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All About The Town Of Honiton

The South-East Devon market town of Honiton has long been famous for glove making and lace, pottery, and Honiton still has numerous shops dedicated to pottery or lace . However, more recently the town has become a centre for antiques and antiquarian books with many such shops.

There are around thirty retaail shops connected with this trade and regular auctions are held in the town centre. Honiton has an extensive selection of eclectic restaurants, cafés and a wide choice of accommodation from hotels to self catering cottages. It is an excellent base for a visit to this part of Devon.

Honiton was one of the centres for the cloth trade, but eventually the town became most famous as a centre for "Honiton Lace". The Allhallow’s Museum of Lace and Antiquities is situated in the town’s oldest building and contains a number of items of local interest and history, including a comprehensive collection of the aforementioned Honiton lace.

For many hundreds of years, lace making was the main industry of the town. Some women would sit outside their homes to weaving highly complicated and delicate pieces using the bright sunlight. Lace making was a very labour intensive craft, as to make even the smallest piece required a high degree of skill and precision. Eventually, some machine made lace products became a cheaper alternative causing a decline in the local industry.

In around 1841, lace makers from the area were commissioned to supply the lace for Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s wedding dress. The Queen was so impressed by the quality of the work that she commissioned a christening robe of her eldest son, later King Edward VII. This delicate lace gown is still in use today.

Honiton was then the centre of trading, but lace making itself was multi-centred. The lace makers were mostly women working from their own cottages, far from any market. Honiton was a centre for sending to far away markets. There was no specific body to oversee the quality of work and design and consequently some inferior quality lace began to emerge, leading to a downward slide. This was compounded by competition from the strictly regulated Flemish lace makers of the time.

From around the early 19th century there was a decline in the industry although the Royal family tried to support production of local lace through patronage. During the second half of the 10th century, lace motifs were appliquéd onto machine-made net. This reduced the cost of the labour and made the decorating of veils and so on a much more economical proposition. However the industry still never returned to its previous high point.

During the 18th century some fires destroyed many of the older buildings in Honiton. As a result much of what we see today was built around that time. The town is very attractive and prosperous with an excellent shopping centre, famous for holding twice-weekly street markets.

The farming land around Honiton has been inhabited since Neolithic times as illustrated by the nearby massive hill fort of Hembury Castle. Hembury Castle was occupied and refortified during the Iron Age. The derivation name, Honiton, is Anglo Saxon and probably derives from Huna’s ton or the settlement of somebody called Huna.

The author Daniel Defoe visited the town in the early 18th century, and he described it as large and beautiful. A few buildings survived the fire in the 18th century, these include the 17th century Marwood House, built by John Marwood, son of the physician to Elizabeth I no less, and the previously mentioned Allhallows Museum. This latter building, in the High Street, was once a 13th century chapel and then became a schoolroom. It is the oldest building in the town.

The Parish Church of St Michael’s, Honiton is built on a small hillock overlooking the town. It was rebuilt following the fire in 1911. St Paul’s Church, in the centre of the town was built in the mid 19th century designed by Charles Fowler, the architect, who was responsible for old Covent Garden Market in London.

Honiton’s main industry today is agriculture and tourism The rich farmland is fed and watered by the River Otter. Steep sided hills rise between the town and the sea and narrow lanes wind their way from Honiton through the local countryside. There are many attractive villages in the area.

The famous Hot Pennies event takes place in the toen every year when heated coins are thrown from windows by the rich and the poor then pick them up from the streets, only they are too hot to handle!

Honiton's colourful Hot Pennies ceremony is back just in time to mark the 800th anniversary  year of the granting of Honiton's  Royal Charter.
 
After falling victim to the covid  pandemic last year, the town's  dramatic, centuries-old tradition  orchestrated and led by the  flamboyant and irrepressible  town crier Dave Retter-returns  to the High Street on Tuesday, July 27.
 
The ceremony's organisers  said: "In recognition of this  milestone and to celebrate the  return to a 'new normal' there  will be various attractions in the  build-up to the 12 noon start so  please come along and join in the  fun. 
 
"Town crier Dave Retter in his  traditional costume, complete  with tricorn hat, will host the  wonderfully decorated garlanded  pole to lead the crowds through  the town, stopping at various  hostelries and historic buildings  from which the pennies will thrown from.
From here the garlanded pole will be carried up the High Street with a stop en route for more throwing out of pennies at the
Manor House, now the offices of Beviss& Beckingsale, sponsor, then on to The Three Tuns to finish in the centre of the town at the Old Pannier Market, where the garlanded pole will be fixed and after a final 'cry' the deputy mayor will join the staff of The Bed

For centuries it has all beguun with the chant: "Oyez, oyezZ, oyez.

The glove is up, the glove is up, the glove is up. The fair has begun, the fair has begun, the fair has begun. No man shall be arrested, no man shall be arrested, no man shall be arrested, until the glove is taken down, until the glove is taken down, until the glove is taken down. God save the Queen!"
Please note there will be local diversions and some delays to traffic entering the town on the A373 from Cullompton due to a road cClosure to the lower part of Honiton High Street between 12 and 12.30pm.

CHARTER DAY ANNOUNCEMENT
Hannah Loibl will be appearing in Northcote lane for two performances. She made her debut as lead Soprano in both 'Ruddigore' and 'Yeoman of the Guard' by Gilbert and Sullivan, as part of Exeter University's G&S Society. At the fair, you will hear Hannah perform music from classic musicals from the 1940s to the late 1960s, English folk songs.

In what has slowly become, a world so full of cruelty and hate, we must all take the responsibility to spread a little bit of kindness instead!
So, I will share, as often as I have time to do so, 3 kindness challenges each day, and would love for as many people as possible to take the kindness challenge 🙂
You can do as many as you like, as often as you like 🙂
Please join in and spread some kindness in your area of the world ❤️❤️
**Challenge 8**
GIVE A GIFT TO A LOCAL SCHOOL
Your gesture will spread so much kindness and give happiness to a child in need of help.
Contact your local school and ask how you can donate a book, toy, school shoes or a gift card for school uniforms that can be passed on to someone who needs it. Many schools have welfare officers, who know which families in the school might be in need of help.
**For these acts of kindness and many more please take a look at kindness by Jaime Thurston**

Dear Live Music Fan,

COMING UP

This Friday we see the very last of the "First Friday Club Nights". As I mentioned in my last e-mail the appetite for original bands amongst the good folk of Ruislip seems small in comparison to those for tribute bands and whilst I have tried original bands I would be a fool not to react to the wishes of the majority, and as these original bands are, well, not cheap, it is really a decision forced upon me.

BUT this does not mean the end of original bands playing at Ruislip, it just means there will be less of them, certainly not one (or more) a month as has been the case in the last two years.

So, to this Friday...

DANNY AND THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD - FRIDAY 2nd DECEMBER

Well, if every there was a band worthy of closing out a sequence of gigs this is it.

Since 2008 Danny & TC have recorded six albums and their latest two, Stay True and What Kind of Love have been raved about by the critics (can critics rave about something?) . One person who does rave about them is Bob Harris, and he knows a fair bit more about what is good and what is not than me and that is for sure!

They are a very difficult band to pigeon hole, is it country? country/rock? folk? folksy blues? Americana? All I would say is "They are a bit like Mumford and Sons". Does that work? Mumfordlike. See I have invented a new word.

The list of awards they have picked up goes on and on, as do the places they have played, from smaller venues like Ruislip to the likes of Fairport's Cropredy Festival in 2013 supporting 10cc.

If you have never been to a "First Friday" night then you should have...at least one. This Friday is your final chance, we do not look like being packed, (further vindication of the decision) and it will be a classic night, that is a promise.

If you do nothing else, or are undecided WATCH THE VIDEO LINKED ABOVE.

Oh...and in you are coming be early as we have the wonderful, if slightly irreverent, Candi's Dog supporting Danny so will start with live music at 9 pm.

Bring extra sausage to purchase CD's etc.

Book now at http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/ebook/index.htm where tickets re only £12 pre-booked

LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIEW - FRIDAY 9th DECEMBER

By a strange quick of fate country rock styled music comes to Tropic two weeks in a row as on Friday 9th we see the debut at Ruislip of Creedence Clearwater Review. I would suggest anyone who owns a copy of CCR's "Greatest Hits" will know just about every song they are going to play.

Creedence Clearwater Review are perhaps now the definitive Creedence Clearwater Revival Tribute Band in the UK. This is as a result of many weeks of solid rehearsal and 'song polishing' by four talented musicians, dedicated to the music of both Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty's later solo career material.

The aim has been to avoid slavishly following album tracks but rather to re-interpret the bands massive back catalogue in a similar manner to John Fogerty's performances with his current band. Dale Taylor takes up the role of John Fogerty on guitar and vocals with the boundless energy of his generation and with the solid experience of the band providing a fantastic quality yet power packed delivery of the original band's classic songs.

Book now at http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/ebook/index.htm where tickets re only £12 pre-booked

LOOKING BACK

Two somewhat contrasting gigs last weekend with a fairly packed out night for Gimme Abba and a somewhat quiet Sunday night for Roadhouse, which was a shame as the latter put on a great show, and I would like to thank those that did come on Sunday for purchasing so many albums, I hope you will enjoy them for years to come.

Returning to our Abba tribute, if anyone spotted that the person playing the part of Anni-Frid Lyngstad was an impostor (I am struggling here, can an impersonator of a person be an impostor of the usual impersonator) I can tell you that Kerry (the usual impostor) is alive and well and mother and (new) baby are fine and she should be returning to her day job very soon.

That is about all.

See you soon

Philip

PS

Two jokes for grow ups only....


I got in to a lift the other day and was followed in by a woman with rather large boobs and wearing a very tight top. I confess I found them somewhat distracting, and was not really thinking about where I was. At this point she said to me "Please Press One". Now the rest of the day is a blur but I can tell you the police were very nice.

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A shop that sells new husbands has opened in London, ,where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward..

The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.

'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.


She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

PLEASE NOTE:

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.

The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer.


The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

Dear Live Music Fan

COMING UP

FRIDAY 3rd FEBRUARY - THE FLOYD EFFECT

Coming up this Friday we have what promises to be a very special night at Tropic' when The Floyd Effect return and will play for us, for probably the very last time, their "Early Years" set.

Expect to hear such tunes as Astronomy Domine, Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun, Saucerful of Secrets, Cirrus Minor, Julia Dream, Cymbaline, Careful with that Axe Eugene, Obscured by Clouds, Embryo, One of These Days, Echoes, See Emily Play and some others should time allow.

Thee will be bringing their usual amazing light show of course and try to take us all back to those heady days of the 1960's UFO Club in London.

A few reviews:

Guys, you were fantastic. As someone who loves the early Floyd stuff as much as their later stuff, let me tell you this gig was a real treat. A great selection of tracks and your attention to detail was very impressive (e.g. reverb on the bongos!). I never thought I'd hear tracks like Cymbaline, Ibiza Bar, Julia Dream, Careful With that Axe, Eugene and See Emily Play performed live. Top show.

===

I may be in the minority, but I don't need to hear Dark Side played live ever again. So, when I heard about The Floyd Effect's gig, billed as drawing only from the pre-Dark Side albums, I thought, "About bloody time, I'm up for that!" and what's more, it was billed as a one-off show!

The first set began with a dip into Obscured by Clouds and the technical gremlins came out to play, but the band played on. Two songs in, the audience was really warming to the whole idea and, with the gremlins firmly stomped on, before we knew it, we arrived at the halfway point with Astronomy Domine. They followed this with Cirrus Minor and a few other tracks from More before they served up Fearless, complete with the rousing choruses of You'll Never Walk Alone. Finally the first set drew to a close with a great version of Fat Old Sun.

Before long the band returned, opening with Echoes. As the song descended into whale song at the half way mark the band segued into Careful With That Axe, Eugene followed by [Saucerful of Secrets - Ed.] and the ever popular One Of These Days before a great version of Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun led them neatly back into the remainder of Echoes. Now that's what I call a Pink Floyd set!

In a playful moment the keyboard player led the audience in an acapella version of Bike. I'm sure the band (like me) expected it to get no further than the first verse, but instead they looked on bemused as the audience sang the whole thing from start to finish! Finally, See Emily Play brought a great night to an all too early end and the band left the stage to loud applause from a very enthusiastic crowd.

From what I saw, the band will give you a great show when they return to Dark Side and the usual favourites, but if this really was a one-off show, it's a tragedy! To learn all that material is a monumental task. To do a whole evening of Pink Floyd without touching anything later than Obscured by Clouds you have to grow a pair and on Saturday, these guys grew a pair the size of watermelons!

Total respect.

===

Saw you performing in Eastleigh last night, you were amazing! Thank you all, including your lighting crew, for a great show.

=====

And finally...the shortest one of all

Amazing. You should be very proud of that gig.

Philip, The Tropic at Ruislip
By email, 18 September 2012.

===

So....it was billed as a one off when they first did it at Ruislip, and that actually ends up this Friday as a "Two off" but I suspect there will never be a third......

A few points:

Anyone dancing naked having taken mind altering drugs will be asked to leave in their time machine.

Tickets are £15 pre booked.

The gig will be PART SEATED and seats at the front will be on a "First Bums, First Kept" basis.

The gig will finish at midnight.

WE MIGHT START EARLY (famous last words) so please be in the music room by 9.00 p.m.

All those there will leave at midnight having experienced something they will remember for a long long time. That much IS a promise.

Book now at http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/ebook/index.htm

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SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY - LIKE THE BEATLES

Sunday will see the return of Like The Beatles who will take us on a journey from the earliest days of The Beatles right up to the days when they took mind altering drugs and....er stayed in bed naked.

I suspect however they will NOT do Revolution Number 9 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRvLxnfODn0 ) as it is not really a "Sing Along" tune and basically what they will deliver is two sets of songs where everyone coming will know, and join in with, every tune!

So to hear everything from Love Me Do right up to Hey Jude expertly performed by this incredible young band book now at http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/ebook/index.htm

A few points

As this is a SUNDAY we will start early - doors will be at 8 pm. Band on stage at 8.30 pm and we will finish by 10.30, and certainly no later than 11.00 pm

Dancing is compulsory (although seating will be available for brief rest periods between songs).

Tickets are only £10 pre booked.

LOOKING FURTHER FORWARD

FRIDAY 10th FEBRUARY - FOWOKAN

(The video above is of one of their own original songs, which we may well get on the night, but this will be predominantly an evening of Bob Marley songs, in celebration of what would have been his 72nd birthday)

FOWOKAN reggae with original Jimmy Lindsay songs, some re-worked versions of Cymande classics and plenty of Bob Marley -an evening of Reggae.

FOWOKAN (aka Cymande II) return to the music scene with a new sound and a fantastic first album, “Shadow of Rasta”. Although Cymande II have ceased performing, the spirit of the music lives on in FOWOKAN.

Forged from their time together in “Cymande”, the legendary British funk band, FOWOKAN re-unites core member Sam Kelly (drums/bvs) with lead vocalist, Jimmy Lindsay. Indeed, it is as lead vocalist that Jimmy’s musical excellence comes to the fore. In 2009 Jimmy performed at The British Lovers Rock Show where he received an Award for his contribution to Lovers Rock and British Black Music. With a lengthy legacy in the UK and international music scenes, Jamaican-born drummer, Sam Kelly, is highly respected for his musical ability across all genres including reggae, R&B, soul, jazz and funk. FOWOKAN is also Paul Jobson (MD/keyboards/bvs), Richard Sadler (bass/bvs), Tony Qunta (guitar/bvs), Michael ‘Lally’ Carey (guitar/bvs) and Jerome Marcus (percussion/bvs). Each of these musicians brings their own history of great performances and collaborations.

The members of FOWOKAN have performed live at the London Jazz Festival Stratford, The Jazz Café London, The BBC Soul Britannia All Stars Tour and One Love Festival. FOWOKAN have also supported OSIBISA at Fairfield Halls, Croydon as part of the African Music Festival 2013. There are European tours and Festival Appearances scheduled throughout Germany and France during 2016

BOB MARLEY TRACKS:-

JAMMING, THEM BELLY FULL, TALKING BLUES, LIVELY UP YOURSELF, NATTY DREAD, TRENCHTOWN ROCK, BUFFALO SOLDIER, COULD YOU BE LOVED. NATURAL MYSTIC, IRON LION ZION, BEND DOWN LOW, GET UP STAND UP, ONE LOVE , THE REAL SITUATION, WAITING IN VAIN, IS THIS LOV, ONE DROP , PIMPERS PARADISE, WHO THE CAP FITS, NO WOMAN NO CRY, EXODUS, STIR IT UP, I SHOT THE SHERIFF

Tickets are £12 pre booked from http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/ebook/index.htm

A night of classic Reggae, that is for certain.

NEWS

NEW GIG BOOKED

I am delighted to have booked THE ESTRELLAS to return to us as an "Early Christmas Party" night on Saturday 2nd December when we will have an evening of Motown and Disco classics performed by these three talented ladies.

So if you have to organise your office Xmas party maybe this could be the place to come? Or maybe if this date is just that bit early you could, instead, have TWO Xmas nights out!

Bookings are now being taken....indeed some have already come in.

JOHN WETTON

I was saddened to learn this week of the death of John Wetton who was part of King Crimson, Uriah Heep and Roxy Music before fronting the band Asia. You can read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38812944 . As a fan of all four bands such news is never good.

(The link I included last week reporting on the death of Peter Overend Watts was incorrect and should have been http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38716635 - please accept my apologies if you clicked through on it)


LOOKING BACK

We had a packed house for The Alter Eagles last week and everyone seemed to enjoy the show, although one or two people did comment that there was a lot of talking going on in the room.

Can I ask that if you come to a gig you don't become a Trappist Monk but do please have some respect for those around you who want to hear the band and keep the nattering to a minimum during the shows and reserve the interval (etc.) to extol the virtues of your new job, broken car, haemorrhoids etc.

The Alter Eagles will return on SATURDAY 26th AUGUST and bookings are now being taken.

I think that is all

Philip

PS

Once again I do feel it inappropriate to regale a few jokes this week in view of the sad news of John Wetton's death.