Showing posts with label Today. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Today. Show all posts

Thursday 15 February 2024

Today, Back Then


706 AD  Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Can we do this to the Tories...?

1676  Isaac Newton writes to Robert Hooke “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” 

1882 S.S. Dunedin leaves New Zealand for Britain with the first cargo of frozen meat.

1900 Boer War: Siege of Kimberley broken by British troops under Lieutenant-General John French after a 124 day siege. Kimberley defence led by Cecil Rhodes. French became Field Marshall French and led the British Expeditionary Force into France in August 1914.  He served in that position until late 1915.

1906 British Labour Party founded.  Where has it gone?

1942  World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. The Sook Ching massacre begins. That’s the end of 50-100,000 civilians. Thousands of POWs die in Japanese prison and labour camps over the course of the war.

1944  891 British bombers attack Berlin in the largest raid by the RAF against the city

1946  ENIAC (for “Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer”), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania. It weighs thirty tons. It cost over seven million dollars in today’s prices.  Your mobile phone has more computing power.

1952 King George VI is buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England


1971  The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.  Before this date in the United Kingdom, the British pound was made up of 20 shillings, each of which was made up of 12 pence, a total of 240 pence.  A great weight in the pocket.  I still use shillings when shopping!

Born this day

1748  Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher, social reformer and founder of modern utilitarianism, born in London (d. 1832) His body on show, if you know the right people, in University College.

1834  William Henry Preece, Welsh electrical engineer/wireless pioneer, born in Caernarfon, Wales (d. 1913)

1861  Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) British mathematician and philosopher (Adventures of Ideas), born in Ramsgate, England

1866  Bannister Fletcher, English architect and architectural historian (A History of Architecture), born in London (d. 1953)

1874  Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)  British-Irish polar explorer (Endurance, Antarctica), born in Kilkea, Ireland.  Famous for the rescue of his crew, after a small boat sail from Antarctica to South Georgia.

1874  The Heart of Midlothian are created by enthusiastic young men in Edinburgh's High Street.  Not actually this date, but I thought I would mention it anyway.


1883  Sax Rohmer [Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward], English author (Dr Fu Manchu novels), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1959)

1909  Harold Beeley, British diplomat to the Arab world, born in Manchester, England (d. 2001)

1930 C. F. Payne, British chief constable, born in Cleveland, Ohio

1932  Adrian Swire, British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific)

1938 Lord Justice Ward, British judge

1946 Clare Short, British MP

1946 John Greenway, British MP

1949 George Howard, 13th Earl of Carlisle, English hereditary peer

1953 Derek Conway, British MP

1955 Clive Aslet, British editor (Country Life)

Died on this Day

1757-1844  Henry Addington.  1st Viscount Sidmouth, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1801-04), dies at 86

1852-1928 H. H. Asquith.  UK Prime Minister (Liberal: 1908-16), dies at 75


Samuel Bough - Dysart on the Coast, Sunrise

Friday 24 April 2015

Radio 4 and 'Today'


I know how he feels!
This morning the Radio 4 programme 'Today' made me feel quite bilious!  This is supposedly the main 'hard news' show of the day, beginning at six in the morning and finishing at nine when everyone is supposedly at work somewhere in England.  Note it is supposedly only England as the rest have their own versions of early morning news.  In theory the main news will be offered, discussed, politicians called to explain, foreign news explained, home news made clear.  All well and good, when it works and the presenters allow folks to speak and answer the question!  The anti-Scots pro liberal bias is well noted but recently they have begun to turn the programme into one of those TV versions of early morning news, the ones where almost no news at all can be seen and pop/film/authors/celebs fill the time dressing badly and talking about themselves.
Today 'Today' gave us what appeared to be hours of drivel re a soap opera being broadcast at the weekend.  The sound of James Naughtie, a man who sold out Scotland during the referendum to keep his many slots in Radio 4 and Radio 3, indulged himself slavering over an actress from this upcoming show.  'Poldark' is the name, a remake of a programme form the distant past.  the usual script, handsome men, pretty girls, clothes off and in the background an explosion, a bad man/old man/grumpy woman etc and nothing but vacuous bile all the way through.  You saw it when it was the Tudors/Victorians/shop owners/oil magnates etc and will be seeing the same again soon.  
Why was this dross on a news show?
Not long ago a man wrote a 'book' on Twitter for them, then we had poetry and on and on and on with things that have little to do with news.  If only we had a proper news service, better journalists instead of BBC clones and moved away from celebrity culture on news shows we might get more people listening.

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Thursday 2 June 2011

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.....

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It ought to be done. It is sitting there awaiting doing, and I ought to get off my backside and do something about it. The truth is I just canny be bothered. I mean it requires doing, it needs doing and it ought to be done, but I, er well, I just think it best that it is left until tomorrow.
That's what I will do, I will do it tomorrow when the other things can get done at the same time. Good idea!
Now I can relax and get on with what I am doing, whatever that was?

It ought to be done. It is still sitting there awaiting doing since yesterday now, and I ought to get off my backside and do something about it. It is one of those little jobs that would only take a moment to do, just a few minutes out of my busy time, and it has been waiting since yesterday to be done.
I could do it along with that other little job that is awaiting doing.                                                         Two at once sounds such a lot though doesn't it? Possibly they could both wait until cleaning day and everything could be done with little effort then.                                                                           Possibly.

I could spare time today although yesterday I had time and didn't make use of it, and tomorrow could be busy and I may not have time then and would be perplexed that I did not use my time better today, just like I didn't yesterday, and then I will be annoyed with myself tomorrow.
Ach is that the time?                                                                                                                                  I think I will do it tomorrow, busy it may be but it is easier to do a lot when busy than one thing when quiet, isn't it?
Isn't it?                                                                                                                                               

Much busier than I thought today, I still havn't done it. Other things are piling up on the 'To Do' list, one or two from last week, and one from last month actually, although it will rain soon so there is no point in cleaning windows now is there?                                                                                                   I really am too busy today to do what I ought to have done yesterday, and now I am annoyed with myself for leaving yesterdays work for tomorrow knowing that tomorrow would be busier than today although now it is today I find it much busier than yesterday! So nothing has been done.                    It, the thing  that need doing, and the others, still lie there, undone.
I will be able to do them, and those other little things, tomorrow.
Yes indeed, tomorrow is the day to do it!

Actually I ought to have got around to it yesterday after all as today has left no opportunity to get on with any of it, even though I allowed time for it yesterday when I ought to have done it the day before. Now it is today and I just cannot motivate myself to do any of it until tomorrow and how I wish I had done some of it yesterday or even the day before, or indeed the day before the day before. Although I couldn't do it the day before that day could I, not as it was. Now I must do it today in spite of allthe stuff that lies undone around me today, much of which came from yesterday and ought to have been done the day before that! Now it must be done today and I cannot fit it in.
I will fix it tomorrow, definitely.
Definitely!


It's all still there. Nothing from yesterday has been done today as yet. There are several things, some quiet urgent that are screaming for attention now. That one has been there since the day before all this started and I had forgotten all about it, what with the job from the other day and all that. I should do them today because I will not have time tomorrow and yesterday turned out to leave no opportunity because I was overwhelmed by things from the day before that required catching up with, urgently as it happened.
Now I have no time to do these things today because of it all.                                                            

I suppose I could leave them until the day after tomorrow when I have more time and.......



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