Stories Of London

One bark, one growl is sufficient to strike fear in both man and beast! She might appear small, have no teeth and possess only one eye, but THE GRAND DUCHESS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY does not show fear and resists anyone or anything that threatens her path. She will stand her ground and chase away anyone who dares to impede her passage!  She has proven to be a force to be reckoned with for she is SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED! And anyone who dares to question her right needs to stop and seriously consider their action for she is a true WARRIOR QUEEN and will strike fear in anyone or anything and take action against anyone that challenges her path!

SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED

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The name of the original SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED was AYESHA. The name is of Arabic origin and means alive, living or well-living and signifies vitality, prosperity and life. It also symbolises wisdom and leadership. The cultural significance of the name has allowed it to maintain its relevance across centuries, making it a name that carries both historical weight and cultural richness.

AYESHA (or Aisha) first appeared in the book, SHE: A HISTORY OF ADVANTURE, a Gothic novel published in 1887 and written by H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925). The book was a great success and was followed by the sequel, AYESHA, THE RETURN OF SHE, which was published in 1905.

Left: H. Rider Haggard; Right: She, the book

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The story of SHE  has been filmed on a number of occasions:

There were at least five film versions made of the book in the silent era with the first major successful feature-length version of SHE being filmed in 1925. The film stared Betty Blythe (1893-1972) as AYESHA, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED. Ms Blythe appeared in 63 silent films and 56 talking pictures and is renowned for being one of the first actresses to appear nude in a film. Unfortunately for her, she lost a huge amount of money in The Wall Street Crash of 1929, which led to The Great Depression. Her last film performance was as a member of a crowd scene in My Fair Lady (1964).

SHE –1925
Top: Betty Blythe as AYESHA, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED

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SHE was next filmed in 1935, starring Helen Gahagan Douglas (1900–1980) in the title role of AYESHA, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED. The spectacle also starred Randolph Scott (1898-1987) and Nigel Bruce (1895-1953) and was produced by Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973). The film was not a success when initially released, but was more popular when, in 1949, it was re-released with The Last Days of Pompeii.

Her portrayal as She apparently inspired the Evil Queen in Walt Disney‘s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). In 1944, Ms Gahagan Douglas entered politics and was elected to the United States Congress.

SHE– 1935 with Helen Gahagan Douglas (right)

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The story of SHE was re-made once more in 1965 and starred Ursula Andress (1936), as AYESHA, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED and featured Christopher Lee (1922-2015), as Billali, and Peter Cushing (1913-1994). The film was made by Hammer Film Productions Limited renown at the time for their horror films.

Ursula Andress as AYESHA, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED

Charles Aznavour (1924-2018) – She (1974)
Written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer (1925-2000)

SHE – 1965
Top Right: SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED with Billali (Christopher Lee) & Two Unknown women

The first time I saw this film, it was whilst I was in college. Watching films in a university town could be amusing, as often times the audience, mainly of students, participated and hurled comments at the screen. I remember one young gentleman amused the audience and received much laughter and a round of applause after he yelled out when Ballali first appeared on screen, by calling out: Bill, where ya Comets! Poor Ursula Andress faired little better, as she was greeted with the name: Ursula Anthrax!!!

Recently I watched this film again, and to be honest, it wasn’t too bad – no great classic, and if you ignore parts of the dialogue and perhaps the concept, it has some merit.

Charles Aznavour – Tous les visages de l’amour (She – French Version)

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This version of the film led to a sequel, THE VENGEANCE OF SHE (1968) with Olga Schoberová, also known as Olinka Bérová (1943).

THE VENGEANCE OF SHE (1968)

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In 1984, SHE was remade as an Italian post apocalyptic film with Sandahl Bergman (1951) in the title role. The film was far from being a success.

And finally, in 2020, a television series, titled SHE, was made in India, which was also not especially successful, and bore no resemblance to the original story.

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Between 1978 and 1992, ITV, the commercial television station in the UK, aired a delightful series called, Rumpole of The Bailey, produced by Thames Television. The central character was Horace Rumpole who was played brilliantly by Leo McKern (1920-2002). He liked to be called Rumpole, even by his wife, Hilda, who was a formidable woman and who he referred to as SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!

Theme music of the series, Rumpole of The Bailey
Played by the composer, Joseph Horovitz (1926-2022)

Rumpole was a Barrister which is a specialist lawyer in the UK, Commonwealth and other common law nations, and who focuses mainly on courtroom advocacy, litigation, and expert legal opinions and is distinct from a solicitor who handles client contact and preparatory work. Rumpole most often took on Legal Aid cases that came before the bench at the The Old Bailey, The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

The Old Bailey

Rumpole has a number of traits that endear him to some but annoy others. His wife (played in Series 1-3 by Peggy Thorpe-Bates (1914-1989) and by Marion Mathie (1924-2012) in Series 4-7), is a fierce woman and is always prodding him to advance himself and become a Queen’s Counsel (QC) or a Circuit Judge. Rumpole always resists and continues to enjoy his work, quote William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and drink cheap red wine either at home or in a Wine Bar in Fleet Street. However, he has a certain fear of Hilda and, as I said earlier, refers to her as SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!

Rumpole & SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED

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It is not an exaggeration to say that Her Grace appears to dislike all other dogs whether they are big or small. Seemingly she has no fear of any of them. Neither breed, age nor size appear to bother her. She is full of self-confidence and will bark at them from behind the garden fence (!) and chase them off when meeting them in the street.

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Cats and squirrels do not fare better with Her Grace! Should a cat dare to cross the garden, and she is on sentry duty, she will chase them running at top speed. The cat must either leap to safety over the fence and run off and escape through a small gap between the pickets, evidently happy to be free. Meanwhile Her Grace will continue to bark until the poor cat is no longer in view.

The Race is On

Jack Jones (1938-2024) – The Race Is On (1965)

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Recently a neighbour was visited by her son who brought two beautiful Rottweiler dogs with him. They were elegant dark brown and black dogs who stood stationary guarding his mother’s front garden fence. They were like statues and did not move until their owner calls them. During their visit, we saw them while we were on our daily walk. The dogs were standing to attention on their side of their fence, and like the Royal Guards, did not appear to notice us.

Rottweiler Dogs

Naturally, Her Grace barked at them. They did not move. This apparent lack of respect on their part, and as seen by Her Grace, ignited her anger. She continued to bark. The dogs remained motionless, until eventually the younger of the pair could stand it no more and began to bark back. This was not a sound for the faint-hearted! I tried to encourage Her Grace to move on, but she would not be deterred and obviously wanted to teach these young pups the meaning of respect!

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) – Respect (1969) – written by Otis Reading (1941-1967)

Her Grace remained motionless close to the fence and barked directly at the younger dog, and together, they entered into a duel! Soon, the other dog joined in the battle. This did not bother Her Grace in the slightest. This continued for a while with me trying to move Her Grace along. Eventually the Rottweiler dogs began to back away and retreat to the back garden! Her Grace continued to bark probably in order to keep them at bay. Once she was convinced that her adversaries were not returning, she allowed herself to be moved along!

(Of course, I believe that the owner had called his dogs away, probably with the aid of a high-pitched whistle heard by dogs but not humans. Obviously, Her Grace did not associate the sound with a call to heel, but rather as a call to retreat – La Chamade – thereby leaving her as the victor!

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Her Grace does not seem to be bothered at all by automobiles. However, Mopeds and Bicycles are another matter! I first became aware of this while we were out for a morning walk with her.

A Moped

We were close to home when a youth on a moped drove rode close to us as he swept around the corner and onto our street. Her Grace did not take this insult well and immediately began tugging and pulling, which allowed her to slip her leash and, like an arrow released from a bow, took off up the road after this youth. Naturally she was unable to catch him, but she was a good two hundred yards along the street before she stopped and waited for me to retrieve her. Once captured, she appeared to be very proud of herself.

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Nat King Cole (1919-1965) – Daisy Daisy (A Bicycle Built for Two) –
written in 1892 by Harry Dacre (1857-1922)   

Her Grace also dislikes shake boards and bicycles. However her greatest anger and annoyance is shown towards one particular man who rides a purple Tandem Bicycle! This rider lives further along our street and rides past the house twice each day.

Two-Seater, Five-Seater & Ten-Seater Tandem Bicycles

Whenever Her Grace is in the garden on sentry duty, and the rider rides by, her barking intensifies and the man appears to quicken his peddling. However, whenever we meet this fellow while we are out walking, I have to remind him to give us a wide berth. Sadly, he never seems to remember this. Over the weeks and months, Her Grace has failed to warm towards him.

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Recycle Bins

There was one amusing incident that occurred soon after Her Grace took up residence here. A young man came into the garden delivering some object. Naturally, as Her Grace was in the garden at the time, she let it be know that she did not appreciate his presence. The fellow was obviously scared of her and leaped onto a large blue bin that was fortuitously (for him!) close by. As he leapt, the poor youth gave out a loud and painful scream that was heard by my neighbour who burst out laughing at the site of the youth clinging to the bin with Her Grace sitting on the ground, evidently in amazement at what had passed! I explained to the youth that her bark was all she had to attack with since she lacked teeth!

Later my neighbour explained that from the loudness and pitch of his scream, he thought the youth was being attacked by a giant tiger or lion!

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Recently, while Her Grace were enjoying our last walk of the day, we came to the house of one of my neighbour’s, and I noticed a RACOON in her garden!

When Her Grace noticed the beautiful animal, she did NOT turn tail and run with a whimper (!), but rather ran to the fence and let the poor racoon know that he/she was WAS NOT WELCOME HERE and that he/she had best leave the vicinity …… NOW!!!  The poor racoon withdrew at top speed and sought sanctuary by climbing a tree in another part of the garden where he/she remained until Her Grace made a victorious march home!!! Another victory for THE WARRIOR QUEEN –SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!

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Oh yes, I forgot to say, just like Casanova/Puppy, she took an instant dislike to one particular post woman who is obviously annoyed at this, but has decided to ignore her!!!

The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman (1961)

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Her Grace is not like most other dogs in that she wants to cuddle or even spend too much time sitting on laps and being stroked. She enjoys having the area behind her ears scratched and also the area under her chin. However, she will only allow this for a limited amount of time. She also likes her abdomen to be rubbed, but again, not for too long.

Basically, Her Grace likes to live quietly and in peace. She enjoys exploring the garden, short walks early in the morning and in the late evening when the streets are empty of others, sleeping and enjoying her food. She dislikes any disturbance to her routine.

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I have given the impression that Her Grace is highly xenophobic, which I suppose she is, but she does have some likes. Fortunately, she appears to like our neighbours, although it did take a little time for her to warm to them. And then there is me of course, but I often suspect that her relationship with me is more one of tolerance! After all, as aide-de-camp, I am charged to provide her meals and accompany her on walks. But since she is, after all, SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED, I suppose that I should be honoured to do so!

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R-O-C-K

THE LOCOMOTION

THE TWIST

THE MADISON

THE STROLL

THE WALK

THE FREEZE

MASH POTATO TIME

THE NITTY GRITTY

MEGLIO STASERA (From THE PINK PANTHER, 1963) – FRAN JEFFRIES

SERGIO MENDES & BRASIL 66 – MAS QUE NADA

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