Some of you may know that I am something of a cavalry buff, with several hundred 54 mm members of the Light Brigade saddled up for the Charge in my attic. 207 years ago today the first ever Trooping of the Colour took place in Horse Guards Parade. What was great about that is that it was carried out by regiments wearing what was then fighting gear - bearskin on their heads; elephant ivory on their sword-hilts; egret and swans' feather plumes. Sealskin busbies for the Hussars hadn't
quite come in then, but somebody in the fashion-conscious Horse Guards was working on it.
In other news ...
Today in 1937 the worst machine in the history of mankind came into use in a supermarket in Oklahoma. It was the shopping trolley, designed to take the weight off your arms so that you are tempted to spend more. It had the essential features that its modern counterparts still retain:-
- Wheels that never go where you want them to
- Awkward projections that make them jam with others in car parks
- Kiddie seats into which kiddies positively refuse to go.
