Daily Mirror dated Tuesday November 21st 1978
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Jeremy Thorpe was the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1967
until 1976 who had met Norman Scott in the early 1960’s whilst Scott was
working as a stable lad. Scott later claimed that he and Thorpe had had a
homosexual relationship. This was at
illegal in Britain at the time.
In 1975 a former airline pilot, Andrew Newton, drove Scott
to Exmoor where Newton shot Scott's dog and then turned the gun on Scott but
either didn’t fire or, if he did, the gun jammed. At Newton’s trial in 1976 he
was convicted of the illegal possession of a firearm and intent to endanger
life.
Jeremy Thorpe’s name came up in court and the story caused a
scandal that forced Thorpe to resign as Leader.
When Newton was released in 1977 he claimed that he had been
hired to kill Norman Scott. In 1978, Thorpe was accused along with 3 other men,
including the Deputy Treasurer of the Liberal Party, of conspiracy to murder
Norman Scott.
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This Daily Mirror was published at the time of the initial
hearing to decide if the case was to go to a full court and a jury. They
decided that there was a case to answer and the trial was set for May 1979.
One of the chief prosecution witnesses was a former Liberal
MP, Peter Bessell, who claimed to have been present when the murder plot was
discussed. He had agreed to appear as a witness in exchange for immunity from
prosecution.
At the 1979 trail the jury finally decided that Thorpe and
co. had not conspired to murder Scott but just to frighten him and the 4 men
were acquitted.
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In the 1950’s Jim Jones had joined the Communist Party in
his home state of Indiana but was also drawn to religion and formed his own
church – the Peoples Temple. During the early 1960’s he was active in trying to
integrate blacks and whites and became a target for white supremacists. As the
60’s wore on he moved away from Christianity and preached what he called
Apostolic Socialism, which basically meant rejecting religion in favour of
socialism. He also started claiming that he was Ghandi, Jesus and Lenin
reincarnated.
In 1970 he moved his followers to a site in Guyana he called
Jonestown. Back in the US parents of Peoples Temple members formed a concerned
group and approached Congressman Leo Ryan. In 1978 he led a fact-finding
mission to Jonestown but on the second day, November 18th, a member
attacked Ryan with a knife and the delegation left for the airport. Other
members of the Cult followed them and, as they were boarding a light aircraft,
the group were shot at. Ryan and 4 others were killed.
Later
that day 909 members of the Peoples Temple died of cyanide poisoning by
committing suicide or, in the case of those who were reluctant or unable, like
children and babies, murdered. 
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From 1967 to 1969 Simon Dee was one of the most popular
talk-show hosts on TV with his show ‘Dee Time’ which boasted a peek audience of
18 million people. But then he fell out with the BBC over pay and deserted to ITV
to launch another chat show. After just a few months he fell out with them too
and they cancelled his contract. Despite a few short lived radio jobs his career never recovered and he died in
2009.
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Alan Scott Newman, the only son of film star Paul Newman,
had a long history of alcoholism and mental problems due to, he believed, not
being able to live up to his famous father. After a motorcycle accident he was
on prescription valium and it was an overdose of these, couple with alcohol,
that killed him at the age of 28.
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I can’t help thinking that they wouldn’t have got away with
6 years a piece these days.
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Those were the days when the big decision was
whether to buy C60 or C90 tapes. C90’s held more music but tended to get
mangled in the cheaper players.
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They don’t write romantic ballads like ‘Germ Free
Adolescence’ anymore. Not to mention ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’.
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I pick these sporting pieces out on the basis
that if I recognize a name then they must be famous. Tommy Docherty was a
football player and later a manager whose career lasted from 1947 to 1988.
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