Every October in the UK, Black History Month rolls around. We're here to give Mary Seacole a well-deserved rest. Here are a few alternative BHM facts.
Verneisha Rhone, aged 6: The first child to threaten to call the NSPCC
On receiving a smacking, Verneisha deemed the punishment harsh, and grandly announced that she was going ‘to call the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’.
Her mother Margaret responded with a curt ‘Here’s the phone, then’ as she manually dialled the number.
SARAH ONYEKWELU: First to gel ‘baby hair’ into ‘s’-shape curl using Glaze, a rat-tail comb and an old toothbrush.
“First, I pull out the baby hair at my temples and my nape,” she explains. “Then I apply the Glaze with my forefinger - the more you put on, the shinier it looks.”
Sarah then shapes the baby hair - “sometimes, I go with a zig-zag pattern and one time, I did it in a heart shape,” she laughs - and then puts on a headscarf to let the style set. An hour later, she’s good to go.
Roysten Lloyd, aged 9: The last child to get ‘the belt’
Roysten’s crime was to steal a bag of Pick’n’Mix sweets from Woolworth’s, get caught, and then lie about it.
The sentencing court (parents Charrington and Leticia) agreed that 2 lashes to an open palm were the right and proper punishment. Roysten was sent to select the leather belt from father Charrington’s collection. He reportedly hid in the cellar for two hours instead, and was rewarded with a third lash for his troubles.
Now 33, Roysten, the youngest of five children, says: ‘It didn’t do me any long-term harm. In fact, it got me much-needed bragging rights. I can stand proudly in front of my siblings and say: “I wasn’t beaten much… but at least I was beaten.” That’s the important thing.’
‘Uncle’ Leroy T. MacNeish
The first to purchase a brand new secondhand BMW, for the sole purpose of driving around yelling ‘Ssst! Princess!’ at nobody in particular.
