18 June

 10 weird and wonderful things that happened on 18 June:

The Battle of Waterloo

1. This date in 1941 saw the birth of Delia Smith, cook and television presenter, and the UK's best-selling cookery author. She baked the cake seen on the front cover of The Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed.
2. A year later in 1942 Paul McCartney was born. With John Lennon, he formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in rock and roll history. After leaving The Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his wife Linda, and singer-songwriter Denny Laine. His song Yesterday is listed as the most covered song in history and Wings' single Mull of Kintyre became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK.
3. The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi, premièred in New York on this date in 1980.
4. In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to orbit Earth aboard the Space Shuttle, Challenger. When she successfully returned to earth, she said, "The thing I'll remember most about the flight is that it was fun. In fact, I'm sure it was the most fun that I'll ever have in my life."
5. In 1948, Columbia Records unveiled its new 33-RPM long player. The new format could contain 23 minutes of music per side, a vast improvement on the three minutes that could be squeezed onto a 78 RPM disc.
6. The Battle of Waterloo took place on this date in 1815. Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, who commanded a combined force of Belgian, Dutch, and British troops, and an army led by Marshal Blucher, who commanded a Prussian force. Almost 50,000 men were killed or severely injured. Two years later, on the anniversary of the battle, Waterloo Bridge was opened in London.
7. In 1823, British Infantry wore Trousers for the first time, rather than breeches, stockings or leggings, by order of the Duke of York.
8. In 1621, the Plymouth Bay Colony had its first duel. Edward Leister and Edward Dotey, faced each other with swords on the ‘field of honour’ for reasons unknown. Neither duellist was killed, but they were punished by the colonial court. The sentence was that they be tied together head to foot for 24 hours.
9. In 1997, researchers in Indiana published a paper explaining why sandcastles do not collapse when the sand in them has dried out - “The sandcastle effect”.
10. In 1997 Kumiko Tshuchida, a Japanese tourist, asked a guard at Reading station for directions to Turkey. Rather than put her on a train to Heathrow Airport, the guard misunderstood and directed Kumiko to the train to Torquay.

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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