16 April 2008

Strange laws in th UK

I've just taken up archery and it seems there are a couple of odd laws in this country concerning the ancient art. In the city of Chester you can only shoot a Welsh person with a bow and arrow inside the city walls and after midnight. They're a bit safer in Hereford because you may not shoot a Welsh person on Sunday with a longbow in the Cathedral Close. It's Scotsmen that are at risk in York, as, it is perfectly legal to kill one but only if he has a longbow, except on a Sunday. An ancient law also decreed that Englishmen must undertake at least 2 hours of longbow practice a day.










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Here are a few more strange laws in the UK:


:: It is illegal to wear a full suit of armour or die in the Houses of Parliament.
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:: In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and asks to use the toilet, you are legally obliged to let them.
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:: A pregnant woman can legally urinate anywhere she wants, including in a policeman’s helmet. A man who feels compelled to relieve himself in public can do so only if he aims for his rear wheel and keeps his right hand on his vehicle.
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:: On the island of Jersey it's against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season.
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:: Attempting to commit suicide is a capital offense. Before the abolition of the death penalty offenders could be hanged for trying.
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:: All stamps in the UK carry an image of the Queen (or King) and is an act of treason to put the stamp upside -down on an envelope.
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:: If you've got the plague you'll have to catch a bus or walk as it's illegal to flag down a taxi in London. However it's illegal for the city's cabs to carry rabid dogs or corpses.
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:: It is illegal to drive cattle through the streets of London, however, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.
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:: It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing!

and my personal favourite:
:: In Liverpool it is illegal for a woman to be topless... except as a clerk in a tropical fish store!
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I'm sure sure if all of these still stand or if anyone has been arrested recently for flouting them (or, indeed, got away with something because of them). I'm pretty sure some of them are quite ancient.

2 comments:

Ed Mahony said...

Similar to your London - Sheep point, when I was living in Madrid, I saw the local shepherds / sheep farmers exercise one of their long-held rights of herding their sheep (and the streets / city centre were jam-packed with them) through the city. They do this once a year (with the Madrid car drivers going crazy ..).

Mary said...

A hilarious list! I’d love to know what punishment one receives for dying in the Houses of Parliament!