Today in History

[Daisy]

I loved the Beano and the Dandy. I had one or the other every week! Then I moved on to School Friend and Girls' Crystal.

[Gemini]

1937

The first play written for British television, The Underground Murder Mystery by J. Bissell Thomas, was broadcast by the BBC.

[Gemini]

1882

A draper’s shop called Coxon & Company, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, became the first shop in the world to be lit by incandescent electric light. It used Swan lamps.

[Gemini]

1970

Five RNLI volunteers died in the Fraserburgh lifeboat disaster. It left five women widowed and 15 children mourning the loss of a father. The 1970 disaster marked the third time that a lifeboat from Fraserburgh had been lost. The north east town had previously faced tragedy in 1953 (6 crew died) and 1919 (the death of 2 crew members).

[Daisy]

An awful tragedy, with the loss of brave men.

[Oma]

Gem the building where Coxon's was still stands, although the ground floors are re developed with so called modern facades and windows , the original were better in my opinion .

[Gemini]

2015

Mothers invited to a Scottish Government-backed breastfeeding conference were left angry and bemused after being told that they would not be allowed to breastfeed their babies.

[Daisy]

Gem - that beggars belief!!

[Gemini]

1931

The official opening of Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable.

[Daisy]

It's a lovely zoo. I've only been once though. When we lived near there I had two friends and we had 7 children (6 of them boys) under the age of 5 between us. One day we all piled into our estate car (no rear seat belts in those days) and set off for our day out at the zoo.

We got to the entrance and the chap taking the money asked how many - 3 adults and 7 children. He peered into the car at this mass of small excited children and waved us through without paying and said to let him know if we needed a pen for them!!!

[Gemini]

LOL daisy

I have only been once when DD3 was about 9, with her 3 cousins, who live down south.

[Daisy]

I hope you enjoyed it, Gem. They were using naturalistic enclosures when most zoos still kept their large animals in small cages.

[Gemini]

2014

Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor DC declared a major incident throughout much of the Somerset Levels. The village of Muchelney was cut off by flood water from the River Parrett for almost 10 weeks.

[Daisy]

And still the floods keep happening.

[Gemini]

1989

Actor John Cleese won damages for libel at the High Court over an article in the Daily Mirror, which claimed he had become like Basil Fawlty in his comedy series Fawlty Towers