Sutton Coldfield Station was the scene of a terrible train crash, as 17 died when the York-Bristol stopper derailed due to excessive speed on a sharp curve.
The artist Graham Sutherland was commissioned to do a portrait of Sir Winston. By then The Great Man was very old, & showing signs of wear & tear, & that was what he tried to convey in the portrait.
Churchill was furious, he loathed it with a passion, but it would ruffle too many feathers to say as much.
Some years later, after his wife - the splendidly named Clementine - died, it became clear she had ordered the portrait to be destroyed, & so it was.
The artist Graham Sutherland was commissioned to do a portrait of Sir Winston. By then The Great Man was very old, & showing signs of wear & tear, & that was what he tried to convey in the portrait.
Churchill was furious, he loathed it with a passion, but it would ruffle too many feathers to say as much.
Some years later, after his wife - the splendidly named Clementine - died, it became clear she had ordered the portrait to be destroyed, & so it was.
All that remains are photographs of the portrait.
I took my Grandad to Chartwell a few years ago. Fascinating place
The artist Graham Sutherland was commissioned to do a portrait of Sir Winston. By then The Great Man was very old, & showing signs of wear & tear, & that was what he tried to convey in the portrait.
Churchill was furious, he loathed it with a passion, but it would ruffle too many feathers to say as much.
Some years later, after his wife - the splendidly named Clementine - died, it became clear she had ordered the portrait to be destroyed, & so it was.
All that remains are photographs of the portrait.
I took my Grandad to Chartwell a few years ago. Fascinating place
Yes, I agree, it's splendid.
Churchill had a very distinctive & effective writing style. Short sentences, & a maximum of one long word per sentence.
Whilst President of Uganda Milton Obote was out of the county on at a summit of Commonwealth leaders, Idi Amin staged a military coup, sealed off Entebbe Airport so Obote could not return, & seized power.
That began an appalling series of events, which included genocide, & the death of some 250,000 civilians.
Oddly, he is more remembered for his decision to expel all 60,000 Ugandan based Asians who held British passports, 30,000 of whom came to the UK.
At first, the usual sorts moaned & wailed about "immigrants", but the Ugandan Asians, who are typically hard working & very often shopkeepers, soon became very popular & respected in the UK for their work ethic.
In those days, corner shops opened 9-5 Monday to Friday with an hour for lunch, & early closing day 1 day per week.
The Ugandan Asians changed all that, & most operated 7 days per week from 6am until Midnight.
So when we pop to the shop or the offy late at night, we've got those guys to thank.
Amin was eventually rumbled & ousted, & lived the rest of his like in Saudi Arabia, where he eventually died.
Everyone knows about the tragedy at the World Trade Centre on 9/11 2001, where nearly 3,000 died. As a news story, it generated more content than any other modern day event.
Bet you never knew that just 8 months earlier, on this day, up to 20,000 (TWENTY THOUSAND) people died in an earthquake in Pakistan. That's 7 times worse than 9/11.
Two things about that infamous episode stick in my mind even now.
1) The expression "that woman", about a young lady he had used & abused, was pretty crass, & so he inevitably & correctly paid the bill, so to speak. How disrespectful can you get? that woman
2) It's quite something that, with the passage of time, the public forgives, if not forgets. Bill Clinton is a bona-fide world Statesman these days. That's some recovery.
PS - I gather you had trouble posting that Phants, there were 3 or 4 identical versions in the mysterious Spam Box this morning. Apologies.
On this day in 1945, Auschwitz was liberated. It remains one of life's twin tragedies & mysteries how & why that dark episode of life & death happened.
Comments
1955
Sutton Coldfield Station was the scene of a terrible train crash, as 17 died when the York-Bristol stopper derailed due to excessive speed on a sharp curve.1973
President Nixon announced the end of the Vietnam War with what he described as "peace with honour".
It was neither peace, nor honour, of course.
If you think Trump is bad, have a read up on Nixon.
Not a crook? Oh yes you were.....
Crazy fool.
Hannibal -Tikay
Murdoch - Haysie
B.A. Baracus - TomThug-un
Face - Bates
Which one is Hannibal?
Is he the cool dude?
He's the oldest.
1965
The Great Man - Sir Winston Churchill died.A quick Churchill story.
The artist Graham Sutherland was commissioned to do a portrait of Sir Winston. By then The Great Man was very old, & showing signs of wear & tear, & that was what he tried to convey in the portrait.
Churchill was furious, he loathed it with a passion, but it would ruffle too many feathers to say as much.
Some years later, after his wife - the splendidly named Clementine - died, it became clear she had ordered the portrait to be destroyed, & so it was.
All that remains are photographs of the portrait.
1966
Air India flight 101 from Bombay to London crashed into Mont Blanc as a result of a misunderstanding with ATC. All 117 on board perished.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_101
Fascinating place
Churchill had a very distinctive & effective writing style. Short sentences, & a maximum of one long word per sentence.
A real skill, that, & one I've yet to master.
1971
Whilst President of Uganda Milton Obote was out of the county on at a summit of Commonwealth leaders, Idi Amin staged a military coup, sealed off Entebbe Airport so Obote could not return, & seized power.That began an appalling series of events, which included genocide, & the death of some 250,000 civilians.
Oddly, he is more remembered for his decision to expel all 60,000 Ugandan based Asians who held British passports, 30,000 of whom came to the UK.
At first, the usual sorts moaned & wailed about "immigrants", but the Ugandan Asians, who are typically hard working & very often shopkeepers, soon became very popular & respected in the UK for their work ethic.
In those days, corner shops opened 9-5 Monday to Friday with an hour for lunch, & early closing day 1 day per week.
The Ugandan Asians changed all that, & most operated 7 days per week from 6am until Midnight.
So when we pop to the shop or the offy late at night, we've got those guys to thank.
Amin was eventually rumbled & ousted, & lived the rest of his like in Saudi Arabia, where he eventually died.
A thoroughly dreadful man.
1990
A great storm engulfed Western Europe, & in the UK alone, there were 40 deaths.It was estimated that 3 million trees were blown down.
2001
Everyone knows about the tragedy at the World Trade Centre on 9/11 2001, where nearly 3,000 died. As a news story, it generated more content than any other modern day event.Bet you never knew that just 8 months earlier, on this day, up to 20,000 (TWENTY THOUSAND) people died in an earthquake in Pakistan. That's 7 times worse than 9/11.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Gujarat_earthquake
1998.
Who famously said this..."I did not have sexual relations with that woman"
1) The expression "that woman", about a young lady he had used & abused, was pretty crass, & so he inevitably & correctly paid the bill, so to speak. How disrespectful can you get? that woman
2) It's quite something that, with the passage of time, the public forgives, if not forgets. Bill Clinton is a bona-fide world Statesman these days. That's some recovery.
PS - I gather you had trouble posting that Phants, there were 3 or 4 identical versions in the mysterious Spam Box this morning. Apologies.
1945
On this day in 1945, Auschwitz was liberated. It remains one of life's twin tragedies & mysteries how & why that dark episode of life & death happened.1967
Tragedy on the NASA Apollo Space programme, but, surprisingly, it happened on the ground.
On a lighter note, quite an evening at Selhurst Park.1995
Ooh ahh, Cantona.....