The Quakers, obviously.

                       But they weren't a patch on the real thugs.

Nutshell:  Bristle  -  the underground language of Bristol  - was discovered by Derek Robinson  (a.k.a. Dirk Robson) in 1971, using a bloodhound, a metal detector, and a broken torch.  The rest is history.
                   Or geography.

                                         Perhaps chemistry?

1973 was a big year for Bristol:  600 years as a city and county! Dancing in the streets! Fireworks! Massive self-congratulation!  Bristol, it seemed, had never put a foot wrong. But the truth is that in its 600 years, Bristol generated plenty of bungling and swindling, cock-ups and carnage, ferocity and farce. Just to put the record straight, this book describes a few episodes.  Stuff like white slavery before black slavery. Bashing the Quakers.  Flip-flopping through the Civil War. Letting the city burn in 1831, and then letting the docks rot for decades. Bristolians today are a fair and level-headed lot. They know their history is like their geography: full of highs and lows. They've bought this book by the truckload  -  and its contents are as fresh, vivid and surprising now as when it was new.  Good pictures, too.                                                                                                            Top of Page

A Load of Old Bristle (2002); Sick Sentries of Bristle (2004)

 

In 1971, Derek Robinson (words) and Vic Wiltshire (pix) created Krek Waiter's Peak Bristle, a five-bob funny that claimed to be a glossary of true Bristolian speech.  For example:  scepticism is expressed as: 'Jew asbestos bleev that?'  A familiar threat of violence involves displaying the fist and saying: 'Diesel getty!'

Similarly, 'mince' are short periods of time, while 'munce' are longer periods. You get the idea.

 

Krek was such a galloping success that it was hotly pursued by Son of Bristle, Bristle Rides Again, Pure Bristle! etc. It seemed that every family in the city had a copy in the loo, yet still more books sold and sold.

 

After 30 years, a team of researchers from the University of Sodding Chipbury  tracked down every bit of Bristle, and the results now appear in two mammoth collections. A Load of Old Bristle takes you into the glottal stop and beyond. Sick Sentries of Bristle is a romp through 600 scandalous years.
                       Together, they form what in Bristle is called a Grey Tide Eel.             Top of Page

 

Solution to Cartoon:

"If I told you once, I must have told you hundreds of times - put your old clothes on after Sunday School.
You're up to your eyes in dirt!"                                                                               Top of Page