10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 30 January:
- Born this date in 1866 was Gelett Burgess, a writer best known as a writer of nonsense verse. He coined the word "blurb," to describe the words on a book jacket.
- In 1649 Charles I was beheaded for treason by order of Cromwell, by executioner Richard Brandon at Whitehall, who was paid £30 for his trouble. The king's last words are said by some to have been “Remember!” said to Bishop Juxon, referring to a message to his son, commanding him to forgive his enemies and murderers. Others say his last words were "From a corruptible to an incorruptible crown where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the world" Charles I is reported to have said to his attendant when he awoke, “I will get up. I have a great work to do this day.” He put on an extra shirt so he wouldn't shiver with cold and appear to be afraid of meeting his death.
- In 1847 the town of Yerba Buena in California, USA, was re-named. Its new name? San Francisco.
- The first purpose-built lifeboat was launched on the River Tyne on this date in 1790.
- In 1958, Yves Saint Laurent, aged 23, held his first major Paris show.
- In 1883, in an effort to stop employees from helping themselves to the proceeds at at their Ohio pub, James Ritty and his brother patented the world's first cash register and called it 'the incorruptible cashier'.
- In 1607 the River Severn flooded, inundating Barnstaple, Gloucester, Cardiganshire, Bristol, the Gwent Levels and Glastonbury Tor. It was estimated that 2,000 people were killed.
- In 1932 The New York Herald Tribune reported that thirty members of an audience had fallen ill, with food poisoning. They'd been listening to an after-dinner speech by the Massachusetts State Commissioner of Health, Dr GH Bigelow, at the Harvard Medical School, Boston. The subject of the good doctor's speech was, wait for it... ‘‘Food poisoning’’.
- In 1933 the first episode of the Lone Ranger was broadcast. It ran for 2,956 episodes and came to an end on radio in 1954. Jack Deeds was the first voice of the Lone Ranger. The role of Tonto, was played for almost the entire run by a bald Irishman named John Todd.
- This date in 1965 saw the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of England. It was the biggest state funeral of its kind since the burial of the Duke of Wellington in 1852. Queen Elizabeth II broke precedent by becoming the first reigning monarch to attend a commoner's funeral.
NEW!!
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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