Boro a hit in North Korea
QUESTION Has a British women’s football team played in North Korea?
Middlesbrough Women FC visited North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on a goodwill tour in september 2010.
britain and North Korea established diplomatic relations in 2000, opening embassies in both capitals. Peter hughes, british ambassador in Pyongyang, and Nick bonner of beijingbased Koryo Tours, which arranges trips to the isolated country, came up with the idea of a football tour to celebrate ten years of diplomacy.
in 2002, Koryo Tours had organised the return of the North Korean national football team of 1966 to Middlesbrough, where they had been based at the old Ayresome Park stadium during the eighth World Cup.
The iron state had formed a strong bond with the rust belt town, with the
boro faithful enthusiastically adopting as their own the North Korean team nicknamed Chollima or qianlima, which is a swift, mythical winged horse.
A historic upset came when North Korea beat italy 1-0, to the delight of the boro fans. BBC commentator Frank bough remarked that the fans ‘don’t even cheer this loud for Middlesbrough!’.
Pak doo-ik scored the goal. At the estate now covering Ayresome Park is a statue of his boot on the spot where he kicked the winning goal.
The Chollima’s journey ended in liverpool, when they were knocked out in the quarter-final, losing 5-3 to Portugal.
Women’s football is popular in North Korea, and Middlesbrough Women FC were invited to play two exhibition matches in 2010.
Fourteen players, two coaches and their manager, Marrie ‘Maz’ Wieczorek, went on the four-day tour. The team were not allowed to explore the city or speak to people in the street. They had to leave their mobile phones at the airport.
They lost their first match 6-2 against the women’s national team. Maz recalled: ‘We ran around the track and clapped hands to the audience. They were throwing things down to us — packs of cake in cellophane. We kicked some balls into the crowd to keep and they threw them back! They were leaning over and saying, “Thank you” and, “Thank you for coming” in english.’
The second match was against an army team, which boro lost 5-0 in heavy rain.
The team attended a reception hosted by british ambassador Peter hughes and met surviving members of the 1966 World Cup squad.
Amelia Fowler, Hartlepool, Co Durham.
QUESTION Did any of the historic railway companies operate ferries?
iT WAs common for railway companies to operate shipping services. The first three steamships owned by a british company were acquired by the london & blackwall railway in 1842 to operate between blackwall and gravesend on the river Thames.
The first sea crossing service was run by the Chester & holyhead railway between holyhead and Kingstown in ireland from 1848. This was taken over by the london & North Western railway in 1859.
The lancashire & Yorkshire operated the most ships — 29 — with some owned jointly. They were handed over to the london, Midland and scottish railway (lMs) in 1923.
At the end of 1972, british rail operated four hovercraft and 49 ships.
i have fond memories of the old humber Ferry, run by the great Central railway before 1923, and then lNer until nationalisation in 1948.
lNer operated britain’s final coalburning paddle steamers in regular service: Tattershall Castle (1934 to 1972), Wingfield Castle (1934 to 1974) and lincoln Castle (1940 to 1978). Their withdrawal left the diesel-operated Farringford running the service until the humber bridge opened in 1981.
Tim Mickleburgh, Grimsby, Lincs.
BEFORE nationalisation, every ferry route to ireland, the scottish islands, isle of Wight, isles of scilly, Channel islands and europe was operated by a railway company ferry.
They also owned and operated many of the ports from which the ferries sailed.
less well known is the fact that railway companies also operated air services to connect to ferry terminals. This was started by the great Western railway in the summer of 1933 with a service between Cardiff and Weymouth.
in 1934, the big Four formed railway Air services, which operated domestic flights in partnership with imperial Airways (later BEA). These ceased in January 1947, a year before the nationalisation of the railways.
british Transport Commission, later british railways, continued to operate ferries. This ended with the privatisation of sealink. Ferries in scotland are still mainly state-owned.
Peter Howells, Tamworth, Staffs.
QUESTION What were the Lantern Laws?
These laws were introduced following the New York slave revolt of 1712. slaves were not allowed to appear in the streets ‘above one hour after sunset without a lantern and lighted candle’, unless in the company of a white person.
After the revolt, in which 23 slaves killed nine white people and injured six, more than 70 black people were arrested and jailed. of these, 27 were put on trial and 21 convicted and executed.
The immediate response to the revolt was the introduction of ‘an act for the suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection’, followed by the 1713 so-called lantern laws.
Those disobeying were to be ‘whipped at the public whipping post (not exceeding 40 lashes) if desired by the master or owner of such slave or slaves’.
Any white person was allowed to stop a black person walking without a lit candle after dark.
The lantern laws were abolished in 1827, when New York state governor daniel d. Tompkins abolished slavery.
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