Bohemia Village Voice

Richard Slater writes (Oct 2006)

Dear Sir, Firstly, may I compliment you on Bohemia Village Voice – it is rare now to receive anything written in good, error-free English. I also like the new format of a folded A3 sheet, and that it is well printed on quality paper.

In a previous issue, somebody mentioned the original Bohemia (and knew where it was!) and asked if the real Bohemians were like their namesakes. I understand that the term Bohemian, meaning creative, free-spirited or unconventional – is French, because they wrongly thought that gypsies, who exhibited that type of behaviour, originally came from Bohemia. However, the term stuck.

I am probably one of the few – or the only – resident of Bohemia in Sussex with a link to the original Bohemia, and from my experience Bohemians are much like the rest of us, although through their long history they have not had much reason to be happy. My ex-wife came originally from Prague, and we were married in 1966 in Karlstejn Castle (see http://www.discoverczech.com/prague/karlstejn.php4).

Bohemia is, however, rightly famous for its excellent beer, being the location of Pilsen (hence Pilsner) and Budweis (hence Budweiser). The most famous king of the old kingdom of Bohemia was, of course, Good King Wenceslas (looked out, on the feast of Stephen).

Best regards, Richard Slater, St Peters Road.