Cosmopolite: The work of Matt Tucker

Many remember the Banbury nursery rhyme from their childhood: “Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross”. Many, except me. So when I visited Banbury this weekend for a friend’s 25th birthday I looked blankly when passing the “fine lady” at Banbury Cross and spontaneous chants of the nursery rhyme erupted from my tipsy partygoers:

"Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross To see a fine lady upon a white horse With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes She shall have music wherever she goes."

I had nursery rhymes in my early years, including a dim memory of one about ‘a lady with ringers on her fingers and bells on her toes’, but this rhyme, and its significance to Banbury, must have bypassed my playground.

The “cock horse” is an extra harness used to pull a carriage up a steel hill, and the “bells on her toes” refers to the fashion of the 12th century nobility to attach bells to the pointed ends of shoes. First seen in print in 1784, the rhyme has sustained popularity over the centuries, affording its own statue in honour of the “fine lady” at Banbury Cross:

The identity of the seated woman is not entirely known with ruminations of the rider being Elizabeth I or the Welsh Goddess of Rhiannon. It is even suggested that she is Lady Godiva, although this “fine lady” of Banbury appeared to be fully clothed on yesterday’s chilly October evening. If you’re curious to see what the fine lady of Banbury Cross is up to these days then she obligingly has her own webcam:

http://www.banbury-cross.co.uk/webcam.htm

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Tracey from Banbury! :wave:

My new blog comes at the end of a ‘meltdown’ weekend when many companies, and perhaps Banks, will be announcing bankruptcy and liquidation. The BBC News website made grim reading on Friday morning with its predictable headlining title: “Major Tumble for European Shares”. The BBC website has done a thorough job in covering one of the biggest stories of the decade, the global financial crisis, one which has been inescapable from all forms of news media. Robert Preston’s face, the BBC Business Editor, has recently been a permanent fixture at the bottom of the news website and a regular on the evening news. The media are covering all aspects: the facts and figures, the effect on the person in the street, and the taste of revolution in the air. With the US elections in November and the persistent questioning of the Brown Government, the question of whom to blame holds particular significance at this crucial corner in political history.

There are many groups to point the finger at, not only the Banks and their lending policies, but those behind the curtain of consumerism: Advertisers, Credit Card companies, trusted brand names, all with the aim to part the consumer with their credit. Their role in the creation of our debt-ridden society is clear. However, there has been no commentary on the recent effect the media may, or may not, have had on the buying confidence in the Financial Sector. For example, excessive coverage of the drop in global share prices can only diminish faith in the money markets further.

Not all media coverage, however, has been negative; local and national media are full of advice on how to cope with the credit crunch: 'ten top tips' on cutting domestic costs, with the emphasis on saving rather than spending. People are changing their outlook. I've cancelled unnecessary direct debits and started to turn to supermarket basic ranges. Many are adopting a thrifty outlook, an attitude that might have saved us from the crisis if the Western World had adopted it a little earlier. We are learning our lessons the hardest way: recession, perhaps depression.

Despite Personal Finance being an accepted taboo of conversation, the credit crunch has pushed our money situations into the open and to the forefront of our minds. For the comfortable and privileged in the wealthy UK, money is no longer a background noise. The money markets cannot be taken for granted by any person and the reticent stance on discussion of our personal finances is dissolving. These are grim times with lessons to be learnt.