On this day in history – Page 58

On this day in history….2nd December 1966

On this day in history : 2nd December 1966 – The miniskirt is banned from the Houses of Parliament….

Jersey minidress by Mary Quant, late 1960s – Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation CC BY-SA 4.0

The short skirt, regarded as a symbol of the Swinging Sixties, had taken London by storm…. For some, wearing it was a form of rebellion against the oppression of women…. To wear a miniskirt was often not just to follow a fashion trend but as a statement of female empowerment…. Women were seeing liberation in many different areas of their lives; the availability of the contraceptive pill was seeing young women express their femininity as never before….

Mary Quant, often credited for bringing us the miniskirt, had started experimenting with shorter skirts in the 1950s – when designing for her King’s Road boutique…. Her inspiration came from the memory of seeing a young tap dancer in a tiny skirt over thick black tights….

Mary Quant wearing a minidress of her own design, 16 December 1966 – Jac. de Nijs / Anefo CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

Quant had a love for the Mini Cooper car – and so named the skirt after it…. She claimed car and skirt complimented each other – both being ‘optimistic, exuberant, young, flirty’….

At the time of the skirt’s ban from Parliament n 1966 there were just 26 female MPs….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….1st December 1990

On this day in history : 1st December 1990 – Construction workers drill through the final half metre thick section of rock separating the two halves of the Channel Tunnel….

Overlooking Channel Tunnel entrance – Mutzy CCO

For the first time since the Ice-Age Britain and France are joined…. It was a feat of engineering that had taken two years….involving 13,000 workers and the construction of 95 miles of tunnels – averaging 150 feet below sea level…. 8,000,000 cubic metres of soil were removed; this equates to 2,400 per hour….

On the morning that the break through was made drilling started at 11am…. As soon as there was a hole big enough, construction workers Phillippe Cozette of France and Brit Graham Fagg shook hands and exchanged the flags of their respective nations….

Image via Pinterest (originally via Twitter)

Later a party of French delegates drove to Folkestone to get their passports stamped; a British group did likewise, by walking to Calais….

The Channel Tunnel was officially opened on the 6th of May 1994….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….30th November 1934

On this day in history : 30th November 1934 – The steam locomotive ‘The Flying Scotsman’ becomes the first steam train to officially exceed 100 mph….

The LNER class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman – a Pacific steam locomotive – was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)…. It’s most famous driver, Bill Sparshatt, had begun his career as a locomotive cleaner in 1890….but by 1931 had become the most senior driver at the Kings Cross shed…. Sparshatt had a reputation for speed and outstanding time keeping and between 1931 and 1936 he became the public face of LNER…. Used for promotional work he was often photographed posing with celebrities on the Flying Scotsman – including land speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell….

Bill Sparshatt (left) & his fireman R Webster, on the day of the record breaking 100 mph run – Image via flyingscotsman.org.uk – Fair use

On the 30th of November 1934 Sparshatt was assisting in speed trials between Leeds and Kings Cross – as part of experiments for future high speed train services…. It was during these tests that the Flying Scotsman reached the record breaking speed….

However, it wasn’t the only record this locomotive was to break…. In 1988, during a tour of Australia, the Flying Scotsman breaks the world record for the longest non-stop run by a locomotive – a run of 422 miles….

The Flying Scotsman in Australia – Zzrbiker at en.wikipedia – Public domain

David Ingham CC BY-SA 3.0

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On this day in history….29th November 1963

On this day in history : 29th November 1963 – The Beatles release ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ – which goes on to reach No.1 in the charts….knocking another of their own singles from the top position….

United Press International (UPI Telephoto) – Public domain

By knocking ‘She Loves You’ from the top spot, this gave the Beatles reign of the charts with both the No.1 and No.2 positions…. Very few acts have managed to do this…. The Beatles did it again in December 1967 when ‘Hello, Goodbye’ reached top with ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ at No.2….

The Beatles arriving at John F Kennedy International Airport, 7 February 1964 – United Press International, photographer unknown – Public domain

In 1978, following the huge success of the film ‘Grease’, two songs from the soundtrack album achieved it…. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John made No.1 with ‘Summer Nights’ with a solo John Travolta taking the No.2 position with ‘Sandy’….

John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ shot to No.1 after his death in December 1980 and was joined by ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’ at No.2…. Three weeks later ‘Imagine’ still held top position and ‘Woman’ rose to No.2….

Others have followed since…. Frankie Goes to Hollywood with ‘Two Tribes’ and ‘Relax’ and Madonna with ‘Into The Groove’ and her re-released debut single ‘Holiday’…. In January 2016 Justin Bieber went one better by holding the top 3 positions….but a year later this was equalled by Ed Sheehan with ‘Shape of You’, ‘Castle on the Hill’ and ‘Galway Girl’….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….28th November 1582

On this day in history : 28th November 1582 – William Shakespeare, at the age of 18, marries Anne Hathaway, aged 26…. Six months later Anne gives birth to their first child – a daughter whom they name Susanna….

The Chandos Portrait – National Portrait Gallery, London – John Taylor – Public domain

Shakespeare was still a minor in the eyes of the law – so he would have had to seek the permission of Anne’s father to marry…. An early marriage meant he would have been unable to legally complete an apprenticeship….

To avoid scandal over Anne’s pregnancy Shakespeare applied to the Bishop’s Court, in Worcester, for a special marriage licence….allowing them to marry outside of the parish of normal residency (in this case Stratford-upon-Avon)….

In 1585 Anne gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl named Hamnet and Judith…. (Hamnet died later, at the age of 11)…. Some time after the birth of his children Shakespeare went to London to become an actor…. By 1592 he was well established in London’s theatrical world, both as an actor and playwright….

Anne and Shakespeare remained married until his death in April 1616….