Today in History

[Gemini]

1991

Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with Everything I Do I Do It For You from the film Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a record breaking 16 weeks, and was also a No.1 in the US and 16 other countries.

[Oma]

It did go on for a long time didn't it , i must admit I loved that song but got fed up with it after so long

[Gemini]

1939

The government announced that all infants and nursing mothers would get fresh milk free or at no more than two pence a pint.

[Daisy]

And I think there was free orange juice for young children during the war. There weren't any fresh oranges around.

[Gemini]

2000

Two men caught on camera for dangerous driving escaped prosecution in a landmark case, as it had violated their human rights.

[Daisy]

2000

Two men caught on camera for dangerous driving escaped prosecution in a landmark case, as it had violated their human rights.

I didn't realise we had a human right to drive dangerously and risk other people's lives! What nonsense.

[Gemini]

1988

Lord Harewood, the Queen’s cousin, brought in police to investigate the theft of the world’s smallest horse, Pernod, a 27-inch-high Shetland stallion.

[Daisy]

Gem - we get Shetlands running wild in the Forest and they are the most aggressive of all the animals - whoever took Pernod probably had their hands full!

[Gemini]

1981

The Humber Estuary Bridge was officially opened by the Queen. For 16 years after its construction it was the world's longest single-span structure.

[Gemini]

1901

The water supply was turned off in Manchester as a heat wave hit the U.K. with the temperature reaching 35 degrees Centigrade.

[Daisy]

You can't imagine what effect that must have had on people living in the area.

[Gemini]

1919

Following Peace Day celebrations marking the end of World War I, ex-servicemen, unhappy with unemployment and other grievances, rioted and burn down Luton Town Hall. During the riot people broke into Farmers Music Shop and dragged pianos into the streets for dancing and singing, including, ironically 'Keep the home fires burning'. The mayor at the time, Henry Impey was smuggled out of Luton never to return.

[Daisy]

Gem - I didn't know that, and I lived in Luton at one time - quite a long time after 1919, though!

[Gemini]

1304

The fall of Stirling Castle in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
King Edward I of England took the stronghold using the 'War Wolf', a type of catapult that used the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. Ten years later Stirling Castle was recaptured by the Scots, an event that was the immediate cause of the Battle of Bannockburn in which Edward Longshanks's son, Edward II, came with an army two or three times the Scottish numbers and lost.

[Gemini]

2010

A luxury Koenigsegg CCXR (one of only six ever made), valued at £1.2m and a £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce were clamped outside Harrods in central London after being illegally parked. The cars were released for £70 each as the fines were paid within 14 days.