10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 1st May:
It's May Day, so here's a related event: in 1661, the tallest (at 130 feet) and longest-standing of old maypoles was placed in the Strand, London. In 1717 Sir Isaac Newton bought it to support a telescope.
This date in 1769 saw the birth of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, in Ireland. Known as the Iron Duke, he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
Also born on this date, in 1852, was Martha Jane Cannary-Burke, better known as Calamity Jane. The nickname might have arisen from the fact she said any man who tried to court her risked calamity. She earned a reputation as one of the wildest women in the Wild West, but had a tender side, too, nursing patients with smallpox and stab wounds, often without pay.
In 2000, Washington University recalculated the mass of the Earth as 5972 billion tonnes, 6bn tonnes less than previously thought. That or the planet had been on a diet.
Some milestones in air travel occurred today. In 1927, Imperial Airways served the first hot meals on a flight from London to Paris. In 1981, the first frequent flyer scheme was introduced by American Airlines; and in 1998, Eva Woodman from Bristol became the oldest person to fly supersonic on Concorde at the age of 105.
In 1840, The first Penny Black stamps with Queen Victoria’s head on them went on sale five days before the official issue date. They are now worth at least £65,000 each.
In 1989, police in California were called to a jewellery store after employees reported a suspicious person wearing a wig, fake moustache and false teeth. Three squad cars arrived and police detained the man. It turned out to be pop star Michael Jackson shopping in disguise.
In 1931, President Hoover opened the Empire State Building in New York, the world’s tallest (1250 ft, 102 stories) until 1972 when it was overtaken by the World Trade Center.
In 1997, Terry Burrows broke the world window cleaning record, washing three 45 inch square Windows in 18.46 seconds.
In 2003, Aron Ralston amputated his own arm to get out of the narrow passage he'd become trapped in 127 hours earlier, in Blue John Canyon, Utah. The 2010 film 127 Hours tells his story.
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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