Beach Pyjamas, Alan Aldridge, and "Corpse at the Carnival" by George Bellairs

The wonderful meanderings (same as a wandering? I wonder!) of the web. So, I bought, for US$0.10, a Penguin Crime novel by an author I had never heard of--George Bellairs, who--as of this writing--is barely worth a stub on Wikipedia. First published in 1958, "Corpse at the Carnival" was published by Penguin in 1964 and is amusing romp of a mystery that takes one on a tour of the Isle of Man during a week of summer vacations.

My first reason for hitting the Net was to look up Manx, partly to see whether the cat by that name was also associated with the Isle of Man, but also because for those who don't know anything about the Isle of Man, Manx is just a great word. But the real reason for the post isn't Manx. Rather it is the other searching brought on by the book -- and its cover.

So, it is a summer in the mid-1950's of vacationers from across the waters, as the Manx say. Bellairs first sent me to the Net because of the idea that Brits were already investing in artificial tans by then, which turned out to be true. But, then on to beach pyjamas: I had never heard the term before I read it in this book. This was an easy search, first taking me to a Flickr page with a picture of such from the 1930's:

Beach pyjamas were very popular with the fashionable ladies of the 30s. Worn with bare backs, the beach suit had the arms revealed and long flared legs- the start of elegant leisure wear.

Well, I was satisfied that 20 years later, this could still be fashionable on the Isle of Man; or George Bellairs, being in his 50's himself was relying on pre-war memories of Manx visitors.

What really bothered me, however, was the cover. So poor Uncle Fred, lying dead on the promenade, is fine. But what in tarnation is he doing with a bright red Coca-Cola sticker on the bottom of each shoe, in this otherwise black, pen-lined drawing? I am not going to re-read the whole book, but I am sure I remember nothing about Coca-Cola. I did check his death scene, as well as the description of him and his possessions while laid out in the morgue, but nothing there either.

The back of the book tells me that the illustrator was Alan Aldridge. Another name that means nothing to me. However, this time, I get more from Wikipedia and learn about his association with all sorts of iconographic art of the 1960s. I do learn that before being associated with the Beatles, he was the art director at Penguin Books, where he was noted for his own vision with science fiction books. Before joining Penguin in 1965, he had done some freelance covers for them, so, therefore, the one he did for this book was produced at that time. So, wonderful, what do I know? Mainly speculation that Aldridge was just incorporating a popular culture icon (the Coca-Cola emblem) for his own artistic sense?

There you have it. Until now, a Google search for ""Beach Pyjamas" "Alan Aldridge"" would generate no hits, so this will soon be remedied. I have updated his Wikipedia article for his Penguin career. For other Aldridge work, check out:

Why is Hockey called Hockey?

A great internet wander this one. So many variants, even when they say the same things. Best part was the start in Wikipedia. First, from the article Hockey:

the word "hockey" was recorded in 1363 when Edward III of England issued the proclamation: "[m]oreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games."

Compare and contrast to the article from Ice Hockey:

The name of hockey itself has no clear origin, though the first known mention of the word 'hockey' in English dates to 1799 in England.

and then further elaborates:

In 1799, William Pierre Le Cocq, in a letter written in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, provides the earliest known reference to the word 'hockey': “I must now describe to you the game of Hockey; we have each a stick turning up at the end. We get a bung. There are two sides one of them knocks one way and the other side the other way. If any one of the sides makes the bung reach that end of the churchyard it is victorious.”

So, let us start gathering some other origin stories and etymologies:

1. Answers.com "The etymology of the word hockey is uncertain. It may derive from the Old French word hoquet, shepherd's crook, or from the Middle Dutch word hokkie, meaning shack or doghouse, which in popular use meant goal. "
2. Virtual Museum of Canada However, in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia, considered one of the birthplaces of the game, a story has long circulated regarding a Colonel Hockey, stationed at the garrison on Fort Edward. The Colonel used the game to keep his troops conditioned, and the game soon adopted his name, as many referred to these workouts as "Hockey's Game." Though there is no official documentation backing either claim, timing lends credence to the Colonel's story. The British Army list, housed in the Library of Nova Scotia's General Assembly in Halifax, lists a John Hockey serving in the mid-1800s when the name of the game was adopted.
3. Word-Origins.com: The first known unequivocal reference to the game of hockey comes in William Holloway’s General Dictionary of Provincialisms 1838, where he calls it hawkey, and describes it as ‘a game played by several boys on each side with sticks, called hawkey-bats, and a ball’ (the term came from West Sussex). It is not known for certain where the word originated, but it is generally assumed to be related in some way to hook, with reference to the hockey stick’s curved end. The Galway Statutes of 1527 refer to the ‘hurling of the little ball with hockie sticks or staves’, which may mean ‘curved sticks’.

But, for a full picture, read Chapter 1 ("The Origins of "Hockey": Behind the Dictionary Definition" by Gerald Owen) in Total Hockey, Second Edition (extensively quoted at PickUpHockey.com). I particularly like how Owen combines threads when he writes:

But yes, the surname could well have been an influence-a pun-like coincidence that may have delighted people if Colonel Hockey himself played, or watched, hurley / bandy / shinty / randy / ricket / wicket / break-shins / hockey.

Internet Wandering

OK. This is what the Internet is really about, so rather than just letting all my wonder wandering die, I will start capturing some of it. Maybe this is a blog that will appeal to my stick-to-it'ivenes!