Looking Back - Marchioness River Crash Kills 51

On this day in 1989, a total of 51 people died when a pleasure cruiser, packed with young party-goers, and a barge collided on the Thames. The captain and second mate of the barge, the dredger Bowbelle, were arrested.Most of those on board the pleasure cruiser were young people in their 20s.
Both vessels were moving down river towards Southwark Bridge in the early hours of Sunday morning when they collided.
The Marchioness's owners said the 90-ton boat was struck a blow from the 2,000-ton dredger which forced it directly into the larger vessels path. They said the Bowbelle then ran right over the cruiser forcing it under water 'like a bicycle being run over by a lorry'. Police commandeered other boats to search for survivors who had been tipped into the river after the collision. Party-goers on other cruisers witnessed the events and some tried to help.
The Bowbelle's skipper, Douglas Henderson, was acquitted after atrial in 1991. In April 1995 a jury returned verdicts of unlawful killings in inquests held for those who drowned.
The families of the victims campaigned more than 10 years for a public inquiry which began in 2000. The report published in 2001 criticised Douglas Henderson for failing to set up a proper lookout.
Later that year the Maritime and Coastguard agency ruled Mr Henderson could keep his master's certificate.
In 2002 the first River Thames lifeboat rescue service was started in response to one of the report's recommendations.

Heard On Answering Machines

Hi! This is John. If you are the phone company, I already sent the money. If you are my parents, please send money. If you are my financial aid institution, you didn't lend me enough money. If you are my friends, you owe me money. If you are a female, don't worry, I have plenty of money.

Nostalgia

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN

It was considered a great privilege

to be taken out to dinner at a real

restaurant with your parents.

.They threatened to keep children back another

year if they failed ..... and they did it

When a Ford Zephyr was every ones dream

car ..... and people went steady.

No one every asked where the ignition keys were

because they were always in the car, in the

ignition, and the doors were never locked.

Did You Know?

Tesco is the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour, but second largest based on profit, ahead of Carrefour. In 2008 the company employed approximately 440,000 people.
John Horn founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell. He made new labels using the first three letters of the suppliers name (TES) and the first two letters of his surname (CO). forming the word TESCO.
The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgeware, Middlesex. The first self-service store opened in St.Albans in 1951.
Jack Cohen was an enthusiastic advocate of trading stamps. He signed up with Green Shield Stamps in 1963 and became one of the company's largest clients.

Who Am I? - Thursday's Answer

The answer to yesterday's

Who Am I? puzzle

was

Joan Collins

Animal Crackers

Kids Are Quick

Teacher: Donald what is the chemical formula for water?
Donald: H I J K L M N O
Teacher: What are you talking about?
Donald: Yesterday you said it was H to O

*************************

Teacher: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?

Louie: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

************************

Teacher: Millie, give me a sentence starting with "I"

Millie: I is .....

Teacher: No, Millie ..... Always say "I am"

Millie: All right ..... I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.