It's Hot, its Yellow, its Mustard was the intriguing title of Steve Harris's talk. He came to talk about Colemans Mustard. Jeremiah Coleman started the business in a factory in a water mill in Norfolk in the early part of the 19th century. As business flourished they built a larger factory between a river and a railway line to make transportation of their products easier and in those days one of their own trains went each day to London carrying their wares.
The most famous of their products are Colemans Mustard and Colemans Starch, although they did make a number of lesser known items. They adopted the trademark of the Bulls head on mustard tins as mustard was usually eaten with beef.
Colemans had a very progressive outlook and one of the first companies in the country to look after the welfare of its employees. They shortened the working week from 12 hours a day to 48 hours a week, ran a canteen where workers could obtain reasonably priced lunches and eventually employed a full time nurse at their factory. They also opened a school for the children of employees and we saw a delightful slide of some of these children sitting holding toys from a Noah's Ark.
Today a descendant of the founder runs Colemans and still takes a very active part in the life of the city of Norwich.
Britain's Flags and Heraldry
When Cdr Nicolls retired from the navy he decided to turn what had been a hobby into a business and become a designer and consultant of standards and flags.
Standards and flags can be traced back thousands of years, the Chinese, the Egyptians and the Vikings had them and they are shown on the Bayeux Tapestry.
At the time of the Crusades when men were dressed in suits of armour with helmets and visors everyone looked the same. Standard bearers were used in battles so that men could identify the side they were fighting for and rally behind their leader.
There were many different kinds of standard and one of the popular earlier types was a dragon, which looked rather like the wind socks we see today on airfields, with the wind going into the mouth and filling up the body of the dragon. Today the Welsh still have a dragon on their standard.
The designs on the royal standards have changed with different monarchs. Richard the Lionheart had three lions on his standard, later kings who also ruled over part of France retained the lions but added the fleur de lys and George I added a white horse, the sign of the House of Hanover.
There is still a demand for standards and Cdr Nicholls is kept busy designing and making new ones.
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page last updated 30 MARCH 1997