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Authors: Iain Pattinson
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model village. Not, one would think, a great boast.
Another popular local attraction is the Spanish Barn, which housed prisoners captured from the Armada. Many of these settled in the Torquay area and their descendants can still be seen working by night in the many local tapas bars, and by day in the town square beating a donkey to death with sticks.
Wimpey Homes’ new housing estate, Babbacombe
In the 18th Century, the local coastline became the notorious haunt of smugglers, who constantly evaded capture to the irritation of customs officers. Contraband would be unloaded and carried under cover of darkness from nearby Smugglers’ Cove, via Smugglers’ Alley, to be stored in the cellar of the Smuggler’s Inn. If only those customs men had had more to go on.
Probably Torquay’s most famous daughter was the author and playwright: Agatha Christie. Her stage drama, The Mousetrap , has been running continuously in the West End of London since 1952, but in those days they did tend to write much longer plays. The Mousetrap was actually adapted from Christie’s radio drama, Three Blind Mice , but the title was later changed as everyone quickly worked out that it was the farmer’s wife who did it, with a carving knife.
LYTTELTON’S BRITAIN
ENGLAND
THE HOME COUNTIES
WOKING
T HE FINE SOUTH England town of Woking is described by no less an authority than the Longer OED as: ‘A town in southern England’.
As you might expect, Woking revels in a fascinating history. It was in 1587 that Vasco Da Gama set sail in search of trade routes, and his vessel was blown off course into a broad river estuary. Trekking inland for several days, Da Gama came upon a small settlement and claimed it for King Ferdinand of Portugal. This is what we now call the Amazon Basin. But just think. If only he’d turned right instead of left coming out of Lisbon, Woking could so easily now be the capital of Brazil.
Old Woking is first mentioned in the Domesday Book, when the Normans arrived at what was then a hunting heath, noted for its trade in animal skins. When their new rulers came to buy pelts, the local Saxons are recorded as helpfully putting up signs directing all visiting Norman barons in the direction of the fur queue.
In the 16th Century, Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to Woking Palace, whom he saw beat West Bromwich Albion two-nil in a thrilling cup-tie in 1536.
John Donne spent some time nearby on the Wey Navigation Canal, where he wrote Fear Not for Whom the Bell Tolls in between presenting his marvellous Radio Two programme.
Modern Woking is famously home to the Kenwood Mixer,named after its inventor Ken Woodmixer. Life was transformed for a generation of young 1960s’ housewives experiencing the joys of its electrically induced pulse mechanism, and as a bonus it chopped food as well.
The town guide tells us that Woking’s environs are famous for their wildlife habitats, home to rare types of bee, adders and the unique spider-hunting wasp. Sadly, the Woking & District Wasp Pack have recently had their spider hunt disrupted by saboteurs, laying false trails of jam sandwiches.
In 1994 the Spice Girls started their sensational pop careers at Woking’s Knaphill Studio. It was on 17th July that five unknown but supremely talented female vocalists were booked in there for a recording session, so the Spice Girls had to wait.
Other famous names associated with the area include the Formula One team McLaren and the writer of War of the Worlds , H. G. Wells. Proud Woking commemorated these local success stories by erecting a huge racing car and a seventeen-metre statue of a martian. One can only imagine the relief felt by the council when they missed out on leasing premises to the Viagra corporation.
The prototype Kenwood mixer proved a little unwieldy
GUILDFORD
I T’S NOT EVERY Surrey commuter town that can boast not only a bustling Bohemian Latin Quarter but also a Moorish citadel surrounded by a warren of dark
Another popular local attraction is the Spanish Barn, which housed prisoners captured from the Armada. Many of these settled in the Torquay area and their descendants can still be seen working by night in the many local tapas bars, and by day in the town square beating a donkey to death with sticks.
Wimpey Homes’ new housing estate, Babbacombe
In the 18th Century, the local coastline became the notorious haunt of smugglers, who constantly evaded capture to the irritation of customs officers. Contraband would be unloaded and carried under cover of darkness from nearby Smugglers’ Cove, via Smugglers’ Alley, to be stored in the cellar of the Smuggler’s Inn. If only those customs men had had more to go on.
Probably Torquay’s most famous daughter was the author and playwright: Agatha Christie. Her stage drama, The Mousetrap , has been running continuously in the West End of London since 1952, but in those days they did tend to write much longer plays. The Mousetrap was actually adapted from Christie’s radio drama, Three Blind Mice , but the title was later changed as everyone quickly worked out that it was the farmer’s wife who did it, with a carving knife.
LYTTELTON’S BRITAIN
ENGLAND
THE HOME COUNTIES
WOKING
T HE FINE SOUTH England town of Woking is described by no less an authority than the Longer OED as: ‘A town in southern England’.
As you might expect, Woking revels in a fascinating history. It was in 1587 that Vasco Da Gama set sail in search of trade routes, and his vessel was blown off course into a broad river estuary. Trekking inland for several days, Da Gama came upon a small settlement and claimed it for King Ferdinand of Portugal. This is what we now call the Amazon Basin. But just think. If only he’d turned right instead of left coming out of Lisbon, Woking could so easily now be the capital of Brazil.
Old Woking is first mentioned in the Domesday Book, when the Normans arrived at what was then a hunting heath, noted for its trade in animal skins. When their new rulers came to buy pelts, the local Saxons are recorded as helpfully putting up signs directing all visiting Norman barons in the direction of the fur queue.
In the 16th Century, Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to Woking Palace, whom he saw beat West Bromwich Albion two-nil in a thrilling cup-tie in 1536.
John Donne spent some time nearby on the Wey Navigation Canal, where he wrote Fear Not for Whom the Bell Tolls in between presenting his marvellous Radio Two programme.
Modern Woking is famously home to the Kenwood Mixer,named after its inventor Ken Woodmixer. Life was transformed for a generation of young 1960s’ housewives experiencing the joys of its electrically induced pulse mechanism, and as a bonus it chopped food as well.
The town guide tells us that Woking’s environs are famous for their wildlife habitats, home to rare types of bee, adders and the unique spider-hunting wasp. Sadly, the Woking & District Wasp Pack have recently had their spider hunt disrupted by saboteurs, laying false trails of jam sandwiches.
In 1994 the Spice Girls started their sensational pop careers at Woking’s Knaphill Studio. It was on 17th July that five unknown but supremely talented female vocalists were booked in there for a recording session, so the Spice Girls had to wait.
Other famous names associated with the area include the Formula One team McLaren and the writer of War of the Worlds , H. G. Wells. Proud Woking commemorated these local success stories by erecting a huge racing car and a seventeen-metre statue of a martian. One can only imagine the relief felt by the council when they missed out on leasing premises to the Viagra corporation.
The prototype Kenwood mixer proved a little unwieldy
GUILDFORD
I T’S NOT EVERY Surrey commuter town that can boast not only a bustling Bohemian Latin Quarter but also a Moorish citadel surrounded by a warren of dark
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