Random Ad - Britain's Police 1970's

"That'll teach you to ride without lights, you little sod, and if we've damaged the car you'll have to pay."

By the way those salaries are annual not monthly or weekly.

Random Cutting - WWI Spies

It seems that media fuelled panics are nothing new and just 3 or 4 months into World War 1 there were German spies everywhere even sleepy Norfolk - according to the papers.

Japanese Emperor's Funeral

The Daily Mirror dated Tuesday October 1st 1912

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This is the funeral of the Mikado or Emperor of Japan Mutsuhito – known after his death as Emperor Meiji. He'd been born in 1852 and had been Emperor since 1867, ruling Japan during a period of immense political, economic and cultural change from isolated feudal farming country to industrialised World power. Just a year before his death, by natural causes, 12 anarchists were executed for plotting to assassinate him.

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A handy map to tell you where the trouble is and hours of fun for the kids cutting out the pictures of the leaders and sticking them on the right country.

Seriously though this was just one of a series of Balkan crises that culminated in the First World War.

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A nice concise explanation of what was going on. Sort of. If you know which side to believe.

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The Dutch Baroness Charlotte Van Coehoorn had fallen in love with her chauffeur and in August 1912 had tried to elope with him, but she was intercepted at Ostend a few days later and returned to her family who immediately had her sent to an insane asylum (as you do). The family’s action was very unpopular and with the help of sympathisers she escaped and joined her lover who was waiting outside in a car. Unfortunately I can’t find anything about what happened next. A 1922 newspaper article found online mentions a Baroness Van Coehoorn on a World tour, but whether this is the same person or not, I don’t know.

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Florence Alice Bernadette Stiles who went by the stage name of Florence Dudley was shot three times in a taxicab as it pulled up in Farringdon Street. She died later in hospital. Her assailant was her married boyfriend Edward Hopwood and after shooting at a policeman he shot himself. He survived and was arrested for murder. His defence was that Florence was shot accidentally while trying to stop him committing suicide over the end of their affair. He was found guilty and hanged on 1^st February 1913.

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There must be a moral here but I can’t see it. ‘You can’t take it with you so why not have it destroyed by an earthquake’?  ‘A relative in need is a money grabbing good for nothing’?

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These pictures of a deer hunt remind me of Oscar Wilde’s take on fox-hunting – if I may miss-quote ‘The unspeakable chasing the rather quite tasty.’ Leave the deer alone and go and get a MacDonalds. 

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Electric socks!! 

I don’t have rheumatism but I must have a pair of damp-defying electric socks for Christmas.

‘Do not fill up boots’ – with what? Electricity? Uric Acid? Sockiness?

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It’s all lies I tell you! The headline says ‘McGrath's New Hammer Record’; the text says ‘it will not be recognized as a record’.  It’s a pity for the headline writer that the ironic suffix ‘Not!’ had yet to be invented. There is a photo of Matt McGrath here

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For a 1912/13 Arsenal team picture scroll down this page and for Chelsea this page
Arsenal ended the 1912/13 season bottom of the First Division and Chelsea were third from bottom. 

This article manages to make a game of football actually sound exciting. I might even watch a game one day. Are Arsenal and Chelsea still around?

New Feature - Friday Random Ads - Banjo Bar

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Two newspaper adverts from the early 1950's prior to the end of sweet rationing on February 5th 1953. Fun adverts but the design on the wrappers is a little worrisome.

Random Cutting - Howard Hughes

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For those that haven’t seen The Aviator (2004  Leonardo DiCaprio), Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business man, aviator, engineer, film producer, film director, and very rich person. He set several world air-speed records, built the then largest aircraft to only just fly (the Spruce Goose) and  owned ( and bankrupted) Trans World Airlines (TWA). As he got older he became more and more of a recluse and wasn’t seen in public for many years. He stayed at the Inn on the Park in London until December 1974.

He died on April 5^th 1976 appropriately enough during a flight.

Falklands - It's War

Daily Mirror and Sun dated Saturday April 3rd 1982

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The Daily Mirror and the Sun took quite opposed views on the Conflict, the Mirror being against British military action and the Sun being all for it.

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Guess which pages 2/3 are from the Mirror and which the Sun.

The Falkland Islands were first visited by Europeans, a Dutch ship, in 1600 and since then have been tossed around by the Spanish, French, Argentineans and British. A British naval base was set up in 1834 and it became a British Colony in 1840. The Argentineans have always maintained that the British had no real right to the Islands and on Friday April 2^nd 1982 they invaded.

The Conflict (no actual state of War was ever declared by either side) lasted 74 days and cost 649 Argentine, 255 British and 3 Falkland Islanders’ lives. The 3 locals were women killed ‘by friendly fire’ –what a disgusting phrase that is.

With Margaret Thatcher being Prime Minister at the time, the old idea that if women ran the World there would be no more wars was finally put to rest. 

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The Sun starts as it means to go on with jingoistic calls to support ‘our lads’ and hate the ‘Argies’.

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The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Prior, quashed Charles McCormick’s conviction in 1984. McCormick may or may not have been working for British Military Intelligence at the time of his alleged bank robberies.

In 2009 the 72 year-old Charles McCormick was re-arrested for the murder of Sergeant Joe Campbell a fellow RUC member who was shot in 1977. I can’t find anything online to say whether or not there has been a second trial. 

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Helen Smith and a male guest both died during a party in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, apparently from falling from a sixth floor balcony. The Saudi authorities and the British Foreign Office both agreed that it was miss-adventure caused by alcohol. Helen’s father didn’t believe this was the truth and campaigned for a different verdict for 30 years.

Helen’s body was kept unburied for all this time and 6 post-mortems were carried out, but all were inconclusive. She was finally buried in 2009.

As a result of the campaign the Law was changed so that coroners were obliged to investigate deaths of British citizens who died abroad if their bodies were returned to Britain. Princess Diana is probably the most high profile death to be investigated as a result of this change in the Law.

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Nicholas Parsons hosted ‘Sale of the Century’ from 1971 until 1985. You either loved or hated both him and the programme. 

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The very popular series Minder began in 1979 as a vehicle for Denis Waterman when the Sweeney finished but he ended up playing second fiddle to George Cole. The programme lasted 10 series but Waterman dropped out (character emigrated to Australia) after 7. 

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Can you put a name to these famous faces of 1982? Answers at the end of this post.

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The Sun's 1982 Grand National tips.

The actual result was 1^st Gritter, 2^nd Hard Outlook, 3^rd Loving Words and 4^th Delmos. 1 out of 16 predictions correct isn't bad, I suppose.

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The first female jockey to complete the National course, Geraldine Rees, came in 8^th on Cheers. Charlotte Brew who was the first woman jockey to ever ride in the National, was unseated at the third fence.

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“By Gad, Sir! A fortnight lazing on the beach watching all the young fillies in their bikinis with their bronze bodies and their… Oh dear, I think I’m going to have one of my turns. Pass the Sangria!”

In the Big Time answers - 

Top -                  Clint Walker                   Richard Kiel                 Woody Strode

Bottom -            David Prowse               Giant Haystacks            Lou Ferrigno

Random Cutting - Spook Cave-Dwellers in Kent

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This cutting is not dated but circa 1916/1917. In 1918 Arthur Conan Doyle published ‘The New Revelation’ which has an appendix called ‘The Cheriton Dugout’. This can be read at www.pagebypage.com (search Google for Doyle Cheriton).