Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Art & Design, Australia & New Zealand, Before my time, Rest of World, Sport, UK & Ireland, US & Canada on Jul 23rd, 2008
1896 ATHENS, Greece
Dates: from 6 to 15 April 1896.
Participants: 14 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), 43 events, 241 athletes (men only).
Officially opened by: King George I.
The Games of the Olympiad in Athens were financed by a donation of approximately one million drachmas from a rich businessman, Georges Averof, and by the sale of souvenir stamps and […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Before my time, Food & Drink, Products, UK & Ireland on Jul 3rd, 2008
Some people chew it, some people smoke it, but no-one seems to sniff tobacco anymore.
In our local pub (very oldy worldy CAMRA type), there’s a rack by the door filled with little metal pots. They have funny flavours written in old school lettering on the lids. This is snuff and you won’t find many pubs […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, 2000s, Before my time, Sport on Jun 16th, 2008
It was Queen Anne who first saw the potential for a racecourse at Ascot, which in those days was called East Cote. Whilst out riding in 1711, she came upon an area of open heath, not far from Windsor Castle, that looked an ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch.”
The first race meeting […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Before my time, Sport, UK & Ireland on Jun 6th, 2008
1780
Diomed, owned by Sir Charles Bunbury, wins the inaugural running of the Derby
on Thursday, May 4.
1784
The distance increases from a mile to a mile and a half which still prevails today,
though from 1991 the offi cial distance has been one mile, four furlongs and 10
yards.
1794 The smallest fi eld of four goes to post and […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Before my time, News & Current Affairs, Sport on Jun 6th, 2008
The Derby has been run on the Downs near Epsom since 1780 and is named after Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby. The original race was The Oaks, named after Derby’s estate, and was exclusively for three-year-old fillies. The race became so successful that The Derby was created to find the best colts […]
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George Formby was born George Hoy Booth on 26 May 1904 in Wigan, Lancashire. He started out as a professional jockey because his father didn’t want his son to follow him into showbusiness. Once his Father died, George went into stand-up. He bought a ukelele from an actor for £2.50 with a bet that he […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Before my time, Rest of World, Sport, UK & Ireland on Apr 4th, 2008
A comprehensive history of the Grand National from its official beginning in the 1800’s. From paintings to photo finishes and radio commentary to internet broadcasting.
1839
The Grand National was run at Aintree for the first time on Tuesday, February 26 and a horse named Lottery took the honours. Captain Martin Becher was unseated from his mount, […]
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Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Music on Mar 8th, 2008
My favourite song from the Andrews Sisters is probably “Hold Tight” but “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” is much better known. The Andrews Sisters courted controversy with their release of “Rum and Coca-Cola” which referred to prostitution. The Andrews Sisters went on to feature in lots of films but are best remembered for their […]
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Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Christmas, Festivals, Movies, Music, Personalities, Rest of World, US & Canada on Dec 7th, 2007
This song sums up everything nostalgic about Christmas. Christmas in Australia just wasn’t the same without chestnuts roasting on an open fire or snow glistening outside. Bing felt the same way when he sang this classic as part of the 1942 classic “Holiday Inn” and later the 1954 hit “White Christmas”:
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Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Australia & New Zealand, Festivals, Food & Drink, Rest of World, UK & Ireland, US & Canada on Nov 28th, 2007
I never quite understood why we had satsumas in our stockings at Christmas and oranges at the Christingle service. It may well be something to do with them being expensive in “the olden days” and so reserved for special occassions like Christmas. However, I always much preferred the sweets, chocolate and other presents inside and […]
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Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Australia & New Zealand, Food & Drink, School Life, UK & Ireland, US & Canada on Nov 26th, 2007
They always used to serve arctic roll for school dinners. I don’t know whether arctic roll was especially cheap for some reason, or whether someone just liked making it but I always enjoyed it and could never work out how it was made. Everyone always tried for seconds and thirds when arctic roll was involved.
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Australia & New Zealand, Rest of World, UK & Ireland, US & Canada, Uncategorized on Oct 21st, 2007
I love having mobile phones but there was a time before, when people could be unavailable, dates had to speak to the parents who answered the family phone and mates had to agree a time and place to meet.
Landline phones meant that nights out on the town were a nightmare to organise. If someone missed the […]
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Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Anything Else, Australia & New Zealand, Fashion, UK & Ireland, US & Canada, Uncategorized on Oct 20th, 2007
The whole reason we have 999 -the circular dial telephone took aaaaages to return to start before you could turn the next number in. People didn’t make so many phone calls because it was actually less effort to run round to your mate’s house or write a letter to your granny. I’m not quite of […]
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Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Australia & New Zealand, Toys & Games, UK & Ireland, US & Canada on Sep 11th, 2007
Yo-yos have always been around, though for some reason they become faddy every now and again. In my school, during the early 90s, the yo-yo fad came back hard.
All of a sudden, everywhere you looked was someone “walking the dog” or doing a “cats cradle” or some other yo-yo move.
There was always a kid who […]
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My maternal grandad received a medal for leading other tanks across a minefield at El Alamein in North Africa. He told us that before the big battle he slept under his tank and had an overwhelming feeling of wellbeing -knowing that he would survive and make it out of the war. He did, but not […]
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