10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 17 March:
- On this date in 1755, the Transylvania Land Company bought the land which would become the state of Kentucky. They paid $50,000 to a Cherokee Indian Chief called Groundhog Sausage.
- In 1967, at Abbey Road studios, harpist Sheila Bromberg became the first woman to play on a Beatles recording. She was part of the string section on the track She's Leaving Home, recording of which was completed today.
- In 1740, Justice of the Peace Henry Fielding, writing under the name of Captain Hercules Vinegar, summoned poet laureate Colley Cibber to court for murdering the English language.
- In 2000 Paul Kenyon, a Bangor landlord, converted a 3 ft 6 in Toilet into the world's smallest brewery. He really needs to worry if people start complaining, “This beer tastes like piss...”
- In 1950 Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they'd created a new radioactive element, Element 98, which they named "Californium".
- What was probably the first powered flight in Australia took place on this date in 1910 when mechanic Fred Custance flew a Bleriot monoplane for five minutes and 25 seconds at Bolivar, South Australia. It ended in a "very rough landing". Despite there being several witnesses, the claim has long been disputed. The next day, Harry Houdini made a flight at Digger’s Rest, near Melbourne, which generally considered to qualify as the first powered flight in Australia, because it didn't crash and there was presumably photographic evidence.
- In 1898, the first practical Submarine was demonstrated by John Holland off Staten Island in New York. Holland's sub was not the first underwater boat, but is credited as the first practical one.
- Hon. Marshall Jones Brooks made the first recorded high jump of six feet on this date in 1876 at Marston, England. He performed this feat while wearing a Top Hat.
- In 1737, the first celebration of St Patrick's Day outside the Catholic Church was held in Boston by the Charitable Irish Society. St. Patrick, a bishop, was originally a Pig farmer in England, who was carried off to Ireland as a slave. He introduced Christianity to Ireland, and famously explained the Holy Trinity using a shamrock. Today is his feast day, of course, normally the date a saint died. However, the date of St. Patrick's death isn't known for sure. He may have died on 8 or 9 March, so when deciding on the date of his feast day, early church officials compromised by adding the disputed dates together, making the 17th.
- In 1999, Belle Tout Lighthouse, at Beachy Head, East Sussex was moved 55 feet from a cliff to save it from falling into the sea because of coastal erosion. The 850 tonne structure, built in 1834, was moved by 4 huge hydraulic jacks at a rate of 3 feet an hour.
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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