11.07.2006

day two of routine

i've been coming into work early to try and get through the to do list before it starts to get busy, but i think i might benefit more from the extra fifteen minutes of sleep. bah.

when i walked into my office yesterday and it was a bit of a disaster i have to admit i was a little scared about the state of what might be in my inbox, but it actually wasn't that bad. i did have to do two tours to school groups yesterday - the first one was horrible and the second went really well - so it was trial by fire.

i'm back on the flat hunt, but not to buy. going home made me realise that i'm not quite sure i'm ready to commit to 3-5 years on a property that's really going to stretch my budget and also not allow me to save for a masters programme, which is what i now hope to do after a couple years working at nml.

now, because christine and i were talking about the expression *sent to coventry* and its origins, i'm going to call on the master of useless factual knowledge to explain... ;)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did someone call?

Useless?! Bah (which, incidentally, I have come to define as 'not worthy of further discussion or consideration').

Anyhow, I digress....

There are a couple of theories of the origin of being "sent to Coventry".

The most widely known dates from the English Civil War when a parliamentary military prison was located in the city. Royalist prisoners incarcerated here had no contact with the locals or even their jailers as they were so strongly Puritan and loyal to the parliamentary cause. The prison was believed to have been located at St John the Baptist church which is the one next to The Tin Angel in the city centre.

Another alternative theory suggests that rather than a prison it comes from the massively unpopular garrison that was located in the city. Such was the ire of the locals at the presence of the garrison that they shunned the soldiers based there and hence the origin of the phrase.

I think the underlying theme of these stories is that the people of Coventry are incredibly rude and ignorant and should be avoided at all costs. As true in 1642 as it is today!