Hilldodger finds the Holy Grail!

[Hilldodger]

After several years of searching I've finally found an image of the Leicester Bicycle Club badge!

The club was active as early as 1874 and by then had a membership of over 90.

 

[Kirstie]

CIGARETTES?!?!?
How times have changed

 

[beanzontoast]

CIGARETTES?!?!?
How times have changed

Yes - and at the time, the smokers, seeing this, were probably thinking: "Why on earth would we want to cycle?"

 

[threebikesmcginty]

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Dragon and White Rose? What's that refer too?

Nice badge tho'. Will you be getting those made too?

 

[Arch]

The white cinqfoil and dragon are part of the city emblem.

The motto means "always the same" - which is kind of ironic for a city with such a huge multicultural element, but then maybe it's always been that way!

Nice badge!

 

[Baggy]

Dragon and White Rose? What's that refer too?

According to Leicestershire County Council:
The first quarter is a cinquefolium, or five petalled ermine flower, within a red circle, which belonged to the Beaumont family. In 1103 Robert de Beaumont was made the first Earl of Leicester.

According to Wikipedia, the dragon is a wyvern:
The crest on top of the arms is a white or silver legless wyvern with red and white wounds showing, on a wreath of red and white. The legless wyvern distinguishes it as a Leicester wyvern as opposed to other wyverns.

Apparently wyverns are associated with power and strength. I lived in Leicester for 7 years and didn't know any of that!

It would make a lovely enamel badge!

 

[Arch]

Talking of ermine, you know the little black dots in an ermine robe?

Each one is the tip of a stoat's tail.

 

[Baggy]

Each one is the tip of a stoat's tail.

Ooh! Poor stoats.

 

[Arch]

Ooh! Poor stoats.

Well the ermine is winter stoat fur, so it all gets used. A colleague of mine is doing her PhD on fur bearing species in archeaology in the Uk, and she dug up a fact about how many stoats were used annually at the court of Henry VIII (when everyone who was important had ermine collars and so on). The number was huge - tens of thousands. Of course, stoats where also vermin, in a society where most people kept chickens and so on, so killing them was lucrative business.

 

[Baggy]

Everyone must have worn ermine to carry out their civet duties Interesting that stoats were so abundant then.
Chuffy wants to know if anyone has ever had lapels made from kittens' ears
Actually, thinking about it maybe that explains the Scottish Fold...

 

[Campfire]

Do you want a Warrington Road Club badge/medal, Hilldodger? I've lots of interesting cuttings - will show you them at York if you're interested.

 

[Arch]

Everyone must have worn ermine to carry out their civet duties Interesting that stoats were so abundant then.
Chuffy wants to know if anyone has ever had lapels made from kittens' ears
Actually, thinking about it maybe that explains the Scottish Fold...

My colleague has an interest in experimental work too - her taxidermy experience suggests that the current theories on evidence of fur use are wrong - and I have on occasion been with cycling with her and we've had to stop to pick up a nice fresh roadkill mustelid to experiment on....

 

[Fnaar]

Talking of ermine, you know the little black dots in an ermine robe?

Each one is the tip of a stoat's tail.

That's "stoatally" mad!
"Weasel" have to do something about it.

 

[Baggy]

That's "stoatally" mad!
"Weasel" have to do something about it.

Fnaar, you otter know better!