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David Evans

What's in a name?

A lot, it seems, especially if you own a horse.

A member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club was granted a permit to bring a racehorse  to the SAR.

Excellent, he thought, so he went out and bought a nag. A thoroughbred nag. So, there he was - horse, hay, permit and choice of racetracks but no name for his steed.

Then it came to him - Giddy Kipper.

Not too inspired, we grant you, but nonetheless a name easily recognisable among a field that  includes a lot of prawn this and prawn that.

Our horse-owner submitted the name to the club and waited.

After a short while he was informed in writing that the chosen name had been rejected as it was deemed inappropriate.

The Jockey Club said the term could be used to make fun of people.

'I may not be able to offer the club an Oxford  definition of the term 'giddy kipper',' said the clearly aggrieved horse-owner, 'but [and as I had suggested to the man at the other end of the phone] all they had to do was talk to one of the overpaid expatriates at the club and they would know that the term 'giddy kipper' is typically used to describe someone who is excitable and happy'.

Such as our excitable horse-owner, for example.

He pointed out that current names include an insult to the poor villagers (Indigenous) and liars (Fibber).

'But we must not make fun of happy and excitable people?' said our giddy horse-owner.

Lai See  phoned the club  but it said  it could not comment on individual cases as it was between the owner and the Jockey Club.

'It is not the only name being rejected,' said the spokesman. 'There are some in English  and some in Chinese.' According to club rules, names not available include:

Names consisting of more than  18 letters or spaces.

Names of well-known living persons without permission.

Names consisting entirely of numbers.

Names whose meaning, pronunciation or spelling may be thought obscene or insulting.

Racing aficionados may remember a dog owned by late Racing Post  journalist Robin Parke  called 'Norfolk N'Chance' which the Macau Jockey Club was happy to race.

According to  one seasoned racegoer: 'The club has the right to knock back whatever it wants to save themselves the embarrassment of another 'Hoof Hearted' getting through.'

Water babies: And back by popular demand, more fun and frolics in 16th century England.

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June.

However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children - last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it - hence the saying: 'Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.'

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day, they lit the fire and added things to the pot.

They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while -  hence the rhyme: 'Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.'

Sometimes they had pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could 'bring home the bacon'. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and 'chew the fat'.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or 'upper crust'.

Graphic: whee25gbz



Jockey Club cracks whip over name