Thinking about work while lazying at home

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dear readers, December was a hectic time, what with preparing a trip to Kochi for my magazine (endless emails, scheduling, making reservations - the unfunny side of being a journalist) and tying lots of loose ends before the end of the year.

The trip went swimmingly, and I’ll write a report about it later this month.

While taking a New Year’s holiday break, I began to clean up my messy PC and found this interesting piece of information. It has nothing to do with Japan or the other subjects I usually cover in Tokyo Calling, but I find it amusing, and I hope you’ll do it too.

It wasn’t until 1841 that a person’s occupation had to be entered on the UK Census—before then, it was simply an anonymous headcount that took place each decade. Unsurprisingly, some job titles, when written down without context and presented to an outsider, sound completely ridiculous, especially when they’re jobs that existed in the 1800s, but that’s essentially what this list contains: some particularly odd-sounding occupations as declared in the Census in 1881, collated four years later in the snappily-titled The Companion to the Almanac; or Year-Book of General Information for 1885, in a chapter named The Occupations of the English People. Enjoy.

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All-rounder

Barker

Bat-printer

Bandler

Bear-breaker

Beatster

Blabber

Black-picker

Block minder

Bomb setter

Branner

Brazil maker

Budget bummer

Bull-dog burner

Bullet pitcher

Busheller

Butt woman

Buttoner-up

Camberel maker

Canbreaker

Carriage straightener

Cheeker

Chevener

Chivier

Clapper carrier

Combwright

Coney cutter

Crowder

Crutter

Cullet picker

Cut looker

Cut-jack maker

Dasher

Dirt refiner

Doctor maker

Dogminder

Doler

Duler

Egger

Fagotter

Faster

Firebeater

Flatkeeper

Fluker

Footmaker

Forwarder

Gin maker

Glan rider

Grafter

Hackneyman

Hawk-boy

Horse marine

Hoveller

Idle back maker

Impression maker

Iron bolster maker

Keel-bulley

Lasher

Learman

Lurer

Maiden maker

Marbler

Moleskin shaver

Muck roller

Notchturner

Off-bearer

Oliver man

Orange raiser

Painted Front maker

Pastefitter

Patent turner

Peas maker

Piano puncher

Ponty sucker

Ransacker

Riffler maker

Sad-iron maker

Sand badger

Scratch brusher

Shore woman

Sparable cutter

Spilch dealer

Spittle maker

Spragger

Sprigger

Swift builder

Tawer

Temple maker

Tharme maker

Thimble picker

Thurler

Tingle maker

Toother

Townsman

Trowler

Walkflatter

Westerman

Wheel glutter

Whim driver

Whitster

I guess my favorite one is “walkflatter” for the simple reason that I love walking.

How about you? What job would you like to try and why?

Take it easy, take it slow, and I wish you all a wonderful 2024 full of energy, good health, great ideas & good vibes.