Slumming it.
I’ve had a great weekend. I’ve been slumming it. Did you know that the word ‘slumming’ came into existence in the late 1870s? It then rose in usage until around 1900 when it declined before rising in popularity again in the late 1970s. Interestingly it is now nearly three times more popular (in 2017) than it was in 1880. Slumming it came about in Victorian times when the middle and upper classes thought it great fun to go and poke their noses around the slums of the East End to see for themselves what life there was really like. It became a form of tourism, forays into ‘Dark London’, a social event that, for some, was nothing short of what we now call rubbernecking. I’ve been researching this phenomenon for a novel, which is why I mention it here. I think it’s going to form the basis of a longer post on my other blog over at jacksonmarsh.com where I’ve been posting a Saturday blog about writing, my books, and related subjects, currently Victorian London as that’s where my research is taking me.
Meanwhile, on Symi…
Neil’s sent me some more of his photos taken when out and about, and as you can see, Paddington is now reunited with Great Aunt Lucy, at least, that’s who we think the second bear should be called. This was knitted for us by a friend who brought it over when she came to visit recently. There are still some regular Symi visitors here, not as many as usual, of course, but the square has had a few busy nights. Some still have no idea about keeping a distance for a good few days after arrival, but we’re becoming quite adept at virtual hugs and kisses thrown across empty space while politely requesting at least one chair’s distance. This isn’t out of fear or rudeness, simply common sense. Even if a test was negative a few days ago, you’ve still been stuck in a metal tube with X number of strangers, maybe crammed into a bus or ridden in a taxi driven by someone you don’t know. You’ve been on a ferry for sure, and well, who knows what’s happened between filling out an online form and turning up on the island. Most people, I’m pleased to say, respect the fact that masks must be worn, and distances kept.
And what’s on this week? Well, I’ve ordered myself to get back to my short walks up a long hill, I have reading to do and another story on the go, but apart from that… Not a lot else. So, I shall get back to slumming it in 1885 and putting words together in what I hope will be a readable order.
