Random Cutting - M.P.'s Food Hoard (1918)

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“By Gad, Sir! A member of the bally House of Commons up to no good – whatever next? The bounders’ll be fiddling their expenses next. Pass the crate of brandy, what!”

James Bulger Trial Verdict

The Independent dated Thursday November 24^th 1993

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The 20^th anniversary of the murder of toddler James Bulger by 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson passed recently and the more serious newspapers marked it by re-opening the great Nature Vs Nurture debate – were these two children born evil or were they products of their environment?

They were both released in 2001 after a parole board decided they were no longer a threat to the Public. In 2010 Venables was sent back to prison after being convicted for possession of child pornography.

The Ulster Volunteer Force was created in 1966 by a former British Soldier with the aim of combating Republican attempts to free Northern Ireland from British rule. 

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When I worked in central London I spent a lot of time on the Tube and dreaded those times when the packed rush hour train slowed to a halt and the lights dimmed. The heat and the body-odour were nothing compared to the uncertainty as to whether the train would ever start again.

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Definitely a case of she who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon. Or, at least, have more sense than to voluntarily spent time alone with a convicted murderer.

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Packard Bell Legend Elite with 170Mb of hard disk space! That’s 0.17 Gb! At the moment I have 48 mpegs on my system, each one larger than that. It may well be a case of rubbish expanding to fill the space provided for it. And don't get me started on the 16MHz processor on the Apple Macintosh. 

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Silvio Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936 and by 1993 had amassed a fortune as the head of a business empire owning newspapers, publishing, cinema, finance, banking, insurance, sports and more than half of Italy’s TV output.

In 1993 he decided to enter politics and formed the anti-communist Forza Italia Party and by 1994 started his first of three stints as Prime Minister. He has been accused of corruption, neo-fascist sympathies, lying to the Electorate, possible criminal dealings with Vladimir Putin, false accounting, tax evasion, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges, witness bribery, soliciting minors for sex, abuse of Political office and Mafia connections. He also has the diplomatic tact of the Duke of Edinburgh at a meeting of the Ethnic Minorities League.

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Hip-hop artist (whatever that means) Tupak Shakur and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room. At the trial Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse and sentenced to 1½–4½ years in prison. After serving part of his sentence he was released on bail pending appeal. In April 1996 he was sentenced to serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of his bail. On September 13^th 1996 he was murdered in a drive-by shooting.

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If the Anti-gun ownership lobby in the USA want proof that they are right and that strict gun control works, they should look at Japan. They have very strict gun ownership laws and, despite what you might see in Japanese crime films, on average about 12 homicides by shooting a year. 

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‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ was the first of a long list of musicals written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Richard Stilgoe, Ben Elton etc that I have never seen nor would want to. Oh! – except  ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ as filmed by Norman Jewison.

Random Ad - George Best's Football Boots (1970's)

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George Best (Northern Island and Hong Kong Rangers) endorses Stylo Matchmakers Soccer Shoes. Used to be called football boots when I were a lad.

Random Cutting - UFO article (1950)

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UFO fever really caught on in 1950. See also this post with 2 other cuttings from 1950.

Ike Unfit for the Summit

Sunday Pictorial dated Sunday July 27th 1958

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Dwight Eisenhower, known as ‘Ike’ for some reason, was the Republican President of the USA from 1953 until 1961. He’d had a heart attack in 1955, surgery for the effects of Crohn’s disease in 1956 and a stroke in 1957. He had several more heart attacks before finally dying in 1969. As far as I can ascertain the 1958 Summit never happened and Eisenhower and Krushchev finally met in at the Paris Summit in 1960, but that meeting was rather marred by the U2 Spy Plane incident in May of that year.

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I wouldn’t have thought a mother could legally kidnap her own child any more than steal her own car, but could a father kidnap his child if the child is living with the mother? Answers on a post-card.

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As the Cold War between the West (USA, Britain etc) and the East (USSR etc) got frostier during the 1950’s it was Winston Churchill of all people that tried to encourage the US Presidents to talk face to face with the Russians. Possibly Churchill was aware that if the Cold War turned nuclear and Russians fired their ballistic missiles they could only reach the good old UK before blowing us all to Kingdom Come.

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Iven Kincheloe was an American Air-Force pilot who flew 131 missions during the Korean War. On his return to the USA he joined the test pilots at Edwards Airforce Base and was the first to fly at over 100,000 feet. He was to join a team that included future astronaut Neil Armstrong, testing the X15 rocket plane but was killed in a F104 Starfighter crash.

The first person to fly a plane into space was test pilot Joe Walker in an X15 in 1963.

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The Blue Streak rocket was actually developed as a medium range ballistic missile and cancelled before it went into production. The British space programme has always concentrated on getting hardware into Earth orbit using unmanned rockets. In fact only one British made rocket ever put one satellite into orbit – Black Arrow in 1971. Other British ‘sputniks’ used American rockets. 

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I knew there was still a lot of colour prejudice in Britain in the late 1950’s but charging ‘coloureds’ 50% more than ‘whites’ for the same glass of beer must have been illegal, although there is no mention of the police here, just a ticking-off from the brewery. 

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Elvis Presley’s grandfather Jesse who divorced his grandmother Minnie Mae did indeed record some sides for Legacy Records but only one single was ever released - ‘Who’s That Kickin’ My Dog Around’/’The Billy Goat Song’ backed by ‘Swingin’ In The Orchard’. Listen, if you dare, about half way down this page.

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Although Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales on July 26^th 1958, his investiture was not conducted until July 1^st 1969, when the Queen crowned him in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle.

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La Bébé. France’s biggest export in the 1950’s, Brigitte Bardot not only looked great but she could act.

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Born in 1903, Malcolm Muggeridge was a journalist, author, TV and radio personality, sometime communist, agnostic turned Catholic and World War II spy. When on TV he seemed to revel in going against public opinion; criticising the Beatle in the 1960’s when they were at the height if their popularity and in the same decade embracing Christianity as Church attendances fell dramatically. This is a typically outspoken piece criticising  the Foreign Office and MI6. He was a very articulate man who spoke very precisely and was often imitated.

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The moonraker Diana Fluck became Britain’s answer to Marylin Monroe when she changed her name to Diana Dors and bleached her hair. 

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There’s nothing new about kiss-and-tell revelations of a so-called celebrity. The Internet Movie Database list 1 acting role and 1 set designer role for Novella Parigini and a photo of her with Rock Hudson who looks like he is saying ‘will someone get this thing off me?’ while smiling gaily, can be seen here. I wonder if she ever even met Marlon Brando. She was also an artist of doubtful talent specializing in faces of women with horribly bloated lips. Freudian analysis anyone?

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No, not the ruddy Olympics again. The Empire Games were first held in 1930 when we still had an Empire (just about). By 1958 they were the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and became just the Commonwealth Games in 1978. 

36 countries took part in the 1958 Games compared to 71 in the most recent (2010).

Random Ad - Capstan Cigarettes (1950's)

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Capstan Cigarettes being promoted by film star Jack Hawkins (The League of Gentlemen, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gideon's Day etc). Ironically Hawkins was later diagnosed with throat cancer and had his larynx removed. 

Random Cutting - Baird’s Noctovisor (1927)

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John Logie Baird’s Noctovisor, a device for ‘see in the dark and through fog’ using infared radiation proved to be impractical so he tried again in 1928 using radio waves and invented what was, to all intents and purposes, Radar. 

Nazis Massacred - Cherbourg Cut Off

San Francisco Examiner dated Monday June 19^th 1944

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It was crucial to America’s war against Japan that they captured the Mariana Islands (including Saipan Island) to give them a base from which to bomb Japan itself using B29 Superfortresses and for a launching pad for the invasion of the Phillipines in October 1944.

The battle for Saipan Island lasted from June 15^th 1944 until July 9^th with almost 3500 Americans killed and about 29000 Japanese deaths. 

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This was just 2 weeks after the Normandy Landings (D-Day), when allied ground forces returned to France having been pushed out in June 1940 during the Dunkirk evacuation. It marked the turning point in the War in Europe, which culminated in the capture of Berlin and the German surrender of May 1945.

Despite this gung-ho report the German defences at Cherbourg weren’t overrun until June 25^th/26^th after a heavy bombardment from combined US and Royal Navy battleships. The ‘Battle of Cherbourg’ cost the Americans 2800 dead and 13.500 wounded.

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‘Hitler’s robot bombs’ referred to here were the V1 Flying Bombs. The first V1 of over 9000 was launched against the South of England on June 13^th 1944 just a week after D-Day.  They continued until October 1944 when the final launch site was overrun by Allied troops. A further 2500 were launched within mainland Europe between then and March 1945.

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I am always amazed by the Internet. I Google’d “Malcolm D Brannen” on the off-chance that there was some information about him, and up popped this link to his detailed memories of D-Day and the story of his shooting of Wilhelm Falley in his own words. 

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If it was set in New York rather than San Francisco, this picture of James J McGovern kneeling over the body of Julio Arteaga looks like it could have been taken by the legendary crime photographer Arthur ‘WeeGee’ Fellig.

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This advert for War Bonds certainly gets its point across!

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The B29 Superfortress heavy bomber came into service in May 1944 and was used mainly in the Far Eastern war against Japan. It was the 468th Bombardment Group, one of 4 groups using the B29’s, that was so successful that they were honoured by being called the Billy Mitchell Group after General William Mitchell the early advocate of aerial warfare and Commander of the US Air Force in France during World War 1. He had died in 1936.

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The US Army took control of Rome on June 4^th 1944 after the German Army had abandoned the city. It took until May 1945 to completely defeat the Germans and their Italian Fascist allies in Italy.

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At an inquest on June 27^th 1944 it was found that Paula Proctor had indeed committed suicide. Ralph Proctor was cleared of all involvement after taking a lie detector test.

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39 year-old Austin Cox murdered 5 people including a Judge, Under Utah law he was executed by a 5-man firing squad whilst strapped into a chair. 

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American cartoonist Gladys Parker based her character ‘Mopsy’, as featured in this single frame, on herself and she appeared in various strips from 1939 until 1965. Gladys was also a fashion designer.

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“What Evil Forces Gave Them Their Orders?” I want to see Secret Command! Unfortunately all I can find anywhere is a 3 minute clip on Youtube.

Maybe I’ll settle for an all-nighter at the Warfield that includes ‘Roger Touhy, Gangster’, ‘The Glass Key’ and, on stage, Fun’s-Afire with Girls, Gaiety, Glamour and Gags!

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I love 30’s and 40’s American cars. Fancy getting a ’40 Ford DeLuxe for only $1035 as seen in ‘Radar Men From The Moon’? Or, if you’re feeling flush, a ’41 Chrysler New Yorker for a measly $1849?

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Baseball results. I assume some of these names mean something to someone, somewhere. George Bernard Shaw said that baseball was preferable to cricket - because it was over sooner.

Random Ad - Prestcold Refrigerators (1960's)

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In this advert for 'direct-to-you' Prestcold Refrigerators I'm a bit suspicious of the word 'Identical'. It seems to me to imply that what they are selling may not actually be Prestcold fridges but only identical to them. 

Pre-decimal prices of course. GNS means Guineas which were £1 and 1 shilling or 105p - so 34Gns would be £35 and 14shillings. 
Why is there no 'd' in refrigerator but there is in 'fridge'? This sort of thing keeps me awake at night.

Random Cutting - Theatre Review (1917)

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Top of the bill is Charles Hawtrey; not the Charles Hawtrey of Carry On films fame, but the man from whom he took his stage name. This Hawtrey was knighted in 1922 after a long and distinguished career in the British theatre as an actor, comedian, director, theatre manager and producer. He even appeared in 3 silent films.

The bottom of the bill is Gladys Cooper, and this is the Gladys Cooper who between 1913 and 1969 made nearly 50 films including ‘Rebecca’, ‘Now Voyager’ and ‘My Fair Lady’. In 1917 she was not only an established stage actor but also co-manager of the Playhouse Theatre in London.

Lord Mountbatten's Funeral

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Lord Louis Mountbatten, uncle to Prince Philip, was murdered by the IRA on August 27^th 1979. This previous post dealt with that event. After a Funeral service at London’s Westminster Abbey, Lord Mountbatten was taken to Romsey Abbey, near his Broadlands estate, for burial.

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Sgt Ian Rogers was also murdered on August 27^th along with 17 other soldiers at an IRA ambush in Warrenpoint.

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The right-wing Daily Mail having a field-day at the expense of the left-wing Trades Union Congress in Blackpool.

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A couple of snippets from the America column. The beauty of the tape hoax is that even if they were caught they hadn’t actually done anything illegal.

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Peter Sutcliffe, The Yorkshire Ripper, began his 5-year killing spree in 1975 and was finally caught when, in January 1981 he was arrested on a motoring offence and while in custody confessed. He was tried on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder.

The police came under a lot of criticism for not catching Sutcliffe sooner. During their investigation they interviewed him 9 times. In their defence it must be noted that it was one of the largest ever investigations and being pre-computer was overwhelmed with paperwork. They were also distracted by a hoaxer who led the police seriously astray.

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A bit sad for an actor and director to have his obituary headed as ‘husband of…’. Between 1965 and his early death Derek Seaton had done everything from Shakespeare to Doctor Who.

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In 1941 the Adolph Hitler’s Deputy Rudolf Hess flew himself to Scotland to try to negotiate a peace between Germany and England, but he was arrested and treated as a Prisoner of War. In 1946 he stood trial along with other top Nazi’s and was sentenced to Life, which he spent in Spandau Prison. From 1966 onwards he was Spandua’s only inmate and was guarded in turn by English, American, French and Russian guards. He apparently committed suicide in 1987 by throttling himself with an electric cord. At the age of 93.

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Seventeen years after the Cuban Crisis brought the World to the brink of Nuclear War we have the Cuban Slight Upset. President Jimmy Carter and various Senators got their knickers in a twist about a company of Russian combat troops ‘only 90 miles from Florida’ that turned out to have been there for several years and were perfectly entitled, under the Russian/US agreements dating back to 1962, to be in Cuba. The Russian Government ignored Carter and it all blew over.

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Rolf Schild, his wife and daughter were kidnapped while on holiday in Sardinia. As the article says he was released with a ransom demand for the release of his family. His wife was released in January 1980, and his daughter in March. £220,000 was paid in ransom money but two years later 13 people were found guilty of the crime and were jailed.

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There’s good news and there’s bad news. Sizewell Nuclear Power Station A was decommissioned in 2006 but Sizewell B came online in 1995.

Why not use the code issued to residents close to Windscale? One devastating nuclear disaster is much like another.

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Film star Peter Sellers had married his fourth wife, Lynne Frederick, in 1977 but by all accounts it was a stormy relationship that could have ended in divorce had he not died of a heart attack in 1980.

If only his acting career could have ended with his penultimate performance in the incredible ‘Being There’ instead of the dire ‘The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu’.

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It seems that Sebastian Coe went on to win Gold at both the 1980 Moscow and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, become an MP and a Lord and have something to do with the 2012 London Olympics.