Not in the National Curriculum

Peculiar facts one acquires on a fairly standard HE day, (not ideal for the faint hearted): that local poachers when captured, used to be punished by being "torn off a strip". This involved making a cut, about an inch in width, in the culprit's shoulder, with the skin being pulled down from this point to the wrist.

In the late 1800's, the crowd of onlookers pushed forward just at the moment that the local iron foundry chimney was demolished, and a little girl was killed by a flying brick. The demolition man never recovered from the shock.

That a group of people still meet annually in one of our locals to see who can eat the most raw onion. This year's winner ate 17 ounces of the mouth-ulcerating, gut-churning stuff.