelowitz,   Joan Morris,   Karen Feinstein,   Linda and Stanley Chitiz,   Wolfie and Marlene Teper,   me and my Boet,  Robert Lapedus, Gillian Erster and her brother Moishe Erster,   Naomi Shapiro,   Marilyn & Sheila Atkins,  David Shapiro,  Rhoda Shapiro,  Jenny Winnick,    Alan Kaye,   Philip Eliason,   Sheila Hahn and Irma Keifer   I remember David and Daniel Lapin, ( Rabbi Lapin’s sons) being at the Shul  .

 Beni Akiva and Habonim Camps.   Betar.  Hashomer Ha’tza-ir (spelling, whoops!!)

 AND REMEMBER WHEN the only children at a barmitzvah function were the Barmitzvah boy and his siblings, who were allowed to stay up for the night.  The entire Simcha was for adults and the only time you heard the Barmi boy, was when he made his speech.    Robert’s Barmitzvah was a Kiddush at home after Shul, and a “tea” that evening for a few friends of my Parents.  Many kids had that kind of Barmi.  Who knew then from Theme  Barmitzvahs.  

 AND …..When Children were children, and played snakes and ladders, and ludo, dominoes, monopoly, yo-yo’s, and they read out of the Local Libraries and they played Cowboys and Indians, ( just entertained themselves.  No Video games, computers, cell phones, I-pods, Electronic everything… and No TV then either.  

BANKS and Building Societies.  Barclays,   Volkskas Bank,   Allied Building Society,  SA Perm(inent)   The UBS (United Building Society)  SA Perm,    NBS (Natal Building Society)   Trust Bank  

 ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA ……………………………….

 J’’’’enesburg!

Ag Shame, man, were you home stokkies aleen??

Wikkel.   Sikkel.    I’ve got no tom, hey?

Koeksusters.      Konfyt.       Biltong.        Vet-koek.        Braaivleis.

Boerevors en Pap.        Poitjiekos.     Mielie.   Rooibos Tea.    

Grondboontjiebotter

Ouma se Rusks.       Fanny Farmers

“Hau”

The Tokoloshe is coming…      Dorp !   Pandotjie!  

 He rocked up in an old  Skedonk.

Question.     Hallo Meneer………. Hoe Gaan Dit met jou vandag?.     

Answer.       Ag , No…..  Fine ….Jaaaaa,……….   Kan nie Klaar Nie !

My Oom se Bakkie

My Gran did the “Charlston”, but that was back in Nineteen voetsak

Why are you still Gaan-ing on?   you  Poepal !!  

He is so Grotty….. A real Dweet …….A Drip.

It’s …Kwaai.   It’s …. Skarm.

 HOTELS : The Carlton (original Carlton) ,  Moulin Rouge,  The Chelsea Hotel (Hillbrow) (I think this is where the Jacques BREL theatre was)  Casa Mia,    Langham ,    Gresham,    the Jeppe Hotel (Norman’s Grill)     Victoria ( Plein Street near Station),  Criterion ,   Landrost hotel (Anabelles nightclub).    Tollman Towers – (next to Jeppe Street Post Office),    The President Hotel (Eloff Street),   Anlar Hotel (Hillbrow),   Courtleigh Hotel (Berea),   Jocelyn Residential Hotel (Claim Street Joubert Park),    the Quirinal,   Waldorf ,  and Balalaika which was then way out in the “country” - Sandown,  which is today, a hub of activity. The Skyline,   The Capri  and The Park Royal

 SQUAD CARS.   HOT RODS and the name Buddy Fuller comes into my head for some reason.

MOTORTOWN. Remember when all the motor dealerships were in Eloff Street, Ext.  Motortown.   And names like  Rillstone Motors (Agents for the Simca),   Lawson Motors, (Agents for Volvo),    Lucy’s Motors  (Katz) (Agents for Fiat),  Curries Motors,   Grosvenor Motors ( Agents for Ford),    Sydney Clow  (Agents for Peugeot),     and a dealeship in Anderson Street called T.A.K. Motors, (Agents for Lancia and Ferrari), Ronnie Bass,  (Sigma)

 And then Main Street became the used car center for Jhb.   Austin ,   Chevrolet,    Mercury,     Buick,    Dodge,     Morris Minor,     Mini Minor,     Hillman Minx,     Ford Fairlane,     Vauxhall Victor,     Ford Cortina,     (Ford) Zeyphyr,     Sunbeam.  Killarney Toyota.   Lionel Gilinsky (Pilot, Motor Rally Driver/Racer) Brenner Toyota in Braamfontein,        Chookie Brenner  

PETROL     Shell,    BP,   Mobil (Engen),   Sasol,    Trek,   Caltex,    Total,  

 REMEMBER WHEN Milk was delivered to the house????, in proper Milkbottles with red tinfoil caps, and the cream would be all at the top of the bottle? And Nel’s Rust Dairy in Victory Park.

 DOORNFONTEIN. – Apollo Cinema  near Crystals,  Crystals, Beit Street (who later moved to Yeoville)   Wachenheimers, Goldenbergs,  and  Nussbaums, all in Beit Street, and Dairy Alhambra (Zama Levine) - opposite the Alhambra Theatre in Beit Street. Zama Levine had the shop for about 40 years (according to his daughter Gloria Levine Ash).  Gloria’s mom was from the ICHILCHIK family (Dan Hill and Gloria’s Mom, Emma Ichilchik Levine (a cellist)  were siblings.  Dembo’s in Beit Street.   The famous sculptor Anton Von Wouw lived next door to the Alhambra and opposite Gloria Levine’s (Ash) Grandfather, Mr. Ichilchik in Doornfontein. American Café for ice-cream, Sour Kraut, Hot Dogs, Millers Antiques on Simert Road.  Campbells.  Cohen’s Café.   And Ellis Park.

Doornfontein Streets   Beit Street,   Siemert Road,   Siveright Avenue.  

And Segall’s Sausages (Alf Segall) (spelling?). Kerk Street, York House.

 ROADHOUSES.   Dolls House (Highlands North), Casablanca (Nugget Hilll) Dakota (Crown Mines), and Uncle Charlies.

Ice CREAM.  Papagallo.

 WITS RAG   Down Eloff Street, with the floats, remember?    and the Rag Queens and Princesses.   I remember one particular Jewish Rag Princess of 1971, and still a beautiful girl to this day - Blond hair, gorgeous and looks like she just stepped out of vogue magazine -   June Gervis  ( - two sons, Grant and Richard Reichlin, both  of whom were at school with my children, Angela and Gregory Brest)

 ONLY IN SOUTH AFRICA ………………………………..

“She took me around”   Around where?

And what about   “See that ou??  -   he threw me with (wif) a stone”  

The Spanspek is Vrot!

Takkies.

Ag Dame! …………………..

Listen, Lady ………………

And how many South.Africans when they first arrived in America, England, Australia, Israel etc talked about taking their “costume” or “Cozzie” to the Beach.

She’s the   most prettiest   girl.

My ou’ man caught me smoking dagga, hey, and I got such a  SKRIK.

I bumped her on the corner of Cavendish and Becker Streets 

I didn’t scale anything

*Spek and Eiers   ( *Just because I know the name, doesn’t mean I’ve eaten it, see !)

Ek is a Ware Suid Afrikaaner.

Melktert!   Guavas,   Grenadilsh!!     Marmite,   Anchovette Paste,    Jungle Oats.

Comment - That bike is Kwaai, so lekker….   Answering comment  - MOH-SELFFFFFFF

YIDDISH/Jewish sayings -   In alle Schvartze Yohren,    He lives in  Alle Drerderin,    Meerskeit,  Fahrpackt,   Fahrkakte,    Fahrkrimpt,    Fahrbrempt,   Fahrshtunkender,  Farrible (Litvak word, in other countries they talk about a “Broigas”)   He’s a Shlemazzel,   He’s a Hundt,   He’s a Chaleria,  He’s a Peruvian,  He’s a Shlemiel, …  a Chazzer ….  a Mamzer,    She’s a plapper…. a Yenta,   Gei n Drerd,   Vos  Macht Tzu?,   Shreklich,  Chader (not the Chader where we learned Hebrew or Barmitzvahs) ,  Kitke,  Lax (lox in the USA)  I need that aggravation like a loch in kop?  I’m chalishing for some Petzah (In Dublin, we called it “Calves Foot Jelly”)  Alter Kakkers ,   Bobbe Meises,   Ebberbottled.  She’s such a kochelefel.

  Question  - How are you today Bobba ‘Chuma ???

Bobba’s answer -   Nu, does it do any good to complain???      

RADIO.   LM Radio  who remembers  the signature, “Aqui  Portugal Moçambique, fala-voz do Radio club em Lourenço Marques, transmitindo ondas curtas e médias

(This is (here is) Portugal, Moçambique, the voice of the Radio club in Lourenço Marques, transmitting in short and medium wave) with Evelyn Martin (Martins) .   David Davies and the LM Hit Parade and was it a little prayer ending off at midnight ?   With a sort of mournful depressing music to accompany it. Peter de Nobrega…  not sure which station..Bob Courtney  Eric Egen Springbok Radio , Paddy O’Byrne,  David Gresham (Gruesome Gresh) and Clark MacKay (Clackie MacKay) and Esmé Euverard (not sure if she was Springok Radio or what)  Charles Fortune (Cricket commentator)  Programmes like “Pets’ Parade”, and “the Creaking Door” –skriklig !!!!     David Gresham - Gruesome Gresh - (keep your feet on the ground ,and reach for the Stars)   Everyone remembers “JOHN BERKS” !!    - “Long John Berks” -   I always listened to the Talk shows and one show in particular has stayed in my mind. The Jhb Station Master, complete with an Afrikaans accent, (guess who) called a Yiddishe guy living somewhere in Killarney, to tell him that his consignment of chickens were on their way over.  You could hear what sounded like a few thousand chickens all clucking their heads off and the poor fellow was protesting, saying that it was the wrong number, it wasn’t him, some mistake and besides, he had a small balcony, and he didn’t have room for crates of chickens, but The “Station Master” kept on saying that he has nowhere for them either, the fellows’ name and address were on the crates and the chickens were going to be on their way, shortly..  What a “lag” that was.     Although this article is about the 60s, I can’t help but mention my fellow countryman, John Robbie, and John, if you ever get to read this   “Go mbeanna Dia Duit”   and enjoy Lá na Pádraig.

  AND  the Requests – I think It might have been Esmé Euverard who ran a programme, was it called “Forces Favourites”?   with Messages from girlfriends to their ou’s in the army,  with requests like this   “ Poppie, het jy ‘n boodskap”???   Poppy, are you there?  Speak up Poppie……., Poppie??      Crackle, crackle…..   Hallo,     crackle crackle ………..   Hallo, ja, D’is Poppie wat praat,  Ag, man, I’d like to send a message to my boyfriend at Voortrekker Hoogte??????       Daw-ling, I love you Verrry much???????? ,     ek het jou lief, my skat???      I hope you are orite and I cawnt wait til you are home again awready, Vasbyt  en Baie Liefde, van Poppie, hoor?       En  Frikkie says howwzit.   LOURENÇO MARQUES.   Polana Hotel,    Avenida 24 Julho (July),     o Zambi,    o Cisno Negro (Black Swan),   Xai Xai,    S. Martinho de Bilene (aka San Martino)  wonderful beaches,     prawns to die for (*just because I said that, doesn’t mean I ate them!!!)   “Cerveja” at sidewalk cafés,   Caldo Verde (soup),   wonderful buildings, Pregos.      

BUILDINGS such as    Palace Buildings,    Rand Club,     Old Arcade,   Markhams Technical College, Manners Mansions.     Broadcast House,  Essanby House,     Ponte  -  Harrow Road,     Rissik Street Post Office,     Union Grounds – Twist and Claim,Joubert Park.     The City Hall  -  Rissik Street. And in Jeppe Street the Medical buildings ... Jenner Chambers ,    Lister Buildings,    * Drs. Jacobson,  Broer  and Smith,   later  “and Barnard”, and later still, “and Kaplan”,     Pasteur Chambers ,     Medical Centre ,  Archie Jacobson,   Ivor Broer, Mervyn  Smith.    Michael Barnard  and Neville Kaplan (not all at the same time.)

 HOSPITALS:  the Lady Dudley,     Florence Nightingale,     Princess,   Marymount,      Franklin,     Queen Victoria,     Garden City Clinic     Parklane Clinic.     Fever Hospital,    Jhb Gen. (General Hospital)    The Childrens’ Hospital,     Baragwanath.   The Frangwyn –(Maternity )

 ARMY.   The Drill Hall in Joubert Park!   Voortrekker Hoogte (Pretoria) The first 3 months you were a rookie,  and after you got out 9 months down the drag, you went to Camps for about 3 weeks a few years later. Boys  went meshugah when their hair was cut so short.

And Polio –  two major epidemics in 1947 and 1954/55, when schools were closed, and public swimming pools too, children in iron lungs and leg braces.   Infantile Paralysis, they called it. (I wasn’t here then but I know about it)

Around the late fifties, a movie came out with Danny KAYE and Barbara Bel GEDDES (Miss Ellie in Dallas) , called the “FIVE PENNIES”. Story of Red Nichols, and his young daughter (played by both Susan Gordon and Tuesday Weld)  who contracted polio.   .

And “Interrupted Melody”  Another polio movie about the Opera singer, Eleanor PARKER.  Terrible epidemic, wiped out today, as far as I know .    And then they found an immunization against Polio.

WHO REMEMBERS …...   Gilooly’s farm,    Boksburg Lake,    Zoo Lake,    Florida Lake,    Wemmer Pan - Wembly stadium   Ice rink ,   The Wilds,   The Snake Park,    Melville swimming Pool,    Hillbrow Indoor Pool  (at the Summit Club), and the   Squash courts   there,   Brixton Swimming Pool,    Rand Show/Skou,   Milner Park,  Tower of Life.

THE ELLERINE brothers,   Sidney (O”h) and Eric

RESORTS.   Lover’s  Rock in the Magaliesberg,  Little Roseneath (Ndaba, Fourways).  Margo’s (where the bands all played on a Sunday afternoon. I think it was near Bapsfontein).  And lazy days sitting on top of the Wilds, admiring the Flora and Fauna and watching the world go by (not today!)  Linksfield Ridge.

ADVERTS..   Mac Phails -  Mac won’t phail you

NAMES CHANGES     Jan Smuts Airport – O.R Tambo ,   Halfway House -  Midrand,   Verwoerdburg – Centurion,.   Hendrik Verwoerd Drive -  Bram Fischer Drive,  Hans Strydom Drive  Malibongwe,  DF Malan -   Beyers Naudé,   Harrow Rd - Joe Slovo Drive - , Sandown Square  - Nelson Mandela Square.  Transvaal – Gauteng,    Eastern Transvaal – Mapumelanga.   Warmbaths - Bela Bela,   Pietersburg - Polakwane

 NEWSPAPERS/magazines   Rand Daily Mail.   Die  Vaderland,   Die Beeld,  The Star (still going strong) Sunday Express, Sunday Times AND  Back Page of the Sunday Times…  Scope Magazine

 I thought I’d end off with a little song …………………..  anyone want to sing along?  You all know Sarie Marais?  Here we go. Een,  twee,  drie……..

My Sarie Marais is so ver van my hart,

Maar’k hoop om haar weer te sien,

Sy het in die wyk die Mooirivier gewoon,

Nog voor die oorlog het begin.

O bring my t’rug na die ou Transvaal,

daar waar my Sarie woon

daar onder in die mielies by die groen doringboom

Daar woon my Sarie Marais.

 Lekker Bly Skatties, and Alles van die Beste.  

 Anne Lapedus  (Brest)

one of the  “SIXTIES  ROCKERS” … still  ROCKING ON  !!!!

Uitlander, no more

!!!!  

 © Anne Lapedus Brest,   (Ex Dublin, Ireland)  Sandton, South Africa.

Contact details.  

digitalphoto@icon.co.za  or  annebrest@icon.co.za  

082.452.7166 .

 DISCLAIMER.  This article has been written from my memories of S.Africa from 48 years ago, and if a Shul, or Hotel, or a Club is not mentioned, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist, it means, simply, that I don’t remember them.  I can’t add them in, either, because then the article would not be “My Memories” any more.    

more.    

[industryinsights01]

Top 5 Largest & Best Shopping Malls In Mumbai You Must Not Miss

Do you enjoy going shopping? When that happens, it’s time to reformat your shopping list and focus on these top 5 malls in Mumbai. You only need to visit these malls to fulfil your shopping wish list. Get the top brands and dining outlets at these fantastic malls, which provide an enjoyable shopping experience. The most famous malls in Mumbai have been compiled into a list for you to choose from; where you go this weekend is up to you!

Oberoi Mall

Oberoi Mall is one of Mumbai’s shopping malls and a one-stop shop for entertainment, dining, fashion, and movies. Since it began operating in 2008, Oberoi Mall has earned a great reputation among shoppers and merchants. Included in its scope are Lifestyle, Gap, Pepe Jeans, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Cottonworld, Allen Solly, Fab India, GAP, US Polo Assn., Manyavar, Biba, Aeropostale, and Levi’s store in Mumbai. Make sure to visit Oberoi Mall because it’s one of the best malls in Goregaon for serving top brands. There are several restaurants where you may unwind and relax with your loved ones. Several eateries, including Coco Cart, Burger King, Maharaja Bhog, Social, Bombay Street, KBC, Farzi Cafe, MOD, and PizzaExpress Mumbai are available in Oberoi Mall to satisfy your palate. When referring to the best malls in Mumbai, it is a shopper’s paradise.

Infiniti Mall, Malad

Infiniti Mall, Malad features a variety of shopping sections, a multiplex theatre complex, entertainment and games, a food court, a leisure area, a multipurpose hall/unit, offices, storage, parking, and services, among other things. This mall serves the needs of the affluent neighbourhoods that stretch from Andheri to Borivali and are home to many famous people, actors, and other people of note. It’s undoubtedly among Mumbai’s top malls!

R City Mall

With a multi-level retail galleria that maintains a consistent mix of the best local brands and top-tier international brands, this enormous 12 lakh square foot shopping mall is one of a kind and the most varied shopping destination in Mumbai. It offers thrilling entertainment, cutting-edge fashion, stunning features, and first-rate amenities in a genuinely exceptional retail setting. Shop to your heart’s content at one of Mumbai’s top malls!

Phoenix Market City

Phoenix Marketcity, a magnificent haven for shoppers, has been hailed as the city’s top spot for food, shopping, and entertainment. Over 600 high-end and mainstream brands are housed at Phoenix Marketcity, which covers literally millions of square feet. Among them are well-known global names like Forever 21, Zara, H&M, Vero Moda, MAC, Red Fleece by Brooks Brothers, Charles & Keith, Adidas, Superdry, Fossil, Steve Madden, Swarovski, and a host of others. A wide range of entertainment alternatives are also available in Phoenix Marketcity, including Happy Planet, PVR Gold Class and 4Dx, Amoeba Bowling Alley, Clue Hunt, Snow World, and others.

Atria Mall

In the middle of Mumbai City on Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Atria is a well-known shopping destination. It is located next to the Nehru Planetarium. The Bandra-Worli sea link merges into main traffic at this site, giving the project the greatest visibility and connectivity. It houses a pub named Matahari and a restaurant called Spar Kitchen, which have also recently opened on the same floor. The Inox theatre has taken up about 10,000 sq ft of space on the fourth floor of the mall and is anticipated to be operational in the next six months.

The above-mentioned malls are some of the best shopping malls in Mumbai. So, make your choice and visit to have the best time anytime you want!

[voiceoftravelerdotcom]

Top 5 Best Shopping Malls in Chennai

Best known for its rich culture and extraordinary historical values, Chennai also happens to be a first-rate shopping destination. From malls to shopping centers, there are plenty of options in this historic city, and you can find your favorite trendy collections to satisfy your shopping hunger.

Here’s a selection of 5 places where you can fulfill your shopping appetite in Chennai. There are malls, pocket-friendly outlets, upscale shops, and many more options. Still, we will look at the mall options within our Singara Chennai!

Spencer Plaza

Apart from dozens of restaurants, Temples, Churches, and sleek restaurants, the amazing Chennai has many worthy retail options. Above all comes the “Spencer Plaza,” considered the first mall in India (1863 – 1864).

It was the only hangout mall for posh people in Chennai during its hay period, with world-renowned brand outlets. Currently, it is trying to cope with the modern changes and its competitors in Chennai.

Though Spencer Plaza has lost the position for luxury outlets, still people visit this shopping mall for jewelry, few branded garment outlets, electronic gadgets, Artifacts, art & craft store, and traditional cuisine.

Citi Centre

Cushman and Wakefield once mentioned that Citi Centre is the most valued shopping mall in Chennai. A well-known global real estate organization. It is the go-to shopping center in Chennai for luxury outlet lovers until 2010. This mall is so famous that it is the only mall near Chennai beach.

If you plan to visit Citi Centre, you can also visit the beach. You can either enjoy window shopping or watch a movie in the INOX. This mall is famous for Luxury brand outlets like Adidas, Allen Solly, Landmark, Lifestyle, KFC, Subway…Etc.

Express Avenue

Express Avenue is located right at the heart of buzzing Chennai. It has many connectivity options and screens for cinemas to watch and entertainment for the kids. For adults, it offers word-class brand outlets for shopping.

Based on its accessibility and range of collections, I would say Express Avenue is the best shopping mall in the city. Name any international brand you can find an outlet on Express Avenue. You can see outlets for Mont Blanc, Woodlands, Swarovski, Latt Liv, Hush Puppies, Crocs, Flair, Charles & Keith Etc.

It is one of the biggest shopping malls in Chennai. You will never get bored visiting Express Avenue. You can also enjoy food outlets like Café Glitterati, Kapila Dasa, Kaaraikudi, Burger King, Chai King, KFC, Pizza hut, Subway, Starbucks…Etc.

They also have a dedicated calendar for events happening within Express mall. One day or other, you will see activities entertaining shopping lovers. I enjoyed young band artists playing vibrant music, and it was energetic. They also play food ball matches on a big screen during play day.

Suppose you are planning to stay in Chennai and looking for a hotel option. In that case, a hotel within this shopping complex is attached to the building but gives you the privacy you deserve. It is fantastic to stay and enjoy shopping at your doorstep.

Forum Vijaya Mall

One of the finest shopping malls you could see in Chennai. The exterior might look a little usual, but once you step in, the interior work is so grand yet compact. This mall is not significant as Express Avenue. Still, it has all luxury shopping outlets that could give tough competition to Express mall.

Because of its location, this mall is a complete clutter outside. Once you enter, the exterior noise vanishes, and you feel like entering another realm. The interior is designed based on the Italian architecture model. It never fails to amaze you.

Few of the famous luxury outlets in Forum malls are Marks & Spencers, Casio, Lifestyle, Louis Phillipe, Levi, Hidesign, Nike, Adidas, Puma, US Polo, UCB, Sony, Biba, L’OREAL, O2 Spa, Mochi, Jockey, Bata, Hp, Archies Gallery, Nalli, Toni & Guy…Etc.

It is a highly sophisticated mall filled with amenities for all. I am sure you will love your time spent at Forum Mall.

Phoenix Marketcity

It is a world-class shopping mall based on the designer’s expertise (Benoy). Phoenix is the fourth largest shopping mall in India and the largest shopping mall in Chennai.

I am pleased to see such a fantastic architect work in Chennai. It is a beauty with the grandness and the space you get for your own time. It is impressive, sometimes confusing, but thanks to their help desk guide us.

Outlets for world-famous brands are here like a flea market.

enamor ZIVAME ALDO Allen Solly AND BOSE Bata Calvin Klein Jeans CASIO Brooks Brothers Columbia crocs DIESEL FOSSIL GAS Hush Puppies LACOSTE