10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 31 May:
On this date in 1742, Evelyn Lady Montefiore Carew and Sir Godfrey Haslitt were married. Evelyn's mother had been so desperate for her daughter to marry the incredibly rich Sir Godfrey, that she'd pledged both their souls to the devil in exchange for an aphrodisiac to put in his drink. It appeared to have worked, but according to legend, a skeletal bishop and several equally flesh-challenged companions arrived in a coach at midnight and carried the bride off. The coach crashed on Potter Heigham Bridge and fell into the river in flames. The dramatic accident is said to recur on May 31 each year.
Another wedding took place in 1991. The oldest bride on record, Minnie Munro, aged 102, married her toyboy, Dudley Reid, 19 years her junior at 83, in Australia.
This date in 1872 saw the birth of William Heath Robinson, an English illustrator, creator of fantastic machines. Robinson’s cartoons are still popular, and to this day, the term ‘Heath Robinson’ is used as shorthand for an improbable, fantastic machine.
In 1976, The Who played at the Charlton Athletic Grounds and got into the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest rock band ever, when their set measured 120 decibels.
It was on this date in 2001 that John Prescott, British MP and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was pelted with Eggs by protester Craig Evans, and responded by punching Evans in the face. As it happened, it was Prescott's 63rd birthday.
In 1889 artist Francis Barraud showed one of his paintings to William Barry Owen, the general manager of the Gramophone Company in Maiden Lane. The painting was of his dog, Nipper, listening to a phonograph. Owen paid £50 for the picture, with one alteration, that the dog be depicted listening to a gramophone, and £50 for the copyright of ‘His Master’s Voice’, which would became the Company’s famous trademark.
Born on this date in 1930 was Clint Eastwood, US actor and director and later Mayor of Carmel-by-the-sea, California. His films include Dirty Harry, A Fistful of Dollars, Unforgiven, In the Line of Fire and The Bridges Of Madison County.
In 1927, the last "Tin Lizzie" car came off the production line, almost unchanged since it was introduced as the model T Ford in 1908.
In 1908, Belgium saw its first passenger in an aeroplane. Her name was Miss Pottelsberghe de la Pottery.
In 1909, Count Zeppelin set a new record of 37 hours in an airship, but when landing to refuel in Stuttgart, he crashed into a Pear tree.
The Power of Love
Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic ordering and the significance of chance encounters. She believes there's a spiritual explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.
A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.
Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.
When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.
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