Category Archives: Trivia
Steer clear of Beer!
Perhaps as a result of the lack of investment in recent years, a road in Devon has been closed indefinitely after part of it collapsed. Cracks – thought to be caused by persistent rain – began to appear on Old Beer Road in Seaton on Wednesday and within 48 hours part of the road had collapsed and Devon County Council is now concerned more of the road could disappear. Members of the public have been urged to stay away from the “potentially dangerous” road.
The council said the road had dropped by about 1m (about 3ft) in the past 24 hours and barriers had been put up to prevent any access.
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- Old Beer Road Wednesday 11th July 2012
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- Same road, 2 days later 13th July 2012
But perhaps more sinister forces are at work? Surely it is no coincidence that the road collapsed on Friday 13th? The curse of paraskevidekatriaphobia strikes again!
Independence Day
And so to the 3rd in my series of “On this day in History”.
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence on July 4 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain.
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions and political speeches and ceremonies. In addition there are usually various other public and private events celebrating the history, government and traditions of the United States.
Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later confirmed that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.
In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but another Founding Father who became a President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831, 
thus becoming the third president in a row who died on this memorable day. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only President to have been born on Independence Day.
Poor Barack Obama – he was born on 4th August 1961 – exactly a month too late !!!
Where are they now?
As a child of the 70’s I was a regular in the audience at Top of the Pops. It got so bad that sometimes my parents were known to moan when we watched it the following day – “Are we going to see anyone else but you?” as I always managed to get myself on camera for the bulk of the show!
Happily, most of the tapes must have been destroyed as I’ve yet to see myself on any of the re-runs on BBC4! I have, however managed to come across this tape of a rehearsal for a 1975 show which shows you what a good fun show it used to be to work on and to watch!
OK, we know where Noel Edmonds is these days but the David Essex stand-in? If you know who and where he is, please let me know – not to mention Legs & Co who must surely have hung up their dancing shoes by now!
Sir Gary of the Barlow
It’s been a good few weeks for Gary Barlow. After the success(?) of the concert he masterminded at Buck House, comes a week when he continues to dominate the tabloid headlines!
At the beginning of the week, his Jubilee single “Sing” reached No. 1 in the charts and he was awarded Premier Inn’s “Celebrity Dad of the Year 2012”
It is the first time Gary has won the accolade and he was chosen in a public vote. The X Factor Judge said winning the award felt “amazing”.
And then, today, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List it was announced that he has been awarded the OBE in recognition of his services to the entertainment industry and to charity.
I can’t help but think this last one must have come as something of a disappointment. There have been many calls for him to be knighted and Sir Gary does have something of a ring about it. But, more importantly, when us commoners regard the OBE as something being awarded for “Other Buggers Efforts” it’s just a wee bit of a smack in the face perhaps? – discuss!
Conspiracy Theory #2795
So England were only able to manage a 1-1 draw against France in their first game of Euro2012 last night. As always, there has been plenty said in the press about the lack of a win against a French side that, despite being the favourites, had a pretty poor back line that should perhaps have been exploited?
I am of the opinion, however, that more sinister forces are at work! Last night, for the first time in 16 years, the England Supporters Band were unable to play after their instruments were confiscated at the stadium in Ukraine!
However, while the irritation of hearing The Great Escape theme tune repeatedly grated with many listeners, it was last night found to drown out the various mindless chants that Roy Hodgson’s barmy army indulge in and therefore is clearly the lesser of two evils.
It is not known whether the band will be allowed to play in England’s next game on Friday against Sweden in Kiev. If they can’t play however, and if the rumours are to believed and Hodgson is planning to start Jordan Henderson, England supporters will be rendered speechless for the entire ninety minutes so that TV audiences can watch the game in muted disbelief.
It’s Donald Duck’s 78th Birthday!
In this, the second of my occasional “On this day in History” series, I am excited to tell you that on June 9th 1934 Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphony cartoon “The Wise Little Hen.” (Though he is mentioned in a 1931 Disney Storybook.)
That means he is officially 78 years old today!
If, like me, you are fond of the old school Disney characters, a few other things you might not be aware of are the fact that Donald Duck supposedly represents what we are and Mickey Mouse represents what we should be – deep huh? Also, his full name is in fact Donald Fauntleroy Duck and he has his own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame!
So sit back and enjoy the cartoon on this wet and windy Saturday in June.
Gawd Bless You Ma’am!
This is the first and last of my posts about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. After 5 full days of TV coverage I just wanted to mention the new portrait that appeared over the weekend in Bristol that was widely reported as being by the enigmatic street artist Banksy.
This latest work shows an image based on a 1950’s Queen Elizabeth. In the mural the Queen is shown wearing a tiara and a David Bowie “Aladdin Sane” style lightening-bolt drawn on her face. After careful research, however, this picture has now been discovered to be by another artist called Incwel and is featured on the Street Art website.
Banksy’s work usually includes a satirical social and political commentary. We do know that in the last month Banksy has been busy at work creating at least six new pieces in the UK. The first to appear was a portrait of a child worker sewing a string of Union Jack bunting for the Jubilee. It was painted on the side of a Poundland shop, a place where cheap goods, often using child-labour are sold.
In another “dig” at the Jubilee celebrations, Banksy has also decided to give away his piece titled, “Er…”. It’s a downloadable print, of course, and you’re encouraged to grab it for free, print it on anything you want (for personal use, not resale). Cheeky chappie!!!
Betty Swollocks!
The first in a new series of This Day in History!
On 30th May 1999 in New Jersey, Lenny Kravitz walked off stage after 40 minutes and collapsed from heat exhaustion. He had been performing in a fur coat.
Now I’ve checked the average temperatures for May/June in New Jersey to find they are pretty similar to what we’d expect here, with highs of low 20’s. So while it isn’t exactly the tropics, perhaps an energetic stage performance should have been attempted in more suitable attire? #justsaying and #callthefashionpolice!
#Fergietime (cont’d)
Following on from my last post, it seems that ‘Fergie Time’ has made it into the Urban Dictionary with the following description:
‘Fergie Time”: Any amount of time, in any football (soccer) match, which has been added on, in addition to the added time (injury time) that had already been prescribed at the end of the 90 minutes. Any amount of time that a match is played after the said amount of added time, is referred to as ‘Fergie Time’. (Added time of 3 minutes has been announced, play carries on after 93 minutes, player scores on 95 minutes).
I was also interested to see another entry in this section – ‘Fergie Watch’ which is a timepiece that runs contrary to the laws of physics. If your football team is winning after 90 minutes your watch actually runs faster than the referee’s. The other team’s coach has a watch that runs slower and the referee runs like the clappers whether you’re winning or losing. This is Fergie’s Watch.
Head for heights?
Sorry folks! Just realised that 3 out of my last 4 posts were rather morbid so decided to get back on track with telling you about one of the more bizarre stories I’ve read today!
For many people, the idea of sitting on the toilet while looking down into a vast lift shaft is the stuff of nightmares. For the owners of this luxury penthouse in Guadalajara, México, it’s something they have to endure on every call of nature!
When carrying out simple tasks such as using the toilet or brushing their teeth, the owners are able to look down through the glass floor to the bottom of the shaft.
Imagine going in and switching on the light for the first time. An effective cure for constipation I would suggest???
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