Interesting facts

[radfordred 6,284]

In 1894 there were only 4 cars in the USA.

[Caz 25]

You don't say....................................... tease

[mick2me 3,033]

How many are there now?

[Tutanic 8]

Toooooo many!!!

A crazy crazy

[radfordred 6,284]

Until we built Clifton Bridge those over the Trent could only communicate using various noises & sounds.

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

And sign language

[Guest]

And charge us a toll.

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

That was Wilford bridge not Clifton

[DAVIDW 1,681]

OT but just posted it on a Cornish Nostalgia site . Have researched the old news archives for this and it was difficult to write but some may find it interesting .

The Man Who Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo (unfortunately can't find a Notts connection) !

This is a story that would make a good Sunday night prime-time TV serial .

For many months in Falmouth in 1912 , many people had seen a fairly elderly gentleman with a much younger female companion aboard a steam yacht called the Harbinger .

The yacht (formerly called The Excelsior) was lavishly fitted out and had a white funnel and 2 masts and was large enough that it needed a small crew to man her .

The gentleman seemed friendly enough ,some thought he was French and he always paid cash for his supplies , and they spent much of their days leisurely fishing .

Imagine the towns surprise , when a top Scotland Yard detective suddenly arrived in Falmouth together with a French policeman and arrested the couple on the yacht.

The gentleman answered to the name of Lucien Rivier and the lady called herself Jeanne Burns . He was in his 70's , she was much younger in her mid 40's .

These names though were aliases , the gentlemans real name was Charles De Ville Wells , born in Broxbourne , Herts in 1841 but apparently at various times he had used more than 20 aliases , including the name William Davenport .The lady had also been known as Jeanne Pairis , sometimes Binet .

He was wanted in France for a huge swindle in which he had opened a "bank" in Paris in 1910, promising investors that he would pay interest at the rate of 1% per day , equivalent to a spectacular 365% per annum !

Money flowed in from 1000s of punters . Of course it was a scam , he was using money that came in from new investors to send token interest to old investors....as soon as he failed to attract further new investors , the scheme wwas bound to collapse .

The police paid him a visit at his Paris office but before they could investigate further he and his female companion had vanished , along with all the cash .

Upon arrest in Falmouth he was extradited to France , where he received a 5 year prison sentence and was 75 years old when released . Ironic in that in a previous swindle he carried out in England , he had had to be extradited from France to receive an English punishment ! That was in 1905/6 .

This earlier swindle carried out on English soil involved a Cornish born vicar !

The Reverend Vyvyan Henry Moyle and Charles De Ville Wells (or William Davenport as he was called then) had a scheme where they sold mortgages on decrepit old fishing boats but promised huge returns on capital for fish that the boats caught . At exhibitions ,Moyle would attend in his clerics clothes to give credence to the claims . No fish were caught , the boats were hardly sea-worthy .

The Rev . Vyvyan Moyle was no stranger to the courts . Born in 1834 , (the son of a Penzance surgeon called Richard Moyle) , his lifestyle didn't match a lowly vicars income.

In 1873 and this after marrying an Irish heiress called Wilhelmina Wade (in 1865) , he received a 7 year prison sentence for forging share certificates worth £22,000 , at his parish in Eston near Middlesborough .

Amazingly, despite having a criminal record ,upon release from jail, he was given another chance to save souls and was appointed as a vicar near Reading .

In 1894 he was again in trouble and was declared bankrupt but the high life in London still beckoned .

In 1899 he was dismissed as he had only given 3 Sunday services in 6 months at his parish at Ashampstead . How Moyle and Wells got together is not known , maybe they met in prison .

Prior to all this must get back to Charles De Ville Wells , who was educated and had worked in France as an engineer .

He came to England in 1885 with a small fortune . He was an

inventor and patented numerous items such as musical skipping ropes , torpedoes and electric lights but used up all his money in getting the patents passed.

In order to try and get his ideas into production he asked for investment , promising great rewards .

Money poured in to the tune of some £50,000 but instead of using it for his inventions he headed off to Monte Carlo and used it for his system of playing the roulette tables .

He had studied the tables and sequences of numbers and only bet when the time was right for his system .

Wells had some amazing good luck and in his own words won some £65,000 (worth millions at todays rates). He "broke the bank" , which actually didn't clear the casino out

of all it's reserves of money but "breaking the bank" meant tables had to be shut down in order for more cash to be brought in .

He was so famous that the well known song , The Man Who Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo was written about him . After his wins, he became known as "Monte Carlo Wells" .

Even in death , Wells was a mystery . Many newspapers reported his death in 1922 aged 85 as " near Paris" .

In reality it would appear he had been living in a humble lodging at Edith Grove , Chelsea , still tinkering with inventions .

His landlady was quite unaware that he was the Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo and indeed he died owing 2 weeks rent !

It appears he was buried at Sheen Cemetery , Richmond .

[radfordred 6,284]

If everyone stopped paying the extra to pre-book their seats on airplanes,  everyone that wanted to sit together could 

[MargieH 7,599]

1 hour ago, radfordred said:

If everyone stopped paying the extra to pre-book their seats on airplanes,  everyone that wanted to sit together could 

 

As long as family and other groups got on the plane first!

[FLY2 10,108]

I gladly pay to get on before kids, buggies, wheelchairs, anyone. I always sit near the window, and over the wing, and say that I'm a qualified First Aider. (Which I used to be)

[loppylugs 8,427]

Oh! for the days when the seats had legroom.  The food was served on a decent plate with real cutlery.  My first flight was to Canada in 1970.  BOAC back then.  Really pleasant.  I don't want to fly anymore and I flew lots up until about 911.  I've flown since but it's going down hill all the time.  Treated like a criminal at security and packed into a flying sewer pipe.  Peanuts or pretzels to eat if you are lucky.   No thanks!  I'm not talking budget airlines either.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Never flown 'long haul' don't fancy it either but my son in Australia is insisting i fly out for his wedding (no date fixed yet) so might have to.Furthest ive flown was Tenerife,,never had a problem when flying the odd Prat getting drunk but thats about it.

         My first time was 1971 to Majorja with a ladies dart team from Arnold (don't ask) £40 all in for 4 days......obviously fell in love whilst there (twice) one lady thought i was 'Derrin Nesbitt'' remember him? played along obviously..............lol

[loppylugs 8,427]

You mean nobody thought you were Alf Garnett?  

 

Oooh!  The thought of Alf on a plane for seven hours with the Pakistani cricket team.  The tv producers really missed out on that one.  Lol.

[Brew 5,409]

Push the boat out Ben and fly business class. You fly in two legs, 12 hours to Singapore, 11 hours to Aus. Lie flat seats and a decent kip is the way to go

[PeverilPeril 3,279]

Deffo stop over in Singapore. Get a fabulous suit with waistcoat made there for not much money. 

[LizzieM 9,507]

Yes Ben, get it booked, Business Class both ways, the hours fly by when you can have a proper kip without getting neck ache.  You’ll never fly Economy  again LOL 

[Brew 5,409]

Yea! a liberty bodice with a dragon motif, very fetching in spoons

 

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Might do that Brew sons paying anyway  lol'

and you Loppy well what can i say you cheeky bugger........back in the day i looked more like Derrin Nesbit than Alf bloody Garnet,, probably less true today though,,that Chulla started the Alf bit......he was a cheeky bugger as well........lol

[loppylugs 8,427]

I could never sleep on a plane.  Don't really know why.  All flights from Canada to UK were overnight.  I think I was scared it might go down while I was asleep.  Don't know what I planned to do about it.  

[loppylugs 8,427]

No you don't have to blame poor old Chulla.  I think I started it he just kept it going. Lol.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

You both as bad...............

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

16 minutes ago, Brew said:

Yea! a liberty bodice with a dragon motif, very fetching in spoons

 

And a pure silk pair of pyjamas with embroidered dragons. You can wear your liberty bodice underneath, of course! 

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

I hate flying. I go deaf driving over the north Yorkshire moors, so you can imagine the effects of being in a jet aircraft! I've had some really unpleasant experiences. GP once told me it was all due to the angle of my inner ear! Apparently, I also have the ability to hear sounds which are above the normal range for a human. The GP said I should have been a dog! Bl**dy cheek!