Left: Hardanger cider – Right: Riganol toothpaste

Left:Kaba electric ovens – Right: Ata powder soap

From my own collections

All posts material: “Sauce” and “Gentleman’s Relish” by Ronnie Barker – Hodder & Stoughton in 1977

Driving In The Victorian Days

Text from the ad:

Glance in the mirror, lovely lady. Be glad you’re so slender, so easy to dress so admired wherever you go.

Then take time to bless your good fortune for making you what you are.

It’s your modern taste for the lighter, less filling food that gives you the slim waistline – and keeps you always feeling fine and fit for fun.

Pepsi-Cola goes right along with this wholesome trend in diet. Today’s Pepsi-Cola, reduced in calories, is never heavy, never too sweet. It refreshes without filling.

Have a Pepsi-Cola – The modern, the light refreshment.

It is close to heartless to try to make people believe that drinking Pepsi-Cola will keep you slim, feeling fine and fit for fun. The fat wages must have been the only thing that kept those guys from turning from side to side all night embarrassed by the utter crap they produced all day – Ted

This picture might have been taken sometimes around the turn of the 20th Century, but it is actually taken just a few years ago. A little playing with the colour settings and filtering on PhotoShop moved it about a hundred years backwards in time. Of course the image itself helped a lot as it already had an air of the innocent early post-Victorian age to it – Ted

Original image found at A Curious Fancy

An article from Physical Culture Magazine – November 1914

They had a hard life those old time Hollywood stars. Here to day, gone tomorrow. Although it must be said that the bloke that wrote this article missed by a mile, because these three ladies returned to Hollywood and carved out a career that lasted for decades –Ted

In England the right lane is the wrong lane. You know they drive on the left lane which to us is the wrong ‘lane. After much confusion we found the right lane is the wrong lane and the left lane is the right lane.

Read the whole article and see
the naughty pictures HERE

Warning: Nudity do occur in this article. If you are under age or live in a country where watching images of nude women for some reason is against the law  I take no responsibility if you click the link above. In other words you’re flying solo from here on – Ted

Margaretha Geertruida "M’greet" Zelle MacLeod (7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy and executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.

Early life
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Her birthhouse, at Kelders 33, survived a big fire that ruined the three houses next to it on 19 October 2013. She was the eldest of four children of Adam Zelle (2 October 1840 – 13 March 1910) and his first wife Antje van der Meulen (21 April 1842 – 9 May 1891). She had three brothers. Her father owned a hat shop, made successful investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha a lavish early childhood that included exclusive schools until the age of 13.

However, Margaretha’s father went bankrupt in 1889, her parents divorced soon thereafter, and her mother died in 1891. Her father remarried in Amsterdam on 9 February 1893 to Susanna Catharina ten Hoove (11 March 1844 – 1 December 1913), with whom he had no children. The family had fallen apart and Margaretha moved to live with her godfather, Mr. Visser, in Sneek. In Leiden, she studied to be a kindergarten teacher, but when the headmaster began to flirt with her conspicuously, she was removed from the institution by her offended godfather. After only a few months, she fled to her uncle’s home in The Hague.

Dutch East Indies
At 18, Margaretha answered an advertisement in a Dutch newspaper placed by Dutch Colonial Army Captain Rudolf MacLeod (1 March 1856 – 9 January 1928) who was living in the then Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and was looking for a wife. Margaretha married Rudolf in Amsterdam on 11 July 1895. He was the son of Captain John Brienen MacLeod (a descendant of the Gesto branch of the MacLeods of Skye, hence his Scottish-sounding name) and Dina Louisa, Baroness Sweerts de Landas. This was significant as the marriage enabled her to move into the Dutch upper class and her finances were placed on sound footing. They moved to Malang on the East side of the island of Java and had two children, Norman-John MacLeod (30 January 1897 – 27 June 1899) and Louise Jeanne MacLeod (2 May 1898 – 10 August 1919).

The marriage was an overall disappointment. MacLeod appears to have been an alcoholic who would take out his frustrations on his wife, who was twenty years younger, and whom he blamed for his lack of promotion. He also openly kept a concubine, a socially accepted practice in the Dutch East Indies at that time. The disenchanted Margaretha abandoned him temporarily, moving in with Van Rheedes, another Dutch officer. For months, she studied the Indonesian traditions intensively, joining a local dance company. In 1897, she revealed her artistic name of Mata Hari, Indonesian for "sun" (literally, "eye of the day"), from the Sanskrit "goddess" and "god," via correspondence to her relatives in Holland.

At MacLeod’s urging, Margaretha returned to him, although his aggressive demeanour did not change. She escaped her circumstances by studying the local culture. In 1899, their children fell violently ill from complications relating to the treatment of syphilis contracted from their parents, though the family claimed they were poisoned by an irate servant. Jeanne survived, but Norman died. Some sources maintain that one of Rudolf’s enemies may have poisoned a supper to kill both of their children. After moving back to the Netherlands, Rudolf left her in 1902 and took Jeanne with him. The couple divorced in 1907. Margaretha was awarded custody of Jeanne, but after Rudolf deliberately reneged on a support payment, Margaretha was forced to give Jeanne back to him. Jeanne later died at the age of 21, also possibly from complications relating to syphilis.

Paris
In 1903, Margaretha moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider, using the name Lady MacLeod, much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods. Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist’s model.

By 1905, Mata Hari began to win fame as an exotic dancer. She was a contemporary of dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, leaders in the early modern dance movement, which around the turn of the 20th century looked to Asia and Egypt for artistic inspiration. Critics would later write about this and other such movements within the context of Orientalism. Gabriel Astruc became her personal booking agent.

Promiscuous, flirtatious, and openly flaunting her body, Mata Hari captivated her audiences and was an overnight success from the debut of her act at the Musée Guimet on 13 March 1905. She became the long-time mistress of the millionaire Lyon industrialist Émile Étienne Guimet, who had founded the Musée. She posed as a Java princess of priestly Hindu birth, pretending to have been immersed in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood. She was photographed numerous times during this period, nude or nearly so. Some of these pictures were obtained by MacLeod and strengthened his case in keeping custody of their daughter.

Mata Hari brought this carefree provocative style to the stage in her act, which garnered wide acclaim. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just a jeweled bra and some ornaments upon her arms and head. She was seldom seen without a bra, as she was self-conscious about being small-breasted. She wore a bodystocking for her performances that was similar in color to her own skin.

Although Mata Hari’s claims about her origins were fictitious, it was very common for entertainers of her era to invent colorful stories about their origins as part of the show. Her act was spectacularly successful because it elevated exotic dance to a more respectable status, and so broke new ground in a style of entertainment for which Paris was later to become world famous. Her style and her free-willed attitude made her a very popular woman, as did her eagerness to perform in exotic and revealing clothing. She posed for provocative photos and mingled in wealthy circles. At the time, as most Europeans were unfamiliar with the Dutch East Indies and thus thought of Mata Hari as exotic, it was assumed her claims were genuine.

By about 1910, myriad imitators had arisen. Critics began to opine that the success and dazzling features of the popular Mata Hari were due to cheap exhibitionism and lacked artistic merit. Although she continued to schedule important social events throughout Europe, she was held in disdain by serious cultural institutions as a dancer who did not know how to dance.

Mata Hari’s career went into decline after 1912. On March 13, 1915, she performed in what would be the last show of her career. She had begun her career relatively late for a dancer, and had started putting on weight. However, by this time she had become a successful courtesan, though she was known more for her sensuality and eroticism rather than for striking classical beauty. She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries. Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress.

"Double agent?"
During World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral. As a Dutch subject, Margaretha Zelle was thus able to cross national borders freely. To avoid the battlefields, she travelled between France and the Netherlands via Spain and Britain, and her movements inevitably attracted attention. In 1916, she was travelling by steamer from Spain when her ship called at the English port of Falmouth. There she was arrested and brought to London where she was interrogated at length by Sir Basil Thomson, Assistant Commissioner at New Scotland Yard in charge of counter-espionage. He gave an account of this in his 1922 book Queer People, saying that she eventually admitted to working for French Intelligence. Initially detained in Cannon Street police station, she was then released and stayed at the Savoy Hotel. A full transcript of the interview is in Britain’s National Archives and was broadcast with Mata Hari played by Eleanor Bron on the independent station London Broadcasting in 1980.

It is unclear if she lied on this occasion, believing the story made her sound more intriguing, or if French authorities were using her in such a way, but would not acknowledge her due to the embarrassment and international backlash it could cause.

In January of 1917, the German military attaché in Madrid transmitted radio messages to Berlin describing the helpful activities of a German spy, code-named H-21. French intelligence agents intercepted the messages and, from the information it contained, identified H-21 as Mata Hari. The messages were in a code that some claimed that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the French (in fact it had been broken not by the French, but by the British "Room 40" team), leaving some to claim that the messages were contrived. However, this same code, which the Germans were convinced was unbreakable was used to transmit the Zimmermann Telegram; its unintended interception some weeks later precipitated the United States’s entry into the war against Germany.

Trial and execution
On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace, on the Champs Elysée, where HSBC later established its French headquarters, in Paris. She was put on trial on 24 July, accused of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Although the French and British intelligence suspected her of spying for Germany, neither could produce definite evidence against her. Secret ink was found in her room, which was incriminating evidence in that period. She contended that it was part of her make-up. She wrote several letters to the Dutch Consul in Paris, claiming her innocence. "My international connections are due of my work as a dancer, nothing else …. Because I really did not spy, it is terrible that I cannot defend myself." Her defense attorney, veteran international lawyer Edouard Clunet, faced impossible odds; he was denied permission either to cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses or to examine his own witnesses directly. Under the circumstances, her conviction was a foregone conclusion. She was executed by firing squad on 15 October 1917, at the age of 41.

German documents unsealed in the 1970s proved that Mata Hari was truly a German agent.[citation needed] In the autumn of 1915, she entered German service, and on orders of section III B-Chief Walter Nicolai, she was instructed about her duties by Major Roepell during a stay in Cologne. Her reports were to be sent to the Kriegsnachrichtenstelle West (War News Post West) in Düsseldorf under Roepell as well as to the Agent mission in the German embassy in Madrid under Major Arnold Kalle, with her direct handler being Captain Hoffmann, who also gave her the code name H-21.

In December of 1916, the French Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents. Five were suspected of submitting fake material and working for the Germans, while the sixth was suspected to be a double agent for Germany and France. Two weeks after Mata Hari had left Paris for a trip to Madrid, the double agent was executed by the Germans, while the five others continued their operations. This development served as proof to the Second Bureau that the names of the six spies had been communicated by Mata Hari to the Germans.

Disappearance and rumours   
Mata Hari’s body was not claimed by any family members and was accordingly used for medical study. Her head was embalmed and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris, but in 2000, archivists discovered that the head had disappeared, possibly as early as 1954, when the museum had been relocated.[citation needed] Records dated from 1918 show that the museum also received the rest of the body, but none of the remains could later be accounted for.

A 1934 New Yorker article reported that at her execution she wore "a neat Amazonian tailored suit, especially made for the occasion, and a pair of new white gloves" though another account indicates she wore the same suit, low-cut blouse and tricorn hat ensemble which had been picked out by her accusers for her to wear at trial, and which was still the only full, clean outfit which she had along in prison. Neither description matches photographic evidence. According to an eyewitness account by British reporter Henry Wales, she was not bound and refused a blindfold. Wales records her death, saying that after the volley of shots rang out, "Slowly, inertly, she settled to her knees, her head up always, and without the slightest change of expression on her face. For the fraction of a second it seemed she tottered there, on her knees, gazing directly at those who had taken her life. Then she fell backward, bending at the waist, with her legs doubled up beneath her." A non-commissioned officer then walked up to her body, pulled out his revolver, and shot her in the head to make sure she was dead.

Text from Wikipedia

Gaston Bussière was a French Symbolist painter and illustrator, born in Cuisery on April 24, 1862 and died at Saulieu on October 29, 1928.

Biography
Bussière studied at l’Académie des Beaux-Arts in Lyon before entering the école des beaux-arts de Paris where he studied under Alexandre Cabanel and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. In 1884, he won the Marie Bashkirtseff prize.

He was close to Gustave Moreau. He found inspiration in the theatre works of Berlioz (La Damnation de Faust) as well as William Shakespeare and Wagner. He became in demand as an illustrator, creating works for major authors. He illustrated Honoré de Balzac’s Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes published in 1897, Émaux et camées, written by Théophile Gautier, as well as Oscar Wilde’s Salomé. He also illustrated several works by Flaubert.

An associate of Joséphin Péladan, the founder of the Rose-Croix esthétique, Bussière exhibited his works at Salon de la Rose-Croix over two years.

Many of his works are on exhibit at the Musée des Ursulines in Mâcon.

Text from Wikipedia

From “Victorian Inventions” by Leonard De Vries published by American Heritage Press in 1972

Monsieur Francois Barathon of Paris has developed a swimming-buoy that can be propelled like a velocipede for the purpose of saving life at sea. The shipwrecked person sits on an inflated rubber bag placed on a curved metal plate to which a frame, is attached: This frame contains a metal propeller facing rearward which is driven by the arms and a downward shaft with a horizontal propeller driven by pedalling with the feet. The occupant can also increase his speed by erecting a short mast with a sail. The device is equipped with a lamp which may attract the attention of potential life-savers after darkness has fallen.

There is no limit to how many of these life saving devices for the shipwrecked the Victorians managed to take out patents on. In this case I’m just wondering about how the unfortunate person gets of the sinking ship on this strange contraption. Or was it supposed to be hanging one for everyone on-board along the ships side so you just mounted it and let it drop into the sea. And what happened when you got to tired to keep the propellers going, it doesn’t seam to have much of a floating devices, so you probably sank like a stone after a while – Ted

From the 33rd edition of “XX^th Century Health And Pleasure Resorts Of Europe” published in 1933

SPORTS AND PASTTIME
RESORTS RECOMMENDED

BATHING (Sea)

BELGIUM: Blankenberghe, Breedene, Ceq-sur-Mer, Heyst-Dulnbergen, Knocke-Le Zoute, Middelkerke, Ostend, Wenduyne, Westende, Zeebrugge.
FRANCE: The Channel and Northern Atlantic: Dinard, Granville, La Baule, Le Touquet-Parls-Plage ; the Southern Atlantic ‘coast: Biarritz, Hendaye, Hnssegor, St. Jean de Luz; on the Riviera: Bandel, Cannes, Monte-Carlo, St. Raphael.
GREAT BRITAIN: Bexhill, Bournemouth, Brighton,Eastbourne, Hastings, St. Leonards, Southport, Southsea,
ITALY: On the Adriatic Coast: Abbazia, Brioni, The Lido (Venice). On the Mediterranean Coast: Alassio, Arenzano, Genoa, Levanto, Rapallo, San Remo, Sestri-Levante, Varazze,Viareggio.

BATHING (Lake or River)

AUSTRIA: Ober-Dellach and Pdrtsehaeh on the Worthersee.
FRANCE: Alx-les-Balns (at Grand Port), Annecy, Duingt (Libellules), Menthon, Talloires, Lac d’Annecy.
GERMANY: Titisee (aquatic sports), Wiesbaden (by car).
HUNGARY: Budapest (Margaret Island). Wave swimming Pool, St. Gellert Hotel.
ITALY: Baveno, Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Cernobblo, Orta, Pallanza, Stresa-Borromees, Tremezzo.
SWITZERLAND: Arosa (aquatic sports), Ascona, Brunnen, Champex, Coppet, Crans, Davos, Geneva, Gunten, Hilterfingen, Klosters (aquatic sports), Lausanne-Ouchy (aquatic sports), Lenzerheide, Le Prese, Locarno, Lucerne, Lugano, Montana,Montreux-Villeneuve (aquatic sports), Neuehatel, Neuveville, Oberhofen, Sierre, Spiez, st. Moritz, Thoune, Vevey, Villeneuve, Yverdon, Zurich.

BATHING (open-air swimming pools)

SWITZERLAND: Adelboden, Champery, Chateau-d’<Ex, Chesleres (Villars), Engelberg, Grinde!wald, Gstaad, Interlaken, Kandersteg (heated), Lenk, Monthey, Pontresina, Ragaz, Villars, VulperaTarasp, Wengen. See also individual notices.

BULL FIGHT

Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona, Nimes, Valencia, Algesiras, San Sebastian and Santander.

CLIMBING

AUSTRIA: Semmering and the Tirol.
FRANCE: Argentleres, Chamenix-Mt-Blane and neighbourhood (Les Houches, etc.), Le Buet, Les Contamines, Les Praz, Mont Roc, St. Gervais. Minor ascents also from Megeve, Pralognan, Sixt, Sallanches, etc.
ITALY: Courmajeur, Macugnaga, Solda, Stelvio Pass, Trafoi, Valtournanche. – Dolomite climbing: Carezza al Lago (Karersee), Cortina, San Martino di Castrozza, etc.
NORWAY: Nordfjord, The Jothunheim and Romsdal district.
SWITZERLAND: Adelboden, AroHa, Binn, Champ ex, Celerina, Crans, Eggishorn, Eigergletscher, Engelberg, Fafleralp, Fionnay, Forclaz, Gletsch, Gdschenen-Alp, Griesalp, Grirnentz, Grindelwald, Jungfrau[och, Kandersteg, Klosters, Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg, Meiringen, Montana, Murren, Piora, Pontreslna, Randa, Riffelalp, Saas-Fee, Samaden, Taesch, Trient, Val Ferret, Weisshorn, Wengen, Wengernalp, Zermatt. Minor ascents also from Andeer, Arosa, Champery, Chiiteau-d’<Ex, Centers, Corbeyrier, Davos, Evolena, Etivaz, Ferpecle, Fiesch, Filisur, Finhaut, Gruben, Gryon, Gstelg, Gstaad, Guttannen, Lenk, Les Hauderes, Les Plans, Montreux, Muhlen, San Bernardino, Savognino, Schuls, Spliigen, Villars, etc.

FOX HUNTING

Biarritz, Gibraltar, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Pau, Rome.

GAMBLING (cercles privés)

Aix-les-Balns, Biarritz, Cannes, Dinard, Evian, La Baule, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Monte-Carlo, Nice, Ostend, San Remo.

GOLF

AUSTRIA: Innsbruck-Igls, Ober-Dellach, Portschach and Villach (Carinthian Golf Club near to), Semmering, Vienna.
BELGIUM: Blankenberghe (near to), BrusselsyCcq-sur-Mer, Heyst-Duinbergen (near to), Knocke-Le Zoute, Ostend, Spa.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Carlsbad, Franzensbad, Marienbad, Pistany, Prague.
FRANCE: Aix-les-Bains, Arcachon, Bagneres de l’Orne, Biarritz, Cannes, Dieppe, Dinard, Divonne, , Etretat, Evian, Fontainebleau, Granville, Grasse, Hendaye-Plage, Hossegor, Hyeres, La Baule, Le Fayet-St. Gervais, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Luchon, Lyons, Megeve, Mentone, Monte Carlo, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Pau, Rouen, Salies-de-Bearn, st. Briac, St. Raphael, St. Jean de Luz, Versailles.
GERMANY: Aachen, Baden-Baden, Berlin, Cologne, Ems, Frankfurt a. M., Freudenstadt, Hanover, Homburg, Munich, Nauhelm, Schlangenbad, Schwalbach, Stuttgart, Wlesbaden,
GREAT BRITAIN: Golf is found in practically all resorts catering for the tourist community. On the South Coast the following places are recommended: Bexhill, Bournemouth, Brighton, Eastbeume, Hastings, St. Leonards and Southsea . See also Crowborough, Lewes, Southport and Tunbridge Wells. For special events, see Section Great Britain.
HUNGARY: Budapest, etc.
ITALY: Abbazla, Baveno, Bordighera, Brlonl, Clavieres, Cadenabbia, Carrezza al Lago (Karersee), Cernobbio, Como, Cortina, Florence, Grandola, Merano, Palermo, Pallanza, Rome, San Martino di Castrozza, San Remo, Stresa, Turin, Tremezzo (at Grandola).
LlECHENSTEIN: Vaduz.
LUXEMBOURG: The Ardennes generally.
SPAIN: Algesiras and Gibraltar, Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Sevilla.
SWITZERLAND: Aigle, Axenfels, Bale, Bex, Brunnen (Lake of Lucerne), Celerina (at Samaden), Crans-sur-Sierre, Davos, Geneva, Gstaad, Interlaken (Lake of Thoune), Lausanne, Les Rasses, Locarno, Lucerne, Lugano, Maloja, Montana, Montreux, Morschach, Neuchatel, Pontresina, Ragaz, Saanen, Saanenrndser, Samaden, Schuls, Sits (at Maloja) , Spiez, St. Moritz-Dorf and Bad, Tarasp, Territet
(at Aigle), Thoune, Villars, Vulpera, Zurich. .

POLO

Biarritz, Brioni, Budapest,Capnes, Gibraltar, Le Touquet-Parls-Plage, London, Norton near Bath, Ostend, Paris, Rome, San Sebastian, Santander, Wiesbaden.

TENNIS

Important English’ Clubs or International Tournaments on the Continent:
Abbazia, Aix-Ies-Bains, Arosa, Baden-Baden, Bellagio, Biarritz, Bordighera, Brlonl, Brussels, Budapest, Cannes, Carezza al Lago (Karersee), Cernobbio, Champery, Chateau-d’(Ex, Davos, Dieppe, Dlnard, Engelberg, Evlan-les-Balns, Florence, Gardone, Granville, Gstaad, Heidelberg, Homburg, Hyeres, Igls near Innsbruck, Klosters, Knucke-Le Zoute, La Baule, Lausanne, Le Touquet, Lucerne, Lugano, Mentone, Merano,Monte-Carlo, Montreux, Miirren, Nice, Ostend, Pau, Pallanza, Paris, Pontresina, PraguezRagaz, Rapallo, Rome, San Remo, Santa Margherita, Semmering, Scheveningen, St. Moritz. Stresa, Territet, Varese, Villars, Wiesbaden, Zermatt, Zurich, etc. TENNIS COURTS are of course found in all tourist resorts.
GREAT BRITAIN: The Championships at Wimbledon (London) are held end of June and early in July; other important events take place at Queen’s Club in May, June August and October, also at Bexhlll-on-Sea, Bournemouth, Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, St. Leonards, Southport, Southsea, Tunbridge Wells, etc. For special events, see Section Great Britain.

TROUT FISHING

AUSTRIA: Badgastein, Innsbruck, Ischl, Kitzbiihel, Salzburg, St. Anton, Villach, Vienna.
BELGIUM: The ARDENNES generally.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Pistany.
FRANCE: The Ardennes, Argentleres, the Chamonix Valley (Les Houches, etc.), Colmar (Vosges) and Megeve (Savoy). The Pyrenees. Besancon, Pontarlier, Sixt. GERMANY: In the Black-Forest: Badenweiler, Baden-Baden, Feldberg, Freiburg I, B., Glotterbad, Hinterzarten, Saig, Schonau, Schdnmllnzach, st. Blasien, Titisee, Todtmoos, Triberg, Wildbad. – In other districts: Bad Ems, Heidelberg, Homburg, Nauheim, Schlangenbad, Schwalbach. Also in the Bavarian Highlands. (Berchtesgaden, Reichenhall, etc.).
ITALY: Bormio, Cortina, Macugnaga, Pallanza (in the Toce and OssoIa), Varese. LIECHTENSTEIN: Vaduz.
LUXEMBOURG: The Ardennes generally.
NORWAY: the districts of Gudbrandsdalen, Telemarken, Røldal, Suldal, Vossestranden, Vik (Eidfjord), Jølster (Skei), Førde, etc.
SWITZERLAND: Airolo, Ballaigues, Berne, Bex-les-Balns, Celerina, Charnpery, Champ ex, Chateaud’(Ex, Crans, Davos, Diablerets, Engelberg, Fafleralp, Grimmialp, Grindelwald, Gstaad, Gsteig, Innertkirchen, Kandersteg, Klosters, Lenk, Lenzerheide, Le Prese, Locarno, Lucerne, Lugano, Mesocco, Montana, Monte Prosa, Montreux, Miihlen, Pi ora, Pontresina, Po schiavo, Ragaz, Saanen, Saanenmdser, Samaden, Savognino, Schuls, Sierre, Spiez, Spliigen, St. Moritz, Tarasp-Vulpera, Tiefenkastell, Val d’lIliez, Yverdon, Zuoz, . .

WINTER SPORTS

AUSTRIA: Igls, Innsbruck (neighbourhood), St. Anton, Semmering, Vienna (obtainable in neighbourhood). CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Heights of Tatra . janske Lazne, Marienbad, Tatra Lomnitz, Smokovec, Strba (Strsbke Pleso).
FRANCE: Argentleres, Chamonix and neighbourhood (Les Houches, Les Praz, etc.), Le Buet (Ski-Tours), Les Contamines (Ski-Tours), Megeve, Mont-Roc, Sf. Gervais, Sallanches (Ski-tours) ..
GERMANY: Feldberg, Freiburg (by mountain railway and car), Hinterzarten, Ruhestein, Saig, Schau insland, st. Blasien. Titisee, Todtmoos, Wildbad (all in Black-Forest).
ITALY: Clavieres, Cortina.
LIECHTENSTEIN: Vaduz.
NORWAY: Throughout the country after snow has fallen.
SWITZERLAND: ADELBODEN, Andeer, Andermatt, AROSA, Arveyes, Ballaigues, Beatenberg, Caux, Celerina, Champery, Champex, Charmey, CHATEA U-D’(EX, Chesieres, Conters, Corbeyrier, CRANS-sur-Sierre, DAVOS, Diablerets, ENGELBERG, Filisur, FLlX, Grimmialp, Griesalp, GRINDELWALD, GSTAAD, Gsteig, Hohfluh, jaunpass, jungfraujoch, KANDERSTEG, KLOSTERS, Kleine SCHEIDEGG, Lenk, LENZERHEIDE, Les Rasses, Maloja, MONTANA, Montreux, Miihlen (ski-tours), MURREN, Neuchatel and Neuveville (by train or car), PONTRESINA, Reutl, Saanen, SAANENMOSER, SAMADEN, St.Cergue, Ste. Croix, ST. MORITZ, San Bernardino, Savognino (ski-tours), Spliigen, Surlej,Vevey (by mountain railways), VILLARS, WENGEN, Wiesen (Grisons), ZERMATT, Zuoz. – Summer ski races on the Jungfraujoch.

Most Norwegian valleys with a bit of self respect has a railway line. Østerdalen has the Røros line, Gudbrandsdalen has the Dovre line, Valdres had its own railway until thirty years ago , Hallingdalen has the Bergen line, Numedal had the Numedal line also until relatively recently, and Setesdalen has got left a little bit of its former pride.

The steam engine “Bjørkaasen” with one of Lommedalen line’s 22 diesel engines

More recently Lommedalen in Bærum also got its own railway, thanks to one of the most narrow-gauged railway enthusiasts, Olaf Wiegel from Haslum in Bærum. Right from childhood , when he built a trolley track in his father’s garden centre for internal transport, through engineering education and subsequently a job in the National Rail Administration, many years working as a grounds man and operations manager at the Urskog-Høland line (better known as Tertitten) and then at least firstly, lonely navvy, with crowbar and sledgehammer in Lommedalen.

Text: Jørgen Seeman Berg – Photo: Egil Nordlien – Published in Norsk Motor Veteran The Lommedalen Line’s Homepage

That the Kessler Twins could sing is a well known fact, just have a look at the scoptitone movie below where they do a delicious version of “Quando Quando”. That the blonde German twins enjoyed taking their clothes of for the camera is a lesser known fact. But they did, and did it quite often if the images one can find on the net is anything to go by. just have a look at the image gallery found HERE

Movie posted on YouTube by brutallo

When I opened my mail box this morning I had received a marvellously entertaining mail from Russ over at Russ & Gary’s and since I guess a lot of you have been following the Winter Olympics these two last weeks I just had to share it with you all – Ted

What skaters, ski jumpers and curlers looked like back then

Speed skaters at the starting line

The Swedish and British curling teams. (Notice that there is a woman on the Swedish team. Obviously these things were a lot slacker back then)
Three members of the Swedish curling team taking a break to have a drink.

Clearing snow at the Olympic stadium – An ice hockey team

Norway’s Sonja Henie finished eight (of eight) She was eleven years old and would return to win the gold medal in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
Julius Skutnabb and Clas Tunberg of Finland won a combined eight medals in Chamonix.

Jacob Tullin Thams of Norway gold medallist in ski jumping.
Andrea Joly and Pierre Brunet won bronze in pair figure skating before taking gold in 1928 and 1932.

Competitors in bobsled

Spectators at the official stand.

A little more background

They competed in
Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice hockey, Skating; Figure skating & Speed skating, Nordic skiing, Military patrol*, Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and Ski jumping.

*At the 1924 Winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France, in 1924, a military patrol competition was held. The Olympic results database lists the official medal winners for the event, as does the Official Report (1924),yet several sources have incorrectly counted this competition as a demonstration event only. The event was also demonstrated in 1928, 1936, and 1948, but those results are still considered unofficial. A full 36 years would pass before the modern version of the sport, biathlon, became an official Winter Olympic sport.

The competition was held on Tuesday, January 29, 1924. Six teams started the event, but only four finished with Italy and Poland withdrawing due to bad conditions.

These nations participated:

The medals ended like this:

We Norwegians gave the Swedes a real ass whipe back then too. Heh, heh, heh :-b

Moxie’s Café’s Regular Patrons – Part 2

Angelique Antonia Zeederhøk Drunk Home Maker Adian’s Wife Eivor Maria Solvang Sylte Congregation Minister Severin Kjartan’s Mother

Adrian Zeederhøk Swedish Stock Broker Angelique’s Husband Severin Kjartan Solvang Sylte Poet Eivior Marie’s Son

Bernt-Bjarne Ballangrud Berntzen Alien Hunter Bengt-Bjarte’s Brother Bengt-Bjarte Ballangrud Berntzen Book Keeper Bernt-Bjarne’s Brother

Click the figures to get to know them better

Help Needed
I need your help visitors, both in suggesting sodas and soft drinks from around the world and in giving your opinion on the ones presented if you know the product. And you can start with giving your opinion on the ones posted already or reading what other visitors have written  – Ted

List of Soft drinks and sodas posted already
Visitors soft drinks and sodas suggestions and comments

I’d love to paste this beauty on the bedroom walls, but if I do I’ll probably end up a bachelor so I guess it’s not worth it – Ted

Early on a bright spring morning in 1900 a large horse-drawn van arrived at the workshop of Chicago camera builder J. A. Anderson. His most recent construction, the world’s largest camera, was ready for delivery and it required 15 men to load it into the van. They took it to the Chicago & Alton Railway Station where it was laboriously transferred to a flat car and moved to Brighton Park, some 6 miles from the city. There, they carried the 900 lbs camera a quarter of a mile to a suitable location in an open field. Under the direction of the camera’s designer, George R Lawrence, it was set up and pointed at the brand-new train standing in the distance. The Alton Limited was the pride of the Chicago & Alton Railway and the company had commissioned Lawrence to make the largest photograph possible of it, sparing no expense (for, reportedly, $5,000; or $145,000 in today’s money). Lawrence obliged by designing and overseeing the construction of a camera that could utilize glass plates 8 x 4½ ft in size. On that day he made a successful photograph of the train and with it he also made photographic history.

Text from Wikipedia 

The word rune comes from the Norse rún which means mystery. No one knows exactly when, where or by whom the runes were invented. The only thing archaeologists can confirm is that the oldest runic inscriptions found are about 1700 years old. They were discovered in Denmark and Norway.

The runic alphabet was used within Germanic languages – but primarily in the Nordic countries. It was a writing system where each character marked a certain sound. The alphabet is called Futhark after the first six runes. (An observant reader count seven letters in the name: The reason is that th is a diphthong – the same sound as the English sound th in thing). The original name is spelled fuþark.

Text and image found at ThorNews

My full name written in futhark runes

Icelandic is the only Nordic language that still has the þ sound in daily speach and contrary to in English they write it þ and not th.

The first paragraph in this post translated to Icelandic:
Orðið Rune kemur frá norrænni hlaupa sem þýðir leyndardómur. Enginn veit nákvæmlega hvenær, hvar eða af hverjum rúnirnar voru fundin. Það eina sem fornleifafræðingar geta staðfest er að elstu rúnir áletranir fundust eru um 1700 ára gömul. Þeir fundust í Danmörku og Noregi.

Related articles

Helensburgh (Baile Eilidh in Gaelic) is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch.

Helensburgh was formerly in Dumbarton District, but was re-allocated under local government reorganisation in 1996. Prior to 1975 it was part of the former Dunbartonshire.

History
Helensburgh was founded in 1776 when Sir James Colquhoun of Luss built spa baths on the site of Ardencaple Castle, which dated back to about 1600. He then had the seaside resort town constructed to the east of the spa on a formal layout in the style of Edinburgh New Town, and named it after his wife Helen. A ferry service he arranged across the Firth of Clyde to Greenock was successful in attracting residents who could commute from jobs there to attractive homes in the new town.

In 1808, Henry Bell bought the public baths and hotel, which his wife superintended while he continued his interest in early steamboats such as the nearby Charlotte Dundas and the North River Steamboat which Robert Fulton had just introduced at New York City. To improve hotel trade, he had the paddle steamer Comet constructed and in 1812 introduced Europe’s first successful steamboat service, bringing passengers down the River Clyde from Glasgow to Greenock and Helensburgh. The Clyde steamer trade developed rapidly, and Helensburgh pier and Craigendoran pier at the east end of the town both became major departure points. From 1858 holidaymakers were brought to the resort and the steamers by the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway terminus built in the centre of the town, and in 1894 a second railway station was opened higher up the hill on the West Highland Railway to Fort William.

Helensburgh born coal miner Charles Harper emigrated to New South Wales (now a state of Australia) and became the first manager of the Metropolitan Coal Company before being killed in a mine accident in 1887. In that year, the company took over the mining lease on an area south of Sydney known as Camp Creek. When the coal mine opened the following year, the town was named Helensburgh, possibly named after his birthplace or after his daughter Helen. The two Helensburghs are now sister cities.

In 1903, Charles Rennie Mackintosh built the Hill House for the publishing tycoon Walter Blackie. The house, in Colquhoun Street on the north edge of town, is one of the best examples of his style, with startlingly modern interiors incorporating furniture which he designed. It is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a popular tourist attraction.

Text from Wikipedia