Friends

Back in 1865 a pharmacist by the name of James Lofthouse in Fleetwood was talking to three deep-sea fishermen but was having difficulty listening to what they were saying due to the fact that they were unable to speak properly because of the extreme weather conditions at sea affecting their throats and lungs.

He set about developing a liquid which might help the fishermen and came up with a very strong liquid in a bottle, that contained menthol and eucalyptus oil. It worked and the fishermen began referring to them as 'friends'. Lofthouse later made the liquid into small lozenges, which were easier to transport and use.

We’re talking about Fisherman’s Friends now famous around the world but not known outside the immediate locale of Fleetwood for a hundred years after Lofthouse’s concoction. It started to expand when Doreen Lofthouse, who had married into the business, was selling the lozenges from a kiosk on the Fleetwood Promenade and was getting letters from holiday makers asking why they couldn’t get the product in their home towns.

Doreen and her husband Tony then spent many years working 100-hour weeks, travelling by van to sell the product. She recalled that sometimes, lacking money for fuel, she was unable to leave a town until a sale had been made. A particular success came when Lofthouse persuaded Boots the Chemists to stock the product in all of their branches.

At the request of a friendly importer, a large box of Fisherman‘s Friend was exported to Norway for the first time. This was met with enthusiastic demand. Boxes quickly turned into containers, and from then on the orders never ceased. In 1977 Aniseed arrived. It was the first of the flavoured Fisherman’s Friend. The new lozenge was modelled on a button from one of Doreen Lofthouse’s dresses.

Fisherman's Friend lozenges in different flavours

Since then other flavours have been introduced and some are more popular in one country than another. It’s reported that Fisherman’s Friend markets its current total of 15 different flavours to 100 countries around the globe. 96 percent of the total production of around 5 billion lozenges are exported every year. Germany is the largest market, favouring flavours such as cherry and mint. Customers in Thailand, on the other hand, who represent the second largest market, prefer the combination of honey and lemon.

Yes, that did say 5 billion.

I do like the following from the Stuart Alexander distributor in Australia:
‘Embark on a comforting journey with Fisherman's Friend, where each product is a testament to the brand's dedication to crafting invigorating lozenges and mints. In our diverse collection, discover the perfect blend of soothing relief and delightful flavours...

Indulge in the timeless strength of Fisherman's Friend Original Strong Lozenges, ensuring you have a robust and classic companion in every box...

For a breath of freshness, dive into the invigorating Fisherman's Friend Spearmint and Peppermint Sugar Free Mints...Aniseed Lozenges, ensuring you have a distinctive lozenge ready whenever you seek a moment of calm...Order now and let the comforting orchestration of lozenges and mints bring relief to your senses!’

Once your voice is smooth and strong again after that orchestration you may want to sing along with another form of Fisherman’s Friends. The sea shanty singing folk from Cornwall. This well known but anonymous song, from at least as far back as the 1830s, is on one their albums (Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends (Special Edition) 2011) and is one of those earworms that won’t let go for the rest of the day.

Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends

The Drunken Sailor

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?
What shall we do with the drunken sailor?
What shall we do with the drunken sailor?
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Put him in the scuppers with the lee rail under
Put him in the scuppers with the lee rail under
Put him in the scuppers with the lee rail under
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Put him in the brig until he's sober
Put him in the brig until he's sober
Put him in the brig until he's sober
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Put him in a whaler, make him pull her
Put him in a whaler, make him pull her
Put him in a whaler, make him pull her
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Put him in a bunk with the captain's daughter
Put him in a bunk with the captain's daughter
Put him in a bunk with the captain's daughter
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Have you seen the captain's daughter?
Have you seen the captain's daughter?
Have you seen the captain's daughter?
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Keel-haul him, keel-haul him
Keel-haul him, keel-haul him
Keel-haul him, keel-haul him
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Ear'ly in the mornin'

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.

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I love writing Ballads.

If you research what a poetic ballad really is, you will discover that they are usually written about and dedicated to a heroic figure. As a school child I read and did comprehension exercises about Samuel Taylor Coleridge's,  Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  The ballad itself is astonishing.  It is hypnotic, both in its imagery and the telling of the story. I still recall many of the details fifty years later. Wow that says something doesn't it.

No wonder then, that when I started to write poetry, the idea of a well written 100 verse ballad was always there waiting to be developed.  One day, I had a piece of creative writing to submit for an exam portfolio. I had decided to write a ballad but at that moment was struggling to find a suitable hero. On arriving home, the usual pile of junk mail met me, as I opened the front door. I leafed through, as I always do, in case a letter was hidden between and there was a request from the RNLI for funds to buy equipment for lifeboat men.

Suddenly I had the material for my epic poem, The Ballad of The Lifeboat Man. It helped me towards a distinction in the exam, took six weeks to write and tells the tale of a local man and boy who run into difficulties sailing from the Wyre Estuary.  While I was writing the poem, a helicopter crashed into the Irish sea off the Blackpool coast when delivering fresh crew to a gas rig. Despite the bravery of lifeboat crews from all local stations, all those aboard the helicopter died.  Their bodies were all brought to shore by the RNLI volunteers. My completed poem was given to the North West RNLI with a final memorial verse.

The Irish Sea around Morecambe Bay can be a very dangerous place. In 2015, I was asked to get involved with the restoration of  Euston Park in Fleetwood. With the help of research by Lynn Asgar from Fleetwood museum, I wrote a ballad for two brave, young Fleetwood men who have a memorial obelisk in the park. Several weeks later, I was asked by the designer, to select 333 characters from my poem and these were carved into a stone circular seat that now sits around the obelisk. I am very proud to have part of a poem as a permanent fixture in the renovated park but I am also humbled to have been asked to memorialise their heroism.


The Ballad of Greenall and Abrams

In the reign of Queen Victoria,
November 1890, a violent storm played havoc
with the ships in Morecambe Bay.
The lifeboat from the ‘Child of Hale’
rowed into a force ten gale,  to rescue
thirteen men aboard Norwegian barque ‘Labora’.
Each man  was dragged aboard the boat,
from lifebuoys keeping them afloat,
in freezing waters of the Irish Sea.

Later on that dreadful day,

the lifeboat ‘Edith’ made her way
to aid ‘New Brunswick’ floundering

in the bay. Robert Wright’s heroic crew,

using lifeboat Number Two,
safely brought back every hand
to the haven of the land.

But still the storm did not abate

and the hour was very late
when a Fleetwood fishing smack
was struggling to get  safely back.
There was a schooner in distress.
‘Jean Campbell’ was about to sink,
all hands would fall into the drink.

Wild and free the storm winds blew,

high and higher great waves grew,
yet the fearless ‘Osprey’ crew
left the safety of their ship,
rowing out to sea, they risked it all
to answer fellow sailors call.
And soon the schooner’s crew of three
were hauled into the little boat.

Tragically, in towering waves,

it swamped. They sank to watery graves.
Only one brave man survived,
hauled aboard ‘Osprey’ as he swam alongside,
George Greenall and James Abrams gave their lives.
In memory of the two who died,
we deck our Euston Park with pride.
A ballad to the bravery of all who answer, fearlessly,
cries of “those in peril on the sea”.

Adele V Robinson

[Wyre Poet in Residence 2015] 


Please give generously to the RNLI if you get the chance. Thanks for reading. Adele

 

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Town Planning - may the force be with you.

Long, long ago, not far away (from where I now live in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire), there was a stretch of coastline that was bleak marshland, inhabited only by seabirds and wildlife.  Wild winds blew the sand onto sea grasses and over eons, a chain of sand dunes developed, (probably occupied by sand people  - oh don't worry - there are only 16 days to The Force Awakens - for anyone who is not a Star Wars fan, I hope you will stick with me for a while - at least to read the poem at the end). The largest sand dune was named by locals as Top Hill.

As we know, under the feudal system, areas of this country were divided up and came under the auspices of Lords and this land of dunes was part of the estate of Lord Hesketh. His son and heir, young Peter used to have picnics with his family on Top Hill and he would look out from the summit at the incredible views, imagining that he was a sky-walker.  The force was strong with Peter.  He had a vision for the future, so he added his mother's name, Fleetwood to his own and set out to design and build his own Utopia on the Fylde Coast.

At this stage in the story, Peter joins forces with a Jedi Master in the shape of architect Decimus Burton.  The two now discuss Peter's extraordinary plan to build an incredible oasis in the sand dunes. It is to be a port to rival Liverpool and a holiday resort better than St Leonard's on Sea. In 1839 the two draw up plans for Fleetwood: a stylish resort of elegant avenues, emanating from a central point at Top Hill. Burton sets to work on the construction of a Chinese pagoda tea room that will be a vantage point for viewing the town as it is developed.

As we know, the force has a dark side. Our hero, Peter will need to convince people to come to his new resort.  Big, bold, brassy Blackpool is a mere six miles away and already has the attention of the working-classes. Peter needs a hook. He decides to invest his inheritance, to keep it away from Darth Tax-Collector, in building an extended railway line from Preston. This is a canny manoeuvre: the railway cannot yet carry passengers over Shap and beyond into the land of Scots.  On completion of the railway line, passengers travelling North can now alight at Fleetwood, stay at the North Euston Hotel, (another Burton building) and then embark for The Lake District and beyond by steamer ship.

Decimus Burton designs and builds three light houses that, when aligned, can safely guide ships into the difficult Wyre Estuary. Soon Fleetwood is a fashionable resort and comes to the attention of Prince Albert, consort of the newly crowned Queen Victoria, who decide to pay a visit... Peter takes the Prince up to the summit of Top Hill to view the town.  Naturally there are many other events in the story of Fleetwood. This is just the beginning...

 

  

On Top Hill 

Misty windows soaked with spray,

shroud from me the timeless view

of mountain back-dropped Morecambe Bay,

once reserved for privileged few,

who picnicked on Top Hill.

And as he looked out from the rise,

at seascape skirting, rolling skies

with sweeping landscapes every side,

Lord Hesketh-Fleetwood was inspired

by standing on Top Hill.

Just like a crow’s nest on the sea

he set his structure at the peak,

Chinese pagoda serving tea,

a charming central place to meet,

to chatter on Top Hill.

And seen from high on grassy Mount,

stylish avenues began.
a visionary plan, splayed out
designed just like a Chinese fan,
extending from Top Hill. 

They came from near and far and wide,

by ship and railway, powered by steam.
Prince Albert brought his blushing bride
to share the joy of Peter’s dream
and whistle from Top Hill.

Thanks for reading.  Adele

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