Yorkshire Ripper Guilty

Daily Mirror dated Saturday May 23^rd 1981

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Peter Sutcliffe (The Yorkshire Ripper) spent the next 3 years in HMP Parkhurst and then, having been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, transferred to Broadmoor Hospital. During his stay there he has been attacked several times including being blinded in one eye in 1997.

His wife Sonia who says above “I’ll stand by my man” divorced him in 1982.

In 2005 police discovered that the Wearside Jack tape and letters were the work of John Samuel Humble. He was tried and convicted of perverting the course of justice. 

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Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer just 2 months before their wedding day. Ah young love! Di does her Hilda Ogden impersonation as Charles wishes he was elsewhere and the policeman on the right wonders what he could nick the toffee-nosed twerp for.

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Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Tony to his friend and enemies, was on the left wing of the Labour Party at a time when it had one. He was an MP for the whole second half of the 20^th century and on his retirement in 2001 he said he was “leaving parliament in order to spend more time on politics.” He became involved in the Anti-Iraq War movement. 

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The violence and political polarisation in Northern Ireland described in this article is no surprise given that it is talking about the early 1980’s, but the fact that the Republic of Ireland still had capital punishment came as a shock. Apparently hanging had been abolished back in 1964 except for the murder of police, prison guards and diplomats. It was completely abolished in 1990.

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Thrice married Bill Wyman officially left The Rolling Stones in December 1992. Since then he has mainly appeared with Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, who, I can tell you from personal experience, are great. His relationship with Astrid Lundström (seen above) ended in 1983.

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‘Magnum PI’ was Tom Selleck’s breakthrough having been popping up in various TV series since 1969. He went on to star in the 1987 film ‘3 Men and a Baby’, the TV series ‘Friends’ and most recently ‘Blue Bloods’.

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Miniature pigs were originally bred for medical research but have enjoyed an on off vogue as pets. Give me a dog any day. Or a bacon sandwich.

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I can’t help but feel sorry for Mr Barnard. A stupid idea but he meant well.

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They must have found a solution because ‘Dallas’ continued to be shown this side of the Pond and staggered on for 14 seasons, ending in 1991.

Queen's Silver Jubilee

Daily Mirror dated Wednesday June 8^th 1977

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1977 marked the 25^th year of the reign of Elizabeth II. She actually succeeded to the throne on 6^th February 1952 but the main Silver Jubilee celebrations were held in early June.

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Idi Amin seized power in a military coup in Uganda in 1971 and declared himself President for Life. His regime was notorious for its horrendous human rights abuses and by 1976 Britain has severed diplomatic ties and closed its High Commission.  Amin didn’t get to London and the 1977 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. In April 1979 he was deposed and he went to Libya and then, later, to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003. 

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On May 23^rd 1977 a train was hijacked at De Punt in Holland by 9 South Moluccan terrorists. At the same time 4 others took a hundred children and some teachers hostage at a nearby primary school. After a 20 day stand-off, on June 11^th, Dutch Marines attacked both the train and the school and 7 of the hijackers including Hansina Oktoseja were killed.  

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The 1977 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Gleneagles, Scotland, lasted from June 8^th to 15^th. Africa, particularly Rhodesia, South Africa and Uganda, dominated the agenda.

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In 2008 the UK Kennel Club listed the top 5 most popular dogs as Labrador Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Springer Spaniel, German Shepherd and King Charles Spaniel. What’s wrong with the Great British Mongrel?

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Lester Maddox was a restaurant owner who used the publicity for his eatery to promote the continuation of black/white segregation in Georgia. He gathered such a following from working-class whites that he entered politics eventually becoming State Governor in 1966. Proving that real people are less like stereotypes than fictional characters, Maddox was reasonably progressive on many racial matters. While in office he backed prison reform, an issue popular with many of the state's African Americans, he appointed more African Americans to government positions than all previous Georgia governors combined, including the first black officer in the Georgia State Patrol and the first black official to the state Board of Corrections. After unsuccessfully running for Presidential candidate he abandoned politics.

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According to other online resources it was actually Christchurch in Cambridgeshire, not Dorset, and the ancestor of President Carter that went to America was Thomas Carter Sr, who settled in Virginia. Thomas’ great-great-grandson Kindred Carter moved to Jimmy Carter’s home state of Georgia in the early 1800’s.

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Interesting story but yet another lousy ‘pun’ headline. The story has nothing to do with motorcycle stunt riding, which might have justified an Evel Knievel reference.

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My parents used to pay 1 shilling (5p) a day for my school meals and they were awful. Not my parents – the meals.

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The word ‘hero’ has been devalued over the years by applying it to anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but to consciously put yourself, like unarmed policeman Keith Harrison, between an intended victim and a man with a loaded shotgun is true heroism. 

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Viv Richards, a West Indian cricketer, born in Antigua, so famous even I have heard of him. Apparently 241 not out is a good score.