Tuesday 29 December 2009

Looking Back - Harold Macmillan Dies


On this day in 1986, Lord Stockton, the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, died peacefully aged 92.
Members of his family were by his bedside at Birch Grove House, at Horsted Keynes, East Sussex, when he died at 1820 GMT following a short illness.
Tributes began flooding in for the former Conservative leader nicknamed "Super Mac".
The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said his death left a void in politics which could not be filled.
Fellow former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath described Lord Stockton as one of the most creative minds in British politics.
The family of Lord Stockton, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden, founded the publishing house Macmillan & Company.
He was educated at Eton, then Balliol College, Oxford, and entered Parliament in 1924 after he served in World War One.
An advocate of social and economic reforms, his views were often criticised by his party for being too left wing.
But under Churchill he became minister of housing in 1951 and fulfilled his pledge to build 300,000 council houses in a year.
Memorable speech
He became prime minister in January 1957 after the Suez crisis forced Anthony Eden's resignation.
Lord Stockton led the Tories to election victory two years later under the slogan "You have never had it so good", pointing to low unemployment and a substantial rise in real earnings.
He accelerated Britain's decolonization and in 1960 gave a memorable speech in South Africa on the "winds of change" sweeping across the continent.
Mr Macmillan saw Britain's future within Europe but his bid to join the Common Market split the party and was blocked by President de Gaulle of France in January 1963.
Inflation and slow growth affected the economy.
And Mr Macmillan's handling of the Profumo Affair when minister John Profumo resigned over a liaision with Christine Keeler was judged to be poor.
In 1962 the government's general unpopularity led Mr Macmillan to abruptly dismiss six Cabinet members, an event which became known as the 'Night of the Long Knives'.
He resigned in October 1963 due to ill health and retired from the House of Commons in 1964, declining a peerage which he later accepted in 1984.

Lord Stockton refrained from public comment on current affairs after his retirement.
But he broke his silence in 1976 to call for a coalition government to secure economic recovery.
He later accused Margaret Thatcher of selling the family silver regarding policies on privatisation.
He was considered to be more original and progressive than most of his generation and to have given Britons a better quality of life during his tenure as prime minister than enjoyed previously. In retirement he worked on his memoirs, at the publishing house, and as chancellor of Oxford University.

To watch a video clip about the Macmillan years, first broadcast 30 December 1986, click the link below:

Church Bulletin

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the person(s) you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment and gracious hostility.
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The pastor would apprciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their eletric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.
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The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
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Next Sunday Mrs Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on 'It's a terrible experience'.

Awesome Wildlife

You can't buy a mattress like that at John Lewis!

True Stories (No Kidding)

The world is a dangerous place. No wonder with people like this in it! Seriously, these are not jokes, they are real situations.

01 My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a £5 note. Our total was £4.20, so I also handed her a Twenty pence piece. She said, 'you gave me too much money.'I said,'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me £1 back. 'She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the 20 pence and said 'We're sorry but they could not do that kind of thing.' The clerk then proceeded to give me back 80 pence in change..

02 We had to have the garage door repaired. The repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one his company made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two..'

03 I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbour call the Highways Department to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

04 My daughter went to a local Kentucky Fried and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimum lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

05 I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge? 'To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know? 'He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'

06 The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged co-worker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'

07 When my husband and I arrived at Our Local Ford dealer to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the drivers side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the Fitter/Mechanic, 'its open!' His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.'

Who Am I? - Monday's Answer







The answer to Monday's
Who Am I?
was
Harry Hill