There are a number of things facing a decline, like the climate, environment, and good music.
Thankfully, the world has finally started worrying about it. But one thing, that might not concern many of us is the decline in the number of people named Nigel in England and Wales.
Nigel Smith, however, was concerned quite a bit about the imminent extinction of people of his name.
His fear increased when he came to know that the number of Nigels born in England and Wales in 2016 was practically zero.
So the 56-year-old decided to do something and had the world’s largest meeting of people named Nigel. He managed to gather 432 Nigels at a pub named Fleece Inn in Bretforton, Worcestershire.
All the Nigels gathering for the ‘Nigel day’ brought their photo ID with them and signed ‘The Book of Nigel’ to have an authentic document for Guinness to register a world record.
Speaking of how he came up with such an idea, Smith said: “It started as a laugh to get Nigels together.
“We are going extinct in 2019. There were no Nigels registered in 2016 so I thought it would be a good idea to get us all together.
“But as a child of the sixties it takes me a while to get around to things. As the idea grew I decided to host this event and go for the record.
“In the year I was born, 1963, there were over 5,000 Nigels born. It was peak Nigel.
“It was so ubiquitous and it became much-maligned. At school I used to have the mickey taken out of me. I’ve got two children and none are called Nigel.”
Smith could’ve named at least one of his kids Nigel but he might not have thought at that time that the name can actually go extinct.
According to Smith, there’s a particular Nigel who is the reason behind the name going extinct. “I think names are cyclical and it’s gone out of fashion. A lot of people don’t like the name,” he said.
“It’s possible the Nigel who shall not be named, Nigel Farage, has had an impact. A man who changed his name from Nigel to Niall came and we convinced him to pull himself together.”
The gathering of so many Nigels in a single place did have some Nigel-based fun.
There was music composed by a band consisting of two Nigels, a performance by a comedian named Nigel, and there were drinks like Nigel’s best and Nigel cocktail.
The Nigel meeting from all over the world raised money for British Heart Foundation, hence making the event a productive one.
Smith said: “One Nigel from California happened to be in the UK and came and another traveled over from Texas.
“People also came from all over the country – from Newcastle, Cornwall and even a few from Scotland. There wasn’t space in the pub, so we all gathered in a marquee outside.
“We’re trying to get more Nigels into the world. A nine-month-old Nigel came. It was a great evening.”
Replaced!