HIERARCHY OF BRITISH SERVANTS

Here's some fun for the day……...

TRIVIA:
The Sphinx is a statue that guards what? 

BRAIN RIDDLE:
What can you catch but not throw?

JOKE:
Q:  What did 0 say to 8?
A:  Nice belt

RANDOM CONFESSION:
I'm not a fan of Josh Groban's voice.  I think he sounds like a male Snow White.


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
Developing a discipline of personal Bible study can make a huge impact on your life.  The first step to getting started is easy:  pick it up.

THE HIERARCHY OF BRITISH SERVANTS

I'm a big fan of the television show Downton Abbey.   Among some of the things that fascinate me about this show are the hierarchy of the servants in the household and the various 'dress' for the various meals.   This post will be on the hierarchy of the servants in what was called a "Great House" back in the day.   A Great House was considered to be a large and stately residence with a large household and ground staff.   We'll look at the dress for the meals in a future post.

Today I will just be looking at some of the main members of the household staff.   A rigid set of rules dictated the lives of the household servants in the 1800's and 1900's.    For example, mealtimes.  The Upper servants (Steward, Butler, Valet, Housekeeper, Lady's Maid) either ate separately or in this particular pattern:  The Butler sat at the head of the table with the Housekeeper at the opposite end.  The male servants sat in order of position on one side with the female servants sitting in order of position on the other side.

Here's a look at some of the members of the domestic servants of a "Great House" and some of their duties.   Pictures are of corresponding characters from Downton Abbey.   Whether your watch the show or not, it is interesting to learn the details.


STEWARD

-employed only in larger households
-manages household and household bills
-would not be considered servant but professional employee ( like a lawyer)
-manages all hiring and firing of staff



THE BUTLER

-referred to by last name.   (i.e. Mr Carson to his staff and Carson to his employer)
-Head of the household staff.  Top on the Hierarchy list as far as staff.
-in charge of pantry, dining room and wine
-typically hired by the master of the house but reported to the lady of the house
-responsible for ringing 'dressing bell' to let guests know it was time to dress for dinner
-last duty of the day was to check that all fires damped out and doors locked



THE HOUSEKEEPER

-senior female servant
-though usually a spinster, she was accorded the title of 'Mrs' out of respect (i.e. Mrs. Hughes on Downton Abbey)
-supervised hiring and firing of female staff
-met daily with the lady of the house to go over books and preside over Servant's Tea
-usually wears black uniform and set of keys at waist
-last duty of the day would be to oversee the washing and storing of the china



LADY'S MAID

-addressed by her surname by her employer and Miss by junior servants.  (i.e.  O'Brien, Miss O'Brien,  Braithwaite on Downton Abbey.  Anna is a Lady's Maid but her husband, Bates is the valet.  If both called by their surname there would be 2 Bates so Anna is called by her first name by her Ladyship)
-main duties were attending to her Ladyship's dressing, grooming, laying out of clothes, packing  (Lady of the house could often spend 4-5 hours a day dressing for various meals)
-companion for her Ladyship
-served breakfast each morning by Second Housemaid
-often resented by other female staff
-allowed to wear her mistress' cast off clothing 
-last duty was to wait up until her Ladyship retired for the evening to assist in undressing and brushing of hair

VALET

-what the lady's maid is to the lady of the house the valet is to the master of the house except he is paid more

-laying out clothing, keeping shoes and hats clean

-standing behind his employer at dinner

-running employers bath

-shave the master

-referred to by surname by his employer and Mr. by junior servants ( i.e. Bates/Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey)

-last duty of the day was to wait up for his Lordship to retire for the evening to assist in undressing

COOK

-supervised large staff to cook up to four elaborate meals a day

-met daily with lady of the house to discuss menu

-only extremely rich families could afford a male cook and the ultimate status symbol was a French chef

-last duty of the day would be preparing the Family dinner

FOOTMAN

-responsible for carrying coal, cleaning silverware , announcing visitors and waiting tables
-tall footman earned more than short 
-First Footman served as Valet to oldest son of the house
-Second Footman would have done more mundane tasks like cleaning staff boots and emptying male chamber pots and attend to younger sons of the family
-first footman would act as Butler in Butler's absence
-last job of the day was to clear and clean the china.


HOUSEMAIDS

-kept estate immaculate
-kept bedrooms supplied with water for washing and bathing
-tended fireplaces in the rooms
-scrub & empty chamber pots, turn down beds, drew curtains, dusted
-scrubbed floors by hand
-served Housekeeper her morning tea
-last job of the day was filling hot water bottles in Family and Upper Servant's beds to warm them



KITCHEN MAID

-prepare breakfast trays of Upper Servants
-assist cook in meals
-makes all breads, sauces and vegetable dishes
-prepares light meal for children of the house
-only allowed upstairs once a day for compulsory prayers
-last duty of the day is to store leftover food



SCULLERY MAID

-assistant to kitchen maid
-considered lowest servant in the house
-usually in teens
-first duty of the day was to stoke the kitchen fires
-empty all chamber pots of female staff (fun, fun)
-assist Lower Servants in serving Upper Servants breakfast

===============

TRIVIA ANSWER:
The Pyramids of Giza

BRAIN RIDDLE ANSWER:
A cold


Until next time…….

THE BLINKING LIGHT

Here's some fun for the day……..

TRIVIA:  
There are 10 body parts that are only 3 letters long.  Can you name them?

BRAIN TEASER:
Throw out my outer, eat my inner.  Then eat my outer and throw out my inner.  What am I?

JOKE:
Q:  What's blue and smells like green paint?
A:  Blue paint.

QUESTION TO PONDER:
Why don't fortune tellers win the lottery?

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

What is competing for your dedication to God?

THE BLINKING LIGHT

I recently finished a book by Kyle Idleman called "Not a Fan".  It is a great read about the difference in commitment as far as being a fan of Jesus or a follower of Jesus.  Fans are content to sit on the sidelines whereas followers are willing to make more of a commitment    He makes lots of great points and he is also quite humorous.  

Idleman mentions that fans of Jesus are often putting off spending more time in their commitment to Jesus.   Life's distractions become the main thing with Jesus fitting in if there is time.   Worship, church, Bible study and making sacrifices to help others take a back seat because there isn't time.  They'll start to 'follow' tomorrow.  Often, tomorrow becomes today when tragedy strikes.  After years of putting Him off, they finally turn to Jesus in desparation.   However, it is best to already be grounded in your faith and a 'follower' before life takes a turn for the worse.  I can attest to this.  I've faced various difficulties throughout my life and some of those times were when my dedication to Him took a backseat to my life.  I felt much more anxiety in difficult circumstances when I wasn't grounded in my faith compared to when I was.   It's much easier to face hard times with your faith already commited and strong.   It makes a difference.  It doesn't make problems go away, but the strength you feel when facing them is so much better.  There's  a peace that passes all understanding and keeps your mind and your heart at rest.  (to paraphrase Philippians 4:7)

One of the stories Idleman shares in his book along these lines is one he calls the blinking light.   I thought I'd share that today.  

He talks of owning a Plymouth Breeze car when he was younger.   At one point the check engine light came on.  He opened the hood and looked at the engine but that was pretty much all he knew to do.   He didn't have any money to fix it.   However, the light was annoying, so he eventually got a piece of black electrical tape and covered it up.   Problem solved.  No more blinking light.   Of course, this would not be a permanent fix.   Eventually his car broke down and the transmission was shot.   The manufacturer had designed the car so that if something wasn't right with the engine the check engine light would come on to give the owner enough warning time to get it fixed.  

Just like in life, we can ignore warning signs and pretend everything is ok, but if you pay attention to the 'blinking light' you can save yourself a lot of stress and heartache and be better equipped for what comes your way.  When the 'light' comes on, it is a call to action.

There are natural consequences when we put Jesus on the back burner and choose to go our own way.  We are often given 'blinking lights' to get our attention so we get on the right path and follow Him and sadly we ignore them.

Don't ignore the blinking light.  Don't put off for tomorrow what you need to do today.   Don't just be a fan.  Be a follower and be better equipped for the road of life.

===============
TRIVIA ANSWER:
eye, hip, arm, leg, ear, toe, jaw, rib, lip, gum

BRAIN TEASER:
An ear of corn

Until next time……..

4 BITS OF INFO YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Here's some fun for the day………..

TRIVIA:
What does Peppermint Patty always call Charlie Brown in the "Peanuts" cartoons?

JOKE:
Q:  Which President is least guilty?
A:  Lincoln.  He is in a cent.

BRAIN RIDDLE:
If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?


QUESTION TO PONDER:
If you didn't know how old you were how old would you be?




COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

Compromise is an important element in getting along with others, but we should never compromise the truth of God's Word.

4 BITS OF INFO YOU MAY NOT KNOW

1.  WHAT DOES THE “57” STAND FOR IN HEINZ’S FAMOUS SLOGAN, “57 VARIETIES?”

While riding a train in New York City in 1896, Henry Heinz saw a sign advertising 21 styles of shoes, which he thought was clever. Although Heinz was manufacturing more than 60 products at the time, Henry thought 57 was a lucky number. So, he began using the slogan "57 Varieties" in all his advertising. Today the company has more than 5,700 products around the globe, but still uses the magic number of "57."
Interestingly enough, ketchup was not the first product H.J. Heinz produced.  Although ketchup is the most famous Heinz product today, when Henry Heinz started the Company in 1869, his first product was bottled horseradish made from his mother's own recipe.
Ketchup didn’t come along until seven years later in 1876.

When having difficulty getting the ketchup out of the glass bottle, hit the 57 on the top of the bottle with your palm.  This will help.   So will throwing it against the wall and breaking it open.   Then of course, there's always the plastic bottle and just squishing it out.





2.  WHY ARE CRESCENT MOONS ON THE DOOR OF OUTHOUSES?

So, I tend to ponder extremely random things.   In case you've always wanted to know about the outhouse moon, it turns out that this was mainly perpetuated by cartoonists.   There is also a school of thought that the practice began during colonial days as an early 'mens/ladies' designation for an illiterate populace.  (the sun and moon being popular symbols for the genders during those times)  The sun for boys toilets and the moon for girls.   Although the history of the 'cut out' may not be clear, the purpose is.   Ventilation and lighting.



3.  AMERICAN CAR HORNS BEEP IN THE TONE OF 'F'

I must say I've always wished my car horn would beep to the tune of Woody Woodpecker's laugh.   That or the Road Runners 'beep beep'.  


4.  HOW DID THE SOFT DRINK '7-UP' GET IT'S NAME?

Created by the Howdy Corporation in St. Louis, MO, 7UP was an optimistic venture from the very start.   C.L. Grigg decided to try his luck with lemons and limes and spent more than two years testing over 11 different formulas, all in search of a drink that was refreshing enough to prove irresistible to the people of Missouri and the world at large. In 1929, C.L. Grigg’s bubbliest drink was born and originally called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda.   (Gee, wonder why the name was eventually changed??)  As the drink grew more and more popular, Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda became known as 7UP.

The '7' coming from "seven natural flavors blended into a savory, flavory drink with a real wallop." and with UP being the direction of the bubbles.  

I used to enjoy grabbing a cold, green bottle of 7 UP because it was so refreshing.  Eventually I came to associate this drink with being sick.   It seemed that anytime I had a sore throat or upset stomach 7UP was the drink to drink.  I’ve yet to shake the association of sick = drink 7UP

===================


TRIVIA ANSWER:
Chuck

BRAIN RIDDLE ANSWER:
One.  If he combines them all the become one.

Until next time…….

COLD WEATHER HUMOR & JOKES

Here's some fun for the day…….

TRIVIA:  
What two planets of our solar system have no moons?

BRAIN TEASER:
What are the next three letters in the following sequence?

J, F, M, A, M, J, J, A, __, __, ___


TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
If we are struggling with a difficult situation, stay full of hope and remember that God can change everything.

HUMOR FOR A COLD AND BLUSTERY DAY

"Baby it's Cold Outside" as the song says.   So in keeping with frigid temperatures, I thought some cold weather humor would be in order.     Enjoy!

COLD WEATHER JOKES:

Q: What do you get from sitting on the ice too long? 

A: Polaroids 

Q: What's an ig? 

A: A snow house without a loo

Q: Where can you find an ocean without any water? 

A: On a map

Q: What vegetable was forbidden on the ships of Arctic explorers? 
A: Leeks

Q: What do women use to stay young looking in the Arctic? 
A: Cold cream. 

Q: What do you call ten Arctic hares hopping backwards through the snow together? 

A: A receding hare line. 

Q: Why are bad school grades like a shipwreck in the Arctic Ocean? 

A: They're both below C level! 

HOW COLD WAS IT??

It was so cold....
Hitchhikers were holding up pictures of thumbs

It was so cold...

Grandpa’s teeth were chattering......in the glass

It was so cold....

When we milked the cows we got ice cream

It was so cold....

The politicians had their hands in their own pockets

It was so cold....

Richard Simmons started wearing pants.

COLD WEATHER 'KNOCK KNOCK' JOKES

Knock Knock

Who’s There?

Freeze.

Freeze Who?

“Freeze a jolly good fellow....”

Knock Knock

Who’s There?
Emma.

Emma Who?
Emma a bit cold out here, let me in

Knock Knock

Who’s There?

Alaska.

Alaska who?

Alaska my mom if I can play in the snow.

Enjoy the winter weather!

====================

TRIVIA ANSWER:
Mercury and Venus

BRAIN TEASER ANSWER
S, O, N   ( the letters are the first letters of the months, so September, October and November were next)

Until next time……..

WHO IS THE PILOT?

Here's some fun for the day…...

TRIVIA:
Which four states touch at one point?

BRAIN TEASER:
A bat and a ball cost $1.10.   The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.  How much does the ball cost?

JOKE:
Q:  Why did the tomato turn red?
A:  It saw the salad dressing.

HUMOROUS QUOTE:
"I just got out of the hospital.   I was in a speed reading accident.  I hit a bookmark."
(Steven Wright)


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
In the midst of troubles, give thanks to God and trust Him to lead you to bigger and better things.

WHO IS THE PILOT?  An observation

Our family recently went to Florida for a vacation.   On the travel back we had various airplane issues as far as delays and cancellations.   It seems that airline travel is an extra pain these days.  There is always something going on with the trip.   I was telling our daughter how flying used to be pleasant.  She was saying she never liked it and that she prefers to have the control like you have with driving.   You control your schedule a bit more with driving and you or someone you know is at the wheel.   Plus, you can take nice little pit stops along the way at diners and such.

Our trip home got me thinking (as everything does) about the analogy between an airline pilot taking us on a trip and our true pilot, God, taking us through life.  Also, how many of us like the feeling of control.

As I was contemplating control and airline travel, the thing that hit me as interesting was how we trust the pilot to take us where we need to go.   We trust him with our life.   We don't know this person and a lot of the times we don't even see the pilot until we are leaving the plane.   The funny thing is, how often do we try to take over the flying of the plane from this stranger?  How often do we tell the pilot to scoot over and let us take control?  How often do we think we know better than the pilot and so we're going to fly the plane?  "Scoot over pilot…I got this…"  Well, for me, that would be never, and I assume that's the case for most people.   The thing is, we know the most experienced person to fly the plane is the one calling the shots.  We trust that and don't try to push the pilot out of the way.   

We have God as our pilot for our lives and yet we often try to take over control of the 'plane' from Him.  How much more experienced and wise than us is God at knowing what's best?   He created the Universe and we still try to take over the controls and tell God "..I got this, let me handle it…"   God is much better equipped to be 'calling the shots' than us.  Many people can't see God working in their lives, not because they lack faith, but because they insist on having too much control.   

If we can board a plane and trust that the pilot is the best equipped to fly the plane, then we should also realize that God is the most equipped to guide our lives.  


TRIVIA ANSWER:
Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico

BRIAN TEASER ANSWER:
The ball cost 5 cents.  One dollar more than 5 cents is $1.05 which gives a total of $1.10


Until next time…..

MEANINGS BEHIND WORDS/SAYINGS (Part 4)

Here's some fun for the day…...

TRIVIA:
What color is known as 'vert' on a coat of arms?


BRAIN TEASER

There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?

JOKE:  
Q:  Why didn't the melons get married?
A:  Because they Cantaloupe.

QUESTION TO PONDER
Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
We might be experiencing some problems in life - not realizing that we create them by what we choose to think about.

MEANINGS BEHIND COMMON WORDS

Here's a look at the history/meaning behind some common words:


The word..

Dunce

Until modern times, few teachers hesitated to put a dunce cap on the head of a slow or rebellious student.   Generations of Americans followed that practice for years.   Not many realized that a latter-day dunce took that title from a famous scholar.

Scottish-born John Duns Scotus founded the school of scholasticism called Scotism, which opposed the followers of Thomas Aquinas.   Admirers and contemporaries in the 13th century called Scotus the Subtle Doctor.

Generations later in the 16th century, many scholars who revered him resisted new waves of learning.  Their opponents ridiculed followers of Duns Scotus, or Dunsmen, frequently and loudly.  So much noise was made that anyone judged incapable of accepting fresh ideas came to be called a dunce.

This makes me think of that fairy tale about the princess that wasn't the brightest bulb in the forest.   

"….Dunce upon a time in a corner far far away…..a princess of little wit tried to climb a mountain dew….."



The word..

Deadlock

Wrestling was a highly developed sport at least five thousand years ago.  Sculpture from temple tombs near the Nile indicate that ancient grapplers used many of the holds still in vogue.  

No one knows precisely when the sport became prominent in Britain.  But by the time noblemen became engrossed with chivalry, many commoners were wrestling fans.

It was not unusual for a burly yeoman to make a special move.  By means of it he could hold an opponent indefinitely, but was unable to force submission.   Because it killed action, a hold of this sort was called a deadlock.  Spreading from the ring, it came to label a stalemate of any kind.

I'm often at a deadlock in certain decisions.   Should I get White Castles or McDonalds?  Ah, the difficulty of such decisions.




The word..
Phony

When you say that a piece of jewelry or a work of art is phony, you owe the label to early Irish sharpers.  One of the favorite ruses of those men was the 'fawney rig' - given that name from Irish for a finger-ring.

A con artist using this stratagem put a ring, or fawney, in a public place.  Sooner or later someone would come along and pick up the piece equipped with imitation stone.  Appearing from nowhere, the swindler persuaded or frightened his victim into paying him to keep quiet about the find.  Making off with hush money, the sharpers would leave the victim holding a fawney that seemed valuable but was actually worthless.

So many persons were defrauded that anything fake came to be called fawney.   The original Irish word was fáinne, in England it became fawney, and it was finally Americanized to phony.

If you've ever had lunch meat that says it's first name is Oscar, but it really spells it OsKar…..then that's phony boloney.  


The word...

Potluck

Medieval gentry usually had plenty of rich food, frequently serving four or five kinds of meat at a meal.  However, families in the lower economic classes had no such abundance.  Often a struggle was required to get enough food to prevent hunger.

In order to stretch her food, the wife of a commoner would keep an iron pot on an open fire. She threw all her leftovers into it each day, and kept it simmering much of the time.  If a relative arrived unexpectedly, they were likely to have to eat from the pot without knowing what odds and ends had gone into it.

This early and literal form of taking potluck came to name the act of eating any meal for which the host or hostess has made no special preparation.  

The other day, my Revere wear cooking pot went to Speedway and while it was buying donuts it found $25.   That's an entirely different kind of potluck.


TRIVIA ANSWER:
Green
BRAIN TEASER ANSWER:
Watermelon

Until next time…….