Images Dated 14th February 2019

Three Wise Men of Gotham - Victorian nursery rhyme illustration

Three medieval-style men in a cracked bowl, which they are using as a boat on a rough sea. One of them looks sea-sick, another is carrying an open umbrella - presumably to use as a sail - and the other is using a very large spoon as a paddle. They won't get far.
The rhyme refers to a supposed incident in Gotham, Nottinghamshire, in England, when the villagers pretended to be imbeciles in order to discourage King John who was planning to build a hunting lodge there. As a result, he changed his mind.
"Three wise men of Gotham - Went to sea in a bowl - If the bowl had been stronger - My song had been longer."
From "Nursery Rhymes - Ridicula Rediviva" illustrated by J.E. Rogers, with chromolith printing by R. Clay Sons & Taylor and published in London in 1876 by Macmillan and Co

Bringing in yule log on Christmas Eve

A Christmas party in Elizabethan times: the traditional Yule Log is dragged into the Great Hall. Date: circa 16th century

© Bubblepunk

Cock-throwing on Shove Tuesday

Cock throwing on Shove Tuesday, also known as cock-shying or throwing at cocks, was a blood sport widely practised in England, where a rooster was tied to a post, and people took turns throwing cokstele at the bird till it died. Date: 17th century

© Bubblepunk