Post of the day

Post of the day is a swing-post, as featured in the recent BBC4 documentary two-parter "Hop, Skip and Jump: the Story of Children's Play". To the best of the Post's knowledge the image is not from Norfolk; more likely a London park, but the programme did feature Ed Mitchell from Chedworth, recounting the local tradition of the St Valentine pennies.

In an event apparently loosely based on the mediaeval trial by ordeal, the poor children of Norfolk towns and villages would progress en masse to richer areas each year on St Valentine's day, in the hope that pennies would be thrown to them in the street. Of course, the well-to-do being what they are, they decided that there would be more sport to be had by heating the coins on a shovel over a coal fire until they were red hot before they were dispensed to the crowd of urchins outside their windows. How they must have laughed to hear the screams of the burned children as they fought for the pitiful offering in the street below. All good fun!

Children scrabbling for Valentine pennies

Looking into this custom a bit further though, the Post discovers that this type of Valentine tradition seems to be unique to Norfolk. Just as St Valentine's day falls mid-way between Christmas and April Fool's, the Mother or Father (sometimes Jack) Valentine character seems to be half Santa, half prankster, with quite a few less sadisitc interpretations listed in this BBC Norfolk website article and the comments below.

"TheGreat Outdoors", part 1 of "Hop, Skip and Jump: the Story of Children's Play" which features the Norfolk Valentine pennies footage is available on the BBC iPlayer until Wednesday 24th August.