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Absurd old laws that still exist today - Add yours

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Harry

Harry Report 10 Jul 2009 11:53

I don,t agree with the thread as I think these old laws add charm. Up north 'ere we still hang our washing out across the backs.

In the 60s i was on point duty in Warrington, then Lancashire, when I had occasion to stop Lord Derby's car. He flashed his lights and so I made him wait. He complained.
My superintendent told me that it was still on the statute books as a a hanging offence to stop the said lord in his own county. (and to his eternal credit he said to me as I was leaving , "I would have done exactly the same"
Hope that's still on the go.

Happy days

Deanna

Deanna Report 10 Jul 2009 11:52

Sane Jane... are you crazy???
You do realise that I will HAVE to report you now for not practicing your archery?;-0)

Deanna X

MrDaff

MrDaff Report 10 Jul 2009 11:37

Yeh, Benjamin, but they had to stand on the steps of a certain place, the Cathedral, I think, and so many paces away, and I think it was a bow, not a crossbow... the Welsh Longbowmen were the very best., and it would seem that they were fairly safe from the local Hereford folk, who were not of the same ilk... they weren't trained in the same way, so not expert.....

I am off to google, lol, for the exact details!!

It is actually still illegal to spit in the street/in public..... that was a fairly recent one, WW2 I think, and due to the TB thing..... it makes my stomach crawl watching these people, usually men and boys, spitting in the street, for some innocent person to walk through any nasty bugs which might have been sitting in that spit awaiting a new host!! Grrr!!!

Love

Daff xxxx

Edit: No it is not illegal... I stand corrected!! They tried to make it illegal, because of TB, but failed... it just was advised against.. nor is it illegal to spit AT someone, unless the spit connects... then it is an assault, and therefore an offence has taken place....

D xxx

BrianW

BrianW Report 10 Jul 2009 11:37

I believe it's the front Nearside and the law refers to the wheel, not a tyre.

Sharron

Sharron Report 10 Jul 2009 11:33

I think the law about urinating in the street has something to do with having to keep hold of the horse if the man was driving a cart.

BrianW

BrianW Report 10 Jul 2009 10:52

Puzzle: How to get Gordon Brown & Alastair Darling up to York on a Sunday ?

Benjamin

Benjamin Report 10 Jul 2009 10:22

Along the lines of the Scotsman in York above, there is apparently a local by-law in Hereford that alows you to kill a Welshman with a crossbow. I'm told it's the only town in England where a comparable statute still exists.

I'd love to know when THAT one was last enforced!

Pat Kendrick

Pat Kendrick Report 10 Jul 2009 08:24

Doesn't that old law exist that you must go to church on Sunday's?

David

David Report 10 Jul 2009 07:20

A Muslim man is allowed 4 wives, but a Muslim woman is not allowed 4 husbands.
Would make so much more sense if she was.

Dianne

Dianne Report 10 Jul 2009 07:08

Oooh errr Elizabeth, I think I must be a criminal then.

I worked for 15 years in a hotel, and Christmas Day was basically forced work. There was no overtime, it was paid at single rate, and if anyone failed to turn up it was accepted as their resignation, and there was no job to return to after christmas. The bosses did enforce this as well.

This is the reason I would never go out for Christmas Dinner, knowing that the staff were unable to be with their families, due to the greed of hotel managements.

Dianne xx

maggiewinchester

maggiewinchester Report 9 Jul 2009 23:26

Liz - sounds like you've been fobbed off! Tyres are a relatively recent invention!
It's illegal for a man to relieve himself in public (they only do it 'cos they can!) - but not for a woman. The reason?
A man exposes his genitals - a woman doesn't.

A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman’s helmet.

Elizabethofseasons

Elizabethofseasons Report 9 Jul 2009 23:19

Dear All

Hello,

Did you know that it is illegal to do any work on Christmas Day?

It goes back to the days of Cromwell and the Puritans.

This law has never been reviewed.

Best wishes
xx

Liz 47

Liz 47 Report 9 Jul 2009 23:18

I was told that it is not an offence for a man to relieve himself, in the street, as long as it is against the front offside tyre of the vehicle.
Liz

MarionfromScotland

MarionfromScotland Report 9 Jul 2009 21:45

Thats it, i'm never going to York and wearing ma kilt lol

MarionfromScotland

MarionfromScotland Report 9 Jul 2009 21:33

Joan, dont give anyone any ideas lol

Dermot

Dermot Report 9 Jul 2009 21:13

Under current legislation, it is a crime to lie to a government official but not for a government official to lie to the people.

Sane Jayne

Sane Jayne Report 9 Jul 2009 21:07

Why arent these old laws re-pealed I would like to know?

Dermot - I wonder whether its the same for the husband, lol - I know the answer o that one a resounding NO.......

Dermot

Dermot Report 9 Jul 2009 20:51

It is illegal in England to state in print that a wife can & should derive sexual pleasure from intercourse.

Sane Jayne

Sane Jayne Report 9 Jul 2009 20:45

Annina, of course I never put my washing out on a sunday and hope you dont either!!!! Why - coz too busy practicing my Archery Deanna!!!!

Deanna

Deanna Report 9 Jul 2009 20:42

AND.... don't forget to practice your archery on Sunday.
Deanna X