Chapter 20

By the end of the fifties, Ethel and William had no problems whatsoever with appearing in public. Many a driver slowed down or stopped altogether, to admire Ethel and to make sure their eyes weren’t playing tricks on them.
And when Ethel’s appearance became more and more known, and she was in the papers, with pictures and all, there must have been people who said, “Yes, we have seen her and could not believe it was true”.

Ethel and William visited theatres and restaurants. Ethel now often also wore her nose jewellery by daytime, which caused amazed and staring people of course. Even more so when it was warm outside, and Ethel walked without a coat, showing her waist in full glory. They also noticed that they were stared at by men who seemed to actually want to make contact, but were afraid do so in the end.
Ethel and William also visited the meetings of the Royal Astronomical Society, that William was a member of, more frequently. For transportation, they used their mopeds. And where Ethel’s waist was concerned, those who hadn’t seen it yet, were amazed at her magnificent figure and wondered how she had been able to achieve it. They also went to the marriage of one of Ethel’s nieces, in Cambridge. Ethel wore her green dress with the polished silver belt, that accentuated her waist to perfection. At the reception, and in the church, Ethel left behind quite a few shocked people.

William was successful in studying the stars, and with his special camera, managed to photograph an until that time unknown comet. This led to publicity where Ethel too, did not remain unnoticed. William and Ethel were invited to take part in a television show. At the show’s preparations, Ethel already met with the questions and interest of the camera and TV. crew.
The television show was a success, and Ethel came into the spotlights as well.
The newspapers reacted to the broadcast, and on the 7th of June, 1957, the Peterborough Standard published an article, titled: “What a waist!”. The paper reported William saying that Ethel had the world’s smallest waist. At about the same time, the first Guiness Book of Records appeared. The smallest waist in this issue, was attributed to a Polish lady, with a waist of 17 inch. (43 cm).
Ethel, with her 13 inch waist could easily beat that. William started corresponding, sent photographs and claimed the title of the World’s smallest Waist for his wife. They managed to conquer the title for Ethel, and no one has been able to take it from her since.
Apart from the phenomena of the corset and high heels, placing nose piercings had also gained quite a public interest. Much was published in the magazine “London Life” that was quite famous among the admirers. William also used his piercing skills to adorn other women with jewellery, like the revue star of the time, Miss Annette Gay. She also wore her nose piercings during her performances.

 

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