Louis Marchesi and the Round Table

I was sitting in the cool under-croft of the Louis Marchesipub in Norwich one evening, when I set to wondering about the man whose portrait I remember seeing on a sign outside in the 1990's.

Erminio William Louis Marchesi was born 19th January 1898 of an Irish Mother and a Swiss Father. Their family name lives on in the small town of Poschiavo for their donation of the

Church and Hospital to the local community.

Quite how the family ended up in Norwich, I have no idea but an under-age Erminio joined the British Forces in WWI and served throughout the war. In letters home he initially called

himself 'Erminio', later to become 'Louis.' Torpedoed off the Cape of Good Hope, he spent 10 hours in the sea, only surviving due to his strength as a sportsman and prowess as

a swimmer. He also served in WWII.

Between wars, as a young man of 29, and as a newcomer to Norwich Rotary Club, Louise heard and took to heart the message of the Prince of Wales' speech 'ADOPT, ADAPT and IMPROVE' from the February, 1927 British Industries Fair in Birmingham.

'The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the

table, adopt methods that have proved so sound in the past, adapt them to the changing needs of the time, and wherever possible, improve them.'

During his Maiden Speech and fired by the sentiments expressed, Marchesi quite literally took the Prince at his word. Within a month, a meeting was arranged at Suckling House (now Cinema City) in Norwich for 14th March 1927 and Round Table 1 with its motto of ADOPT, ADAPT, IMPROVE, was formed.

Marchesi became the club's Secretary and meetings took place at the restaurant he owned, Langfords in London Street. Norwich Round Table was established as a non-political, non-sectarian association open to men between the ages of 18 and 40, from any profession or trade.

Now the movement is truly global with more than 43,000 current members in the UK alone and many thousands more around the world offering “Lifelong friendships, unforgettable experiences and the chance to make a difference to those around you”. Events nowadays include hiking, cycling, and running challenges; socialising; volunteering; and charity fundraising to the tune of £3.3 million per year and has surely exceeded anything Marchesi could possibly have dreamed of.

Note: There have been many extensions and improvements over the years and among them is a sister organisation called Ladies Circle which runs along similar lines to Round Table.

The phrase 'adopt, adapt, improve' is the slogan of the Round Table organisation, and is often seen on literature and regalia.

A New Old Tradition

So, it's mid-morning on New Year's Day and the weather is fine. Time to set off on the Village Walk. This is a loosely circular route of about six miles which can be shortened if necessary and which largely uses the smaller country lanes where possible. It's a nicely undulating ramble, not too arduous.

There are two stopping points. One a very friendly householder who always happily welcomes the small hoards who descend on her. Inside we make free with the necessary conveniences as well as indulging in mince pies and mulled wine. It is also she who drives out later to revive stragglers with Christmas chocolates dispensed through the car window!

The final resting place before home for the footsore and hungry is the village hall, abuzz with cheerful chatter and the pungent smells of various homemade soups and hot rolls, all for a mere donation to local funds.

In the distant past before maps became common, and usually on Ascension Day or Rogation Sunday, village folk led by the priest or village leader, 'beat the boundaries,' just to make clear to all and sundry exactly where the parish limits lay. To reinforce that message, in some places boundary posts were beaten with birch or willow twigs, no doubt similar to the punishment that would be inflicted if the demarcation line was flouted!

We of course behaved ourselves impeccably and I don't know if our particular village ever followed those old traditions anyway, but happily the village walk on New Year's Day has already taken it's place in the calendar as an annual event not to be missed.

Gloves

We take gloves today so much for granted. I expect that you, like me,

have a drawer-full of assorted types and materials and that's without counting gardening, cycling and rubber gloves!

We tend to forget that in times past, gloves symbolised nobility and power as well as purity and protection.

Used originally in warfare, the widespread use of gloves as fashion accessories did not begin until the early seventeenth century. Typically made from deer, sheep and kid-skins, gloves became decorative

garments in their own right adorned with elaborate gold and silver embroidery and often bejewelled with precious stones.

This was also the time of the birth of fabric and knitted gloves. However, those did not communicate the social status and prestige that highly decorated leather gloves and gauntlets did, particularly if they were made of

finest Spanish leather from Cordoba tanned with a special vegetable process that left it both waterproof and soft. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, large quantities of tanned hides and calf skins were sent yearly around the coast from East Anglian ports, particularly Ipswich and Woodbridge, to London, where it was said, the leather was much valued by shoemakers in particular because it was stronger than any other leather. Far more leather came to London by this route than in any other recorded way.

Although Norwich was predominantly a cloth town, it nevertheless contained a large number of leather workers. Between 1548 and 1719, 1,079 leather craftsmen were made freemen of the city, that is just over 10 per cent of the new enrolments. Worsted weavers and leather workers between them formed about 40 per cent of the industrial and commercial population of the city.

After Royalty, Judges, Clergy and Freemasons were of the orders who wore gloves, and until the mid-19th century, it was customary to give gloves as tokens to guests at weddings and to mourners at funerals. The formalities of glove-wearing gradually lost sway until the 1940's and 50's when something of a more glamorous renaissance occurred. Ladies' glove styles emerged in new synthetic materials and perhaps the most alluring examples of glove-wearing were by those fabulously-dressed Hollywood stars who wore close-fitting net or satin virtually up to their armpits! The trend was short-lived, though I can remember old ladies in their crocheted lace gloves, and myself as a teenager occasionally donning white cotton gloves for Sunday walks!

It's all a far cry from my snugly synthetic 'every-day' gloves though I do treasure several pairs in leather of different shades hoarded over the years to complement my smarter boots and shoes.

Man with Glove by Titian