Did you know? ... London.

[happy daze john in oz]

There are along the river bank, north side, still 100 gas lamps that are lit every night.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Can you add a link, to back this up , please.

Think it closer to 1,500 gas lamps left in London

K.

UPDATED:

There are still 1500 gas lamps in London. They don’t need lighting every night, but the timer that lights them automatically needs adjusting every fortnight to keep pace with shorter or longer days.
Before timers, lamps were lit with an 8ft long brass pole with a pilot light – last used around Temple 1976.
Gas lighting first appeared in Pall Mall in 1812, thanks to Frederick Winsor – originally with wooden gas pipes. This, unfortunately, resulted in a lot of explosions and a few deaths.
The oldest lamps near Carlton House Terrace have George IV’s initials on them.
Westminster Abbey cloisters are lit by gas. The oldest lamp is in Dean’s Yard, near the group entrance, fixed to the wall. This has been there for 200 years as a gas lamp, and before that as an oil lamp.
The Mall has electric lights on the park side and gas on the St. James’s Palace side – the original road.
Near the Queen Mother statue which was dedicated in 2009, there are modern gas lamps as the Royal family refused to have electric ones – “the Royal family is very pro gas”.
British Gas gets several months’ warning of State Visits, as lamps around Buckingham Palace are altered to be on 24 hours a day during the visit.
There is a new row of lamps near Trafalgar Square. The base of the column is an old cannon, which has a hole down the middle, originally for firing, now for the gas pipe.
The new arcade development in Covent Garden has gas lamps at the special request of the architect.
Carting Lane besides the Savoy hotel has a sewer gas lamp which burns 24 hours a day. It draws up sewer gas with the heat of the gas flame. Sewer gas is then burned as it reaches the flame. It was erected to keep sewer smells away from the hotel bedrooms!

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[happy daze john in oz]

few weeks ago I was speaking on talk back radio with one of the presenters about how the English language has changed. We got to 'Cockney' slang aad how much of the Australian slang is similar but there are a number of differences.
He asked would I compile a list for him of all I could remember.
This is the list of terms up to about 1980, no doubt many more have been added since then such as Oxo Cube,,Tube.

Loaf of Bread..Head
Mince Pies...eyes
Pork Pie..One eye
I Suppose...Nose
North and South..Mouth
Hampstead Heath..Teeth
Boat Race..Face
Gregory Peck... Neck
Country farms..Arms
German Bands..Hands
Onkaparinga..Finger
Tent Pegs..Legs
Plates of meat... Feet.
Tit fer Tat..Hat
Shout and Holler..Collar also used when caught by police, Collared.
Peckham Rye..Tie
Dickey dirt..Shirt
Whistle and flute..Suit
Round the 'ouses..Trousers
Almond Rocks..Socks
Daisy roots..Boots
China Plate..Mate
Skin and Blister..Sister
One an other..brother
Pot and Pan...Old Man
Trouble and strife..Wife
Tin Lids..Kids
Cherry pips..Lips
Hits and Misses.. Kisses
Frog and Toad..Road
Rubba Dub,,Pub
Pigs ear..Beer
Gold watch,,Scotch
Vera Lyne ..Gin
Tom Thumb..Rum
Brhams and lizt..P15ssed
Elephants Trunk..Drunk
Cuts and Scratches..Matches
Mutter and Stutter..Butter
Rocking Horse..Sauce.
Lillian Gish..Fish
Dig in the Grave..Shave
Ruby Murray..Curry
Laugh and Joke. Smoke
Four by two.. Jew
Peas and Ham..Jam
Linen Draper..Paper
Duce and ace..Case
Harry Rag..Fag
Charlie Maxi..Taxi
Cock and hen..Ten
Salmon and Trout..Snout
Aristotle...Bottle As in Bottle and Glass A***e reduced to 'Arris'. As in right up his “Arris'
Deaf and Dumb..Bum
Jam Jar..Car
Peas and Mash..Smash
Rats and mice..Lice, can also be ice if drinking at the time.
Jack Horner..Corner
Horse and Cart..fart
Pony and Trap..Crap
Oscar Slater..Waiter
Bubble and squeak..Greek
Mutton Jeff..Deaf
Yok and Dip..Kip
Harry Lime..Time
Bird Lime..Time as in doing Bird..Prison
Bees and Honey..Money
Jack and Jill..Till
Horses Hoof/ Iron Hoof..Poof
Bubble and Boil..Oil
Babbling Brook..Cook
Tom and Dick..Sick
Butchers Hook..Look
Cane and Able..Table
Apples and Pears..Stairs
Sky Rocket..Pocket
Kettle and Hob..Job
Adam and Eve..believe Where the slong came from no one is certain, though the
Dog and Bone..Phone Consensus of opion is that it began life in the London
Two and Eight..State Markets. Traders not wanting customers to know what
Currant Bun..Sun they were disscussing introduced their own language.
Holy Ghost..Toast
Brussle Sprout..Scout

But it was also used in longer terms such as explaining what was occuring in a way that only they knew. For example
There he goes on his toes, going duce and ace I suppose.
This would be a person of less than honest intent inspecting premises prior to the illegal removal of the contents. Put simply

Casing a joint before blagging it.

[Keith at Tregenna]

This is the list of terms up to about 1980, no doubt many more have been added since then such as Oxo Cube,,Tube.

As said prior: Is Cockney Rhyming Slang dead?

Not on your Nelly! Cockney Rhyming Slang may have had its highs and lows but today it is in use as never before.
In the last few years hundreds of brand new slang expressions have been invented – many betraying their modern roots, e.g. “Emma Freuds:┬áhaemorrhoids”; (Emma Freud is a TV and radio broadcaster) and “Ayrton Senna”: tenner (10 pound note).

[happy daze john in oz]

There are along the river bank, north side, still 100 gas lamps that are lit every night.

They are on the embankment and are nightly lit by four men who have the job of doing so.
They do not use lights as years ago but use a pole to activate switch which lights the gas.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Meet London's Last Gas Lamp Lighters

We think of London as a modern city, but did you know there are still around 1,500 gas street lights in operation here?

200 are in private hands, while responsibility for the other 1,300 lies in the hands of just four employees of British Gas. They have a territory ranging from Richmond Bridge to Bromley-by-Bow, although it's mainly concentrated around Westminster and Covent Garden.

https://londonist.com/2015/11/video-...-lamp-lighters

Main concentration of London's gas lamp map:

gas lamps.jpg

[Graham Payne]

Hi John
brilliant list.
I knew most but there was the odd ones I didn't know.
Another is "Bilking" ( used by the old bill ) i.e. filling the car with petrol and driving away without paying, no idea where that came from.
Thanks

[happy daze john in oz]

Not heard that one Graham.
As to the list, growing up in East Dulwich and other London suburbs with grandparents from the East end it was there all the time.
Then I went to sea and it continued there.
But after swallowing the hook I worked for three years with a firm of contract caterers, including a chef who had done his training at the Savoy and in Paris.
Fantastic chef and a good bloke, but he spoke in rhyming slang as if it was his first language.
Was a good friend, though not one of them of the Kray twins, used to cook at the mothers house for special occasions.
One job we had was at a restaurant where there were two French wingers, I had to act as interpreter when he would say to them, 'make sure the mutter is on the cane'.

Two missing from my list

Rosie Lee..Tea
Bristol City.. as in what a pair of Bristol's on her

[Keith at Tregenna]

Many must be aware of:

The secret language of polari

Polari was secretive language widely used by the British gay community from the 1900s to the 1970s. It was based on slang words deriving from a variety of different sources, including rhyming slang, and backslang (spelling words backwards).

In the eighteenth century it was mainly used in pubs around the London dock area. The language was soon picked up by merchant seafarers and brought back on ship. From the 1930s to 1970s the language was mostly used in gay pubs, theatre and on merchant ships.

The secret language of polari - Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool museums

[happy daze john in oz]

Back in the middle ages the majority of the people could not read or write, to assist in their education poems were often introduced into every day life.
Those poems became part of the history of London.
You may recall the song
' Ring a ring of roses'
This came about during the plague, the great fire of 1666 did assist in ridding London of this, a plague spread by rats.
The song refers to the red ring they appeared on the faces of person effected and who would soon pass away.
A sneeze was considered to be the first sign on the plague so the saying, 'Bless you' came about and still continues today.

In 1749 Lord Lovat a Scottish noble was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.
He was beheaded on Tower Hill, the last person to die in this manner and the last public execution of it's kind.
It is estimated some 20,000 turned up to see the spectacle and stands were erected to accommodate them.

On his arrival at the place Lord Lovat inspected the axe, telling the executioner, 'that will do nicely'.
During his preparation for execution some of the stands gave way and it is estimated that about 200 died in the crush.

At this point Lovat began to laugh at the plight of these people and is said to have still been laughing when he axe fell.
And even today we still say, 'he laughed his head off'.