Africa
18th December – On This Day In History
Born:
1943 Keith Richards (musician – The Rolling Stones)
Died:
2006 Joseph Barbera (cartoonist – Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones)
On This Day:
1958 Niger gains autonomy (within the French Community)
Have a good Tuesday, 18th December
9th December – On This Day In History
Born:
1608 John Milton (poet)
Died:
1998 Archie Moore (boxing champion)
On This Day:
1961 Tanzania becomes independent (formerly Tanganyika, a British Colony)
Have a good Sunday, 9th December
5th December – On This Day In History
Born:
1901 Walt Disney (animator, co-founder of Walt Disney Company)
Died:
2013 Nelson Mandela (South African president and inspirational statesman)
On This Day:
1872 The Mary Celeste is found – her crew mysteriously missing
Have a good Wednesday, 5th December
Isandlwana
Scarlet coats, and crash o’ the band,
The grey of a pauper’s gown,
A soldier’s grave in Zululand,
And a woman in Brecon Town.
My little lad for a soldier boy,
(Mothers o’ Brecon Town!)
My eyes for tears and his for joy
When he went from Brecon Town,
His for the flags and the gallant sights
His for the medals and his for the fights,
And mine for the dreary, rainy nights
At home in Brecon Town.
They say he’s laid beneath a tree,
(Come back to Brecon Town!)
Shouldn’t I know? — I was there to see:
(It’s far to Brecon Town!)
It’s me that keeps it trim and drest
With a briar there and a rose by his breast —
The English flowers he likes the best
That I bring from Brecon Town.
And I sit beside him — him and me,
(We’re back to Brecon Town.)
To talk of the things that used to be
(Grey ghosts of Brecon Town);
I know the look o’ the land and sky,
And the bird that builds in the tree near by,
And times I hear the jackals cry,
And me in Brecon Town.
Golden grey on miles of sand
The dawn comes creeping down;
It’s day in far off Zululand
And night in Brecon Town.
– John McCrae
25th November – On This Day In History
Born:
1914 Joe DiMaggio (Baseball Hall of Fame)
Died:
2016 Fidel Castro (Revolutionary and leader of Cuba)
On This Day:
1958 Senegal becomes autonomous (within the French Community)
Have a good Sunday, 25th November
24th November – On This Day In History
Born:
1806 William Webb Ellis (credited with the invention of rugby)
Died:
1991 Freddie Mercury (singer – Queen)
On This Day:
1958 Mali becomes autonomous (within the French Community)
Have a good Saturday, 24th November
22nd November – On This Day In History
Born:
1986 Oscar Pistorius (paralympic athlete, convicted for shooting his girlfriend)
Died:
1916 Jack London (author – Call Of The Wild)
On This Day:
1976 Algeria puts its constitution into effect
Have a good Sunday, 22nd November
