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Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

I would not know if these were the first public conveniences in Birmingham but the idea was not new as this quote from Wikipedia

Whittington's Longhouse (or Whittington's Longhouse and Almshouse) was a public toilet in Cheapside,[SUP][1][/SUP] London, constructed with money given or bequeathed by Richard Whittington, Lord Mayor of London. The toilet had 128 seats: 64 for men and 64 for women. It operated from around 1 May 1421,[SUP][2][/SUP] until the seventeenth century.[SUP][3][/SUP]
The Longhouse, though it was not London's first public toilet, was the first public toilet in the capital divided by gender.[SUP][4]

Sir Richard Whittington of course we know as the famous Dick Whittington who was four times Lord Mayor of London ( not thrice as bells said)

[/SUP]
 
24.2.1866
Following on from the report on 21st, The closure of the Prince of Wales Theatre.

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26.3.1866
Henglers circus to perform at Curzon Hall
 

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28.2.1866
What a difference to today. Now people pay extra for highly coloured soaps or ones supposedly containing clay from the Dead sea, and coconut oil (then often miss-spelled as cocoanut) is a valued raw material for making soap, as opposed to the animal fat which was then usually used in this country.
 

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The cocoa nut oil they removed in 1866 is now back in! Can't imagine why they took it out. It's now in lots of lotions too. Viv.
 
Looks as if Olive Oil, Palm Oil as well as Coconut Oil are popular in some of today's soaps.

Olive oil makes a gentle soap that's kind to the skin. Coconut oil makes a soap that lathers and cleans like no other. Palm oil makes a soap that is harder, yet cleans well and feels like you want soap to feel as you use it.
A balanced formula of all three together makes the best use of each. Dave
 
1.3.1866

Report on Hengler's Circus at the Curzon Hall.
A glimpse of chinese life. I like the bit about asking that customers do not take exception to the performers wearing their hats.
Looks like chuggers of a religious sort might have been doing the rounds in 1866
 

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I notice that certain charity's were a pain in the neck, even in those days, after evading between 5 or 6 different aggressive charity collectors on Saturday morning here in Cambridge.Paul
 
3.3.1866
Evidence given in application to build a manufactory on how fog signals were manufactured makes it clear to me why the imhabitants of Kings Heath were not to keen on the idea, though the application was granted.
Fire in Bow St hits poor workers
 

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Would have been a big problem for the (middle working class), of this era, fire insurance would have been expensive for this group, so not surprising that only one of them had it. It would have meant real poverty for the one's who lost their tools and work place.Paul
 
5.3.1866
I feel a deal of sympathy for the landlord
 

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12.3.1866
I would think that no-one would buy the product after this anyway. Our food laws may have their quirks, but at least they prevent this
 

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Expect the spices in the sauce would have disguised the putrid liver eg if it was a sauce like HP brown sauce you'd probably not notice it. Disgusting all the same. Interesting that a condiment wasn't considered to be food. Viv.
 
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Following my original comment, it must be admitted that , as I understand, the Romans were very fond of a sauce made from rotting fish, and I gather soem of thefish sauces of southeast asia are a bit high
 
13.3.1866
Nowadays a contest like this would probably be banned because of cruelty to rats
 

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15.3.1866
A meeting to discuss the provision, with the aid of Miss Ryland, of a sanatorium or convalescent hospital for those who need rest and care on the lines of the esrtablishment of Miss Ryland, which only takes ex-patients of the General hospital.
 

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19.3.1866
Birmingham Society of Artists displays water colours for the first time
I presume the Aston Watch Society was some form of neighbourhood patrol for the park
Several fires in Birmingham.
 

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