Friday 31 July 2009

Looking Back - Violence Flares At Mosley Rally

On this day in 1962, former fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley was assaulted at a rally in London's east end. He and members of his anti-Semitic Blackshirt group were punched to the ground as soon as his meeting opened at Ridley Road, Dalston. Police were forced to close the meeting within three minutes and made 54 arrests - including Sir Oswald's son Max.

A crowd of several thousand had gathered in the area, where Sir Oswald, leader of the Union Movement formerly known as the British Union Of Fascists, planned to speak from the back of a lorry.

As soon as he appeared from between two police buses the crowd surged forward and knocked Sir Oswald to the ground. He tried to fight back from the cobbles, before police helped him to climb on the lorry prepared for his address. He was met by a hail of missiles including rotten fruit, pennies and stones and people tried to storm the platform

Trouble started long before the meeting began as over 200 police -including ten on horseback -attempted to clear an area around the lorry-platform.

Four years later Sir Oswald Mosley failed to get elected to parliament once more and he retired from politics.

Sir Oswald Mosley died in France in 1980. In November 2002 the Public Records Office in the UK released documents revealing details of the British intelligence services' surveillance of Sir Oswald and his wife and the threat they posed. According to the evidence his wife, Diana Mitford, was regarded as more dangerous than her husband, because she had much closer ties with the Nazis in Germany.

To watch a video clip showing Oswald Mosley being surged by angry crowds during the rally, click on the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6530000/newsid_6531300/6531307.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&ms3=22&ms_javascript=true&bbcws





Today's Smile


Who Am I?

As usual today's Who Am I puzzle asks you to study ten clues which should help reveal the identity of a famous celebrity. Can you spot who it is?

01 I was born on 1 March 1910.
02 I am an English actor and novelist.
03 I was born in London, England.
04 I attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.
05 I then went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
06 I absconded from the army and fled to America.
07 In my first film I was an extra and played the part of a Mexican, in a Western.
08 Perter Ustinov was my batman during the war and later appeared with me in Death on the Nile (1978).
09 I co-starred with Peter Sellers in (Casino Royale and The Trail of the Pink Panther).
10 I died on 29 July 1983.

Good luck with this puzzle. Answer in tomorrows Journal.

Why Do We Say That?

We very often use old sayings that have been passed, by word of mouth, down through the ages. Most of the time we have no idea how these sayings came about. Below are some of the sayings and an explanation of their origins.

SENT TO COVENTRY
The most likely explanation for this old saying is that during the English Civil War Royalists captured in the Midlands were sent to Coventry. They were held prisoner in St. John's Church and the local people shunned them and refused to speak to them.

A LONG SHOT
A long shot is an option with only a small chance of success. In the past guns were only accurate at short range. So a "long shot" (fired over a long distance) only had a small chance of hitting its target.

GO TO POT
Any farm animal that had outlived its usefulness such as a hen that no longer laid eggs would literally go to pot. It was cooked and eaten.

DUTCH COURAGE
In the 17th century England and Holland were rivals. They fought wars in 1652-54, 1665-67 and 1672-74. It was said (very unfairly) that the Dutch had to drink alcohol to build up their courage. Other insulting phrases are Going Dutch (meaning you pay for yourself) and Double Dutch meaning gibberish.

Office Essentials




That's When The Fight Started

I drove into the back of a car on my way to work this morning. We pulled into the side of the road, and the other driver got out of his car. Yeah, well I couldn't believe it - he was a dwarf!
He stormed over to my car, looked at me, and shouted, "I am not happy"
I looked down at him, and asked, "Which one are you then?"

That's when the fight started .....

Computer Definitions

Window
What to shut when it's cold outside.

Screen
What to shut during black fly season.

Screen Saver
Duct tape for the torn window screen.

Byte
What the black flies do.

Bit
What the black flies did.

Megabyte
What the big black flies do during trout season.