The Counter Revolution of the Rambling Rodneys
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While of course knowing nothing of Leonard at the time, my earliest memories from the 1950s/1960s are of walking holidays based in large creaky old houses from Cymru/Cambria to Cumbria, from Hampshire to the Isle of Wight, and always travelling by train. It is said that olfactory memories are the strongest. I can still smell the wood-burning firepaces, the wood polish, and a slight mustiness combined with an aroma of roast lamb. And the damp of the boot room and drying room. Allegedly I didn't enjoy the walking at the time, but it obviously had an influence on adulthood. These holidays were points of punctuation in an otherwise rather dull childhood, and a lifetime later I find myself living in a large(ish) [for me] creaky old house. The mustiness is now disguised by incense sticks and curry spices.
“Ramblers”, as they were then known, were of a different ilk. Contemporaries at school referred to my father (who wrote a regular hiking column for a Portsmouth newspaper) as “Rambling Jim Rudman”, I presume as a nod to that Kenneth Williams character "Rambling Sid Rumpo" popular at the time. Genteel lower middle class folk seems the closest description of the ilk[*], often in army-surplus attire, woolly bobble hats and khaki rucksacs, in contrast with many who visit the mountains today in brightly coloured outdoor gear sporting corporate designer labels. The original “ilk” can still be spotted today if you look carefully, as if transported through time, usually mobilised in large groups. If you're lucky enough to spot them, they still wear the same clothes. The ethos seemed as if it dated (as it indeed did) from a time when motor vehicles were a novelty. On hearing the distant strains of an I.C.E., if walking on tarmac, the leader would call sharply “car!” and the assembled crocodile would dive into the nearest hedge for fear of being mown down by some toxic, fire-breathing dragon. We now know that is what they are of course, I.C.E.s to be outlawed by 2030. At time of writing however, a certain Mr Sunak seems to have engaged reverse gear on that issue.
Alcoholic beverages were not allowed, and evenings were spent in wholesome pursuits such as Scottish Country Dancing (at one time my father had all of Jimmy Shand's EPs) or in ad-hoc concerts. Grace was sometimes said, or sung, before meals. It may be false memory syndrome, but I'm sure they always sung “Lettuce [let us] with a gladsome mind, praise the Lord for He is kind” whenever salad was on the menu.
My experience was of its time. Between memories of khaki shorts bearing binary or non-binary knobbly knees, I remember asking my father why so many pairs of women in the walking party lived together as “lady companions” (sic.). “It's because there weren't many spare men after the War” was the answer, which sufficed for me then. After a packed-lunch of a slice of cheese, fruit cake and the ubiquitous Kendal Mint Cake, the leader would order “Gentlemen forward” in order to utilize a convenient bush. What the “ladies” did then was left to my mother to explain to me later. But I still prefer the old Cymraeg “Cyfleusterau” (conveniences), little seen today.
Leonard established the Co-operative Holidays Association (CHA) in 1897 to encourage working people to enjoy the outdoors, by acquiring large houses in rural areas, typically Cumbria and Cymru, Scotland and elswehere. The word “Co-operative” was later changed to “Countrywide” to avoid confusion with a well-known supermarket. The more's the pity if you read the background to the Co-operative movement. Leonard had close links to the early Labour Party and figures such as Kier Hardie (a proper Socialist unlike one contemporary Kier), William Morris and John Ruskin. By 1913, 13,000 guests were accommodated in 13 British “guest houses”, as they came to be called, and more through links across Europe.
But at the same time, the Central Committee was encouraging more Middle Class than Working Class guests. In my father's parlance, it had been taken over by “the Rodneys”. Leonard resigned and set up the Holiday Fellowship, and pushed for more basic rather than “posh” accommodation, and for closer European ties. For a long time the two organisations ran in parallel, but the class distinction was never apparent to me, other than which group looked down on the other (both of them as I recall).
Unlike the CHA, The HF is alive and well today, but seemingly oblivious to its proletariat foundations. The rambling revolution and counter-revolution seemed to to have fizzled out. Creaky old inns were sanitised, “gentrified” and standardised. The mountains have been appropriated by the boorish “grabbers”, who think nothing of using the mountains as their playground, or as a repository for their litter and worse.
Class distinction is an “-ism” no more resolved than a century ago. An anonymised review of a large coastal camp site in Eryri National Park notes:
“Back from a trip in my campervan. A beautiful place with lots of private spots if you don't mind being a walk from the facilities. It is very cheap. I've paid more to sleep in a carpark. But this also means it attracts working class people [sic.] looking for a cheap break. If that's going to bother you then maybe give it a miss...”.
Has Leonard's vision for an outdoors accessible to all finally become reality? There is still a long path ahead I think.
LINKS
Snowdon queues like 'Christmas at Tesco' as walkers notice two troubling new trends - North Wales Live (dailypost.co.uk)
Our History - HF Holidays
Thomas Arthur Leonard and the Co-operative Holidays Association: Joy in widest commonalty spread - Cambridge Scholars Publishing
“Ramblers”, as they were then known, were of a different ilk. Contemporaries at school referred to my father (who wrote a regular hiking column for a Portsmouth newspaper) as “Rambling Jim Rudman”, I presume as a nod to that Kenneth Williams character "Rambling Sid Rumpo" popular at the time. Genteel lower middle class folk seems the closest description of the ilk[*], often in army-surplus attire, woolly bobble hats and khaki rucksacs, in contrast with many who visit the mountains today in brightly coloured outdoor gear sporting corporate designer labels. The original “ilk” can still be spotted today if you look carefully, as if transported through time, usually mobilised in large groups. If you're lucky enough to spot them, they still wear the same clothes. The ethos seemed as if it dated (as it indeed did) from a time when motor vehicles were a novelty. On hearing the distant strains of an I.C.E., if walking on tarmac, the leader would call sharply “car!” and the assembled crocodile would dive into the nearest hedge for fear of being mown down by some toxic, fire-breathing dragon. We now know that is what they are of course, I.C.E.s to be outlawed by 2030. At time of writing however, a certain Mr Sunak seems to have engaged reverse gear on that issue.
Alcoholic beverages were not allowed, and evenings were spent in wholesome pursuits such as Scottish Country Dancing (at one time my father had all of Jimmy Shand's EPs) or in ad-hoc concerts. Grace was sometimes said, or sung, before meals. It may be false memory syndrome, but I'm sure they always sung “Lettuce [let us] with a gladsome mind, praise the Lord for He is kind” whenever salad was on the menu.
My experience was of its time. Between memories of khaki shorts bearing binary or non-binary knobbly knees, I remember asking my father why so many pairs of women in the walking party lived together as “lady companions” (sic.). “It's because there weren't many spare men after the War” was the answer, which sufficed for me then. After a packed-lunch of a slice of cheese, fruit cake and the ubiquitous Kendal Mint Cake, the leader would order “Gentlemen forward” in order to utilize a convenient bush. What the “ladies” did then was left to my mother to explain to me later. But I still prefer the old Cymraeg “Cyfleusterau” (conveniences), little seen today.
Leonard established the Co-operative Holidays Association (CHA) in 1897 to encourage working people to enjoy the outdoors, by acquiring large houses in rural areas, typically Cumbria and Cymru, Scotland and elswehere. The word “Co-operative” was later changed to “Countrywide” to avoid confusion with a well-known supermarket. The more's the pity if you read the background to the Co-operative movement. Leonard had close links to the early Labour Party and figures such as Kier Hardie (a proper Socialist unlike one contemporary Kier), William Morris and John Ruskin. By 1913, 13,000 guests were accommodated in 13 British “guest houses”, as they came to be called, and more through links across Europe.
But at the same time, the Central Committee was encouraging more Middle Class than Working Class guests. In my father's parlance, it had been taken over by “the Rodneys”. Leonard resigned and set up the Holiday Fellowship, and pushed for more basic rather than “posh” accommodation, and for closer European ties. For a long time the two organisations ran in parallel, but the class distinction was never apparent to me, other than which group looked down on the other (both of them as I recall).
Unlike the CHA, The HF is alive and well today, but seemingly oblivious to its proletariat foundations. The rambling revolution and counter-revolution seemed to to have fizzled out. Creaky old inns were sanitised, “gentrified” and standardised. The mountains have been appropriated by the boorish “grabbers”, who think nothing of using the mountains as their playground, or as a repository for their litter and worse.
Class distinction is an “-ism” no more resolved than a century ago. An anonymised review of a large coastal camp site in Eryri National Park notes:
“Back from a trip in my campervan. A beautiful place with lots of private spots if you don't mind being a walk from the facilities. It is very cheap. I've paid more to sleep in a carpark. But this also means it attracts working class people [sic.] looking for a cheap break. If that's going to bother you then maybe give it a miss...”.
Has Leonard's vision for an outdoors accessible to all finally become reality? There is still a long path ahead I think.
LINKS
Snowdon queues like 'Christmas at Tesco' as walkers notice two troubling new trends - North Wales Live (dailypost.co.uk)
Our History - HF Holidays
Thomas Arthur Leonard and the Co-operative Holidays Association: Joy in widest commonalty spread - Cambridge Scholars Publishing
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