Indeed Owain,
You started the old St George thread and for that we are eternally grateful.
However, having commenced the thread , I fully anticipated numerous follow ups from you, respecting your opinions and views on most topics in general. Alas, I waited in vain.
Sadly, they never came, notwithstanding the holographic views versed by everyone on most subjects.
You supplied the cart, but we filled it and fed the horses that retained it's motion.
I, and possibly many others were disappointed by this factor. For I have read your views on other threads and other subjects, and (though, in common with myself and everyone else here)you occassionaly uttered a load of tripe, the rest of your observations were interesting, intelligent and informative.
Therefore, now that an extension thread has been formed, what about giving us the benefit of your knowledge, ideas, and news from Wales, your knowledge of which has never been surpassed. I can assure you that it would be welcomed.

On this day in 1785 The first insubmersible lifeboat was patented by Lionel Lakin, a London coach builder.

1957 With eight simultaneous hits in the UK Top 30 chart, Elvis Presley set an all - time record.

I will give the answer to the 'Heart on the sleeve question tomorrow.

Here's another.
In the 19th century,in England. A 32 year old wealthy lady, proposed to a famous 77 year old man, who politely turned her down stating that though strongly attached to her, he was to old.
Who was the man or woman?.

Ron.

Wellington?

Ann,
Congratulations. It was Wellington. Before awarding the much envied prizes, I will give a clue to the Lady involved.
She gave away millions of £'s to help the poor, and dedicated her life to that project.
I will leave the 'Heart on the sleeve' answer until tomorrow. A clue;-It started in one of the late Diana's ancestors premises.

Rubbish that I read in yesterday's 'Times':-
'Lambeth' council have banned the use of the word'Christmas' in their lights and festivities. They will be called 'Winter Lights' and Celebrity Lights' because the word Christmas is offensive to non Christians!
The next item is that 'Best Mate' the horse that dropped dead of a heart attack,. Cannot, because of the EU regulations, be burried on Exeter racecourse which is the wish of the owner and an old tradition to a great horse in racing. IE. 'Red Rum ' buried at Aintree. He will be cremated.
One wonders what 'Alice In Wonderland' stories the newspapers will have tomorrow!.
Question:- Which is the English town that refuses to have the names of the 'Fallen' on their cenotaph?.

Ron.

The EU made it illegal to bury animals a few years ago because of the "risk" of BSE or FMD getting into the environment but I thought it only applied to farm animals. It's unlikely Best Mate had FMD or BSE (or even it's equine equivalent). Whereas farmers would either leave dead animals for carrion or bury them they now have to be removed to a licensed site for disposal by cremation or rendering. There are few such sites and the cost is high. A local farmer was fined recently when a dead cow was found in his compost heap, the remains of 11 other animals were found around his farm but the fine was not large and I reckon was more economical for him than paying for the animals to taken away.

Where I live I have open fields to the back of the house and a graveyard to one side. A human body can be legally buried on side of the fence but an animal cannot be buried on the other side.

Of course our European partners across the Channel are no doubt enforcing this law with their usual zeal...

Angela Burdett-Coutts?

Fil2 - If only the Womens Institute members would stand for Parliament we might get some common sense! or even tho' aging the Mothers'Union -they, a few years ago suggested that brothels were legalised -shock horror at christian women suggesting such a thing -but it will never be stopped so why not arrange things so that the girls are in decent surroundings and looked after?

(The W.I. did give our glorious leader a bit of a bad time didn't they!)

Ann,
Congratulations - you have scored a double. It was Angela Burdett-Coutts.
At the age of 23, Angela Burdett became one of the richest women in England. She inherited the Coutts millions from grandfather Coutts on condition that she incorporate the name Coutts beside her own and that she would forfeit all the wealth should she marry a foreigner.
Angela, a deeply religious girl, saw her inheritance as a gift from God and was determined to use it wisely.
She and her old governess,set up home in a large house in Piccadily, where she set about helping the poor.
Shy and retiring, she felt happiest in the company of older, more serious men.
Wellinton had known her since she was a child, and he and Charles Dickens became the most important men in her life.
With Wellington, friendship turned to love. Whilst she was 32, he was 77. Spite his age, the Duke was a commanding and handsome figure.
Angela worshipped him and he in return was devoted to her.
When she proposed to him, he replied with "My dearest, I entreat you not to throw yourself away on an man old enough to be your grandfather".
They remained close friends until his death, where, amongst his personal posessions was found two locks of hair tied together with ribbon. His white, her brown.
Angela did not neglect her numerous charitable commitments. With the guidance of Dickens, she distributed her wealth wisely.
He gave her a copy of 'The Old Curiosity Shop'
and dedicated his 1843 novel Martin Chuzzlewit to her, in his tender portrait of Agnes Whickfield in David Copperfield.
Dickens was happily married with a family and there was no question of romance between them.
She built St Stephens in Westminster,but insisted that it had a social responsibility to its parishoners. She gave money to families wishing to emigrate. Founded the bishoprics of Adelaide, Australia and Cape Town in South Africa, giving each £50,000.
Dickens lead her to the wider shores of philanthropy.She built a refuge, Urania Cottage, where prostitutes could be nursed back to health and assisted with a new life here or in the colonies. At Dickens suggestion, she provided a piano for the girls.
For her friend, Florence Nightingale, she commissioned a drying machine for wet clothes and linen to be used in the Crimea for British troops.
She generously helped the Irish after the famine. Feeding and clothing whole districts and giving money to the fishing industry.
She built a model housing developement in the East End, with gas laundries and even a spin dryer.
The donations of her private charities were too great to measure, frequently signed by 'A lady unknown'
Queen Victoria gave her a peerage in her own right. The first woman to receive it. She built and suported a sewing school in London, supported the silk weavers in Spitalfields and helped 1,200 families in Ayrshire to emigrate to Australia.
When she appeared as a frail old woman at Queen Victoria's funeral, the crowd cheered her and shouted out 'The best woman in London, God bless her'.
When she died in 1902, 25,000 mourners came to pay their last respects and Westminster abbey was filled with mourners, where the Prince of Wales described her a 'the most remarkable women after my mother'

Your special prize Ann, is a freshly made 3lb pot of Scouse that will build you up and restore your energy

Ron.

The answer to 'Heart On The Sleeve':-
In the Middle Ages, it was common practice for both sexes to have buttoned sleeves. IE-They could be replaced when worn out or 'stiff' with dirt.
When courting, couples exchanged sleeves to inform any observer that they were spoken for and to express their affection.
In the 1590's at 'Leasowe Castle' in The Wirral, paper hearts were pinned onto the cuff of the exchanged sleeves. This custom died out in Wirral, but became very strong some 250 miles away in East Anglia, especially on Valentine's Day.
Point of interest;- Leasowe Castle is now a luxury hotel and worth a visit if in the area.
A tip on yesterday's Q. The town that will not allow the names of the fallen to be entered on their Cenotaph is an English North Western town.

On this day in 1862 US inventor Richard Gatling patented the rapid - fire, or machine, gun.

1922 British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.

Ron.

Well there's not a lot going on in here today but today in history this was:

1602 - The Bodleian Library at Oxford University is opened to the public.
1793 - In Paris, the French Revolutionary government opens the Louvre to the public as a museum.
1837 - Formation of Mount Holyoke Seminary, first US college founded for women
1895 - While experimenting with electricity Wilhelm Röntgen discovers x-rays.
1917 - People's Commissars gives authority to Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin
1923 - Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.
1932 - U.S. presidential election, 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory.
1935 - A dozen labor leaders come together to announce the creation of the Congress for Industrial Organization (CIO), an organization charged with pushing the cause for industrial unionism.
1942 - World War II: Operation Torch - United States and United Kingdom forces land in French North Africa.
1960 - U.S. presidential election, 1960: John F. Kennedy is elected over Richard M. Nixon, becoming the youngest man elected to that office.
1965 - The British Indian Ocean Territory is created, consisting of Chagos Archipelago, Aldabra, Farquhar and Des Roches islands.
1965 - The soap opera Days of Our Lives debuts on NBC in the United States.
1966 - Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate.
1971 - The fourth album of British rock group Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin IV) is released, including one of the group's most well known songs, "Stairway to heaven".
1973 - The right ear of John Paul Getty III is delivered to a newspaper together with a ransom note, convincing his father to pay 2.9 million USD.
1974 - In Salt Lake City, Utah, Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy.
1987 - Enniskillen massacre: In Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, an Irish Republican Army bomb explodes, at a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead, killing eleven people.
1988 - U.S. presidential election, 1988: George H. W. Bush is elected over Michael Dukakis.

Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month.

Flowers Of Love.

"Why are they selling poppies, mummy,
Selling poppies in town today"?
"The poppies child, are the flowers of love,
For the men who marched away".
"But why have they chosen a poppy mummy,
And not a beautiful rose?"
"Because my child, men fought and died
in the fields where the poppy grows."
"But why are the poppies red mummy,
Why are the poppies red?"

"Red is the colour of blood,my child,
The blood our soldiers shed."
"The heart of the poppy is black, mummy,
Why does it have to be black?"
"Black, my child, is the symbol of grief,
For the men who never came back."
"But why, mummy, are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain."
"My tears are my fears for you, my child,
For the world is -----FORGETTING AGAIN."

Anon.

When Rememberance Was New.

In an English country churchyard,
On a dank November day,
Lies that bright nostalgic symbol,
a Flanders poppy-spray.

And across the years a memory,
Of a set-faced solemn throng.
With the Legion-banner leading,
As they marched to Evensong.

The the clink and glint of medals,
In the mellow light of the nave,
As the echoing tread dies to silence,
For their lives which their comrades gave.

Ah, the glamour of those stalwarts,
Glimpsed through the hands of a lad,
"Who is the one with the creaky leg,
And the long row of medals, Dad?"

But hush, hear the names familiar,
Of those who were left behind-----
Names inscribed on the village cross,
Etched with awe on a schoolboy's mind.

O.E. Ellis.

Today in 1922 Daily Broadcasting began.

Friday was Armistice Day and the Saint celebrated on that day is St. Martin - a soldier who became a celebrated christian and was visited by many English christians.
How strange that a soldier is celebrated on a day that many centuries later became a focus for remembering those killed in battle.

A DEAD STATESMAN

I could not dig; I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?
(Rudyard Kipling: 1919)

quote:

Originally posted by Ann Wilkinson:
Today in 1922 Daily Broadcasting began.

Wow!!
Just think 83 years of repeats.
And there's still nothing on till January!!

Well, strictly speaking Madoc, and not to be pedantic about it, 82 years of repeats because the first year must have been original material.........or was it?

quote:

Originally posted by Ann Wilkinson:
Well, strictly speaking Madoc, and not to be pedantic about it, 82 years of repeats because the first year must have been original material.........or was it?

Well the first program granted but since then.
Hmmm...
And thats not to mention the jokes.
Best not to mention the jokes at all really.

Alas, what tragic news. An unarmed young woman, a mother of five, is ruthlessly gunned down by a remorseless Yob. Simply for doing her job. Protecting the public.
Various quotes from the spineless politicians, added to by the politically Correct senior police officers.
But will the punishment fit the crime when the gunman is caught? No,No, a thousand times No.
When he pulled that trigger, he knew that whatever transpired, his miserable life would be safe from justice. A few years in jail, soothing words from a 'Rwspected' Psychologist, and hey presto! he is free to murder another innocent victim.
The time has come when the public demand the 'Death Penalty' for police murderer's. Not only does it fit the crime, but is the only deterrent that these thugs understand. At present, there is no deterrant whatsoever. My sincere condolances to this ladies family.

Ron.

On this day in 1783 Fran ç ois de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandres made the first human flight when they lifted off from the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, in a hot - air balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers.

1953 The discovery of the Piltdown Man skull by Charles Dawson in Sussex in 1912 was finally revealed as a hoax.

Goldie Hawn, American actress, is 60 today.

And now something lighter:-

Miss Fogarty's Ch

As I sat by my window one evening,
the postman brought unto me.
A little gilt-edged invitation,"Gilhooley come over for tea".
I knew that the Fogarty's had sent it, so I went just for old friendship's sake.
And the first thing they gave me to tackle,was a slice of Miss Fogarty's cake.

Mike Mulligan wanted to taste it, but really there wasn't no use.
They worked on it for over an hour,and they couldn;t get none of it loose.
So Kelly came in with a hatchet and Murphy came in with a saw.
That cake was enough by the powers, to paralise anyman's jaw.

Miss Fogarty proud as a peacock, kept smilin' and drinkin' away,
Till she fell over Flanigan's brogans, and spilled the home brew of her tray.
"Oh, Gilhooley", she cried"you're not eating, "try a bit more for my sake"
"No thanks, Miss Fogarty", says I,"but i'd like the receipt of that cake."

Malloney was took with the colic,McNulty complained of his head.
McFaddon lay down on the sofa, and swore that he wished he was dead'
Miss Daly fell down in hysterics, and there she did wriggle and shake,
While everyman swore he was poisoned, for eatin' Miss Fogarty's cake.

There were plums and prunes and cherries,citron and raisins and cinnamon too,
Nutmegs, cloves and berries,-----and the crust, it was nailed on with glue.
There were caraway seeds in abundance,which sure could build up a fine stomach ache,It would kill a man twice, after eating a slice, of Miss Fogarty's cake.

Anon.

quote:

Originally posted by RonW:
Alas, what tragic news. An unarmed young woman, a mother of five, is ruthlessly gunned down Simply for doing her job.

But will the punishment fit the crime when the gunman is caught? No.
When he pulled that trigger, he knew that whatever transpired, his miserable life would be safe from justice. A few years in jail, soothing words from a 'Rwspected' Psychologist, and hey presto! he is free to murder another innocent victim.
The time has come when the public demand the 'Death Penalty' for police murderer's. Not only does it fit the crime, but is the only deterrent that these thugs understand.

Ron.

A life sentance should mean life.
(Garry Glitter why is he out of goal?)

The last hangman stated that hanging wasnt a deterrant as murders were still comitted.

Humus,
Nice to hear from you after all this time. Your contributions have been missed. I agree whith your views on a Life Sentance. It should be 'Life' otherwise the meaning is just a farce.
I believe in the death penalty for Police murderers, child murderers and premeditated murder. I also believe in Corporal punishment for thugs. IE the two in Lacashire who beat up a 98 year old woman and the thugs who burned a baby with cigarettes, just 'for laughs'.
When birching was abolished in the Isle Of Man, birchable crimes rose by 300% the following year. Where Capital punishment has been re-introduced in the world, murder has dropped by approximatly 40%.
The last official Hangman, Albert Pirepointe, was very capable at his job, and it appears at his other occupation- a Pub Landlord. Yet alas, he wasn't very good at facts.
Do you know of any Archiologists in the Wirral? Officially we have none. Some very large stone blocks, similar to those from a Roman temple have been unearthed by a bulldozer on a sight in Rock Ferry. They are probably from a 19th century church. But no one seems to be the least bit bothered about them. I am 'away' at present, so cannot investigate.

Ron.

Wasn't near Rock Ferry Pier was it?? I was there last thursday and they were digging up in the vicinity.

The last hangman stated that hanging wasnt a deterrant as murders were still comitted.[/QUOTE]

Well he would do wouldn't he, some people become very bitter when being made redundant.

Phil B,
As with Humus, it is nice to hear from you again, you also have a lot to contribute.
The work at Rock Ferry Pier is a community project. After many years of neglect, the badly dilapidated promonade is being repaired.
If you return, you will find the large sandstone blocks on the site of the late St Peter's Hall, on New Chester Road( A-41 ) between Bedford RD and Rock Lane East. The blocks are generally 4ft-5ins x 4ft-2ins x 2ft-2ins.There are quite a number of these and also some wedge and coned shaped ones.
I looked at the houses where I guesed old people lived. IE Old net curtains etc, and I knocked at a few doors enquiring about the blocks, but none of the long residents knew of their history. I think they could be from an old church of yesteryear. However,the Romans were very active around here and Bedford Rd, 200 yards away, is an old Roman Rd.
When I get home (whenever that will be)I shall endeaver to establish their orogin, providing no one has done so before me.

On this day in 1852 Britain's first pillar boxes were erected, at St Helier, Jersey.

1963 The first episode of the BBC TV serial Dr Who was broadcast, with William Hartnell as Dr Who and Anna Ford as his female companion.

Ian Botham, English Cricketer, is 50 today.

Ron.

Ron, I think that was Carol Anne Ford. You're thinking of the newsreader.

(Wraps long scarf around neck, checks sonic screwdriver and exits through shakey cardboard door...)

Sorry Phil, you are right. I knew Anna Ford when she was a 'Cub' reporter working for Granada TV. She was very pretty, and a nice person. Maybe that's why my mind wondered.
Is anyone interested in a quiz quesstion?. The answer to the last one was'Darwen' in Lancashire. Which reminds me, I wonder what's happened to Ann Wilkinson?. Not been heard of for weeks.
On this day in 1884 Evaporated milk was patented by John Mayenberg of St Louis, Missouri.

1952 The longest - running play, The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, opened in London, at the Ambassador's Theatre.
Q. Is it still running?.

1969 In protest against Britain's involvement in Biafra and support of US involvement in Vietnam, John Lennon returned his MBE. This enraged a lot of his fans and people who belived that he should never have received it in the first place were offended.

Ron.