Sunday 29th May was “Giant Bradley Day” in the town of Market Weighton in East Yorkshire, England.
The day is an annual celebration of the life of William Bradley, who at 7 feet 9 inches, is the tallest recorded British man who ever lived, and is popularly known as The Yorkshire Giant. According to Andrew Swalwell’s giantbradley.co.uk, “At birth William weighed 14lbs and at the age of 11 he weighed 11 stones. At 19 he weighed 27 stones and was 7ft 9ins in height. His stockings measured 3ft 9ins, his walking stick 5ft 10in and his shoes were 15ins long and 5.5ins wide.”
By chance, I happened to be in Market Weighton during the “Giant Bradley Day” celebrations and wrote the following, fanciful poetry-doodle while I was there.
Additional Citation:
William Bradley – The Yorkshire Giant (1787-1820) by Colin Westley.
Wikipedia – William Bradley (giant)
Giant Bradley
Meet Giant Bradley,
outside the doorway
he cannot fit through,
so his house is made of curtains
for this reason.
His feet are bigger
than most
of your feet;
If you meet him,
he’ll shake your head by the hand –
in the room that’s much too small
for him.
Meet to discuss speciality tailoring and
prepare to be surprised.
Giant Bradley died at 33
years of age.
Peter and the Hare 
Poor man. There was a programme recently about this condition that makes people grow too much, wasn’t there? Apparently ‘Jumbo’ the elephant had a similar condition and was carted all over the world for her extraordinary largeness. I am glad I am the height I am, even if it means I need steps to reach the top shelf. Lovely poem Peter – full of smiles.
brilliant poem from a brilliant creative weekend!