It’s no longer written in law that you must wear one, but, for some, it might just as well be. Rob Crossan explores the endless appeal of the flat cap
Formerly taciturn individuals become newborn troubadours, ready at the drop of a flat cap to flex arms, crack knuckles and regale those close at hand with tall tales that won’t necessarily have a beginning or a middle and you might not reach the end until the barman throws a tea towel over the pumps.
If you’re looking for culprits, blame Pete, Dud and an unemployed man called Andy. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s flat-capped alter-egos from Dagenham and their wide-ranging verbal exchanges—screened on their Not Only… But Also TV show in the 1960s—cemented the personality of the flat-cap wearer in modern folklore. So, too, did Andy Capp, the cartoon-strip misanthrope who, since his first appearance in the Daily Mirror in 1957, has never been seen without a checked flat cap pushed hard down over his eyebrows as he trawls the pubs of Hartlepool, often in the company of his snooker cue, Delilah.
All three have a gift for hard-bitten, acerbic anecdotes that can become florid when combined with alcohol. Let’s be honest— when you overhear a man (in this case, Pete) launching a conversation with the question ‘Did I ever tell you about that tempestuous affair I had on the 82B bus?’, it’s difficult to imagine him in a beanie.
Denne historien er fra July 24, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 24, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
