#the same goes for McCartney III

[tenitchyfingers]

Am I the only one who GENUINELY loves Paul’s old man singing voice? Like, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not as strong and doesn’t hold exactly as well as it used to, but it is SO GOOD to convey a more vulnerable state of mind, to hear what the core of a human emotion sounds like. Like, I obviously love Paul’s voice ALWAYS, but back in the day it sounded like an “aesthetically” pleasing voice and wasn’t often moved by it (I was more moved by his lyrics, piano, guitar and bass playing). And now I just connect to his voice instinctively.

Frankly, I don’t care that on some days he doesn’t get to certain high notes, or that his voice breaks. Actually, THAT’S THE POINT. I don’t want a vocalist to be flawless. I want a vocalist to express something.

[tavolgisvist]

Scouse

Viscount Montgomery Brian Epstein’s personal assistant Barry Leonard quit his job ‘because the strain of managing the Beatles is just too great’. In an article in the Daily Express Leonard told about his experiences with the Beatles. Among other things, he said Paul wanted to leave the group and was trying to lose his Liverpool accent. As the Beatles gathered at the office of their accountant, Epstein mentioned the story to Paul. ‘Barry says you are trying to lose your accent,’ he said. ‘Couldn’t,’ muttered John, as he examined a likeness of the Beatles fashioned in papier mâché.

(Love Me Do. The Beatles Progress by Michael Braun, 1963/1995)

After a short interview in which they sound like they're putting on Liverpool accents (particularly Paul and John), 'and now their new single Love Me Do'. 'FANTASTIC…turn it UP!' (I shouted in my head). That's my brother…my bloody brother!…My head's exploding…'so ple-e-e-se love me do'. <…> I dashed back to Forthlin to tell Dad I'd seen our Paul on the TELLY and then waited for Paul to come home to see if he'd changed at all. By the time he eventually got in, Dad and I were in bed but I was still awake. The conversation probably went like this: 'Psst…here you.' 'Is Dad asleep?' 'Of course he is, it's past two o'clock.' 'We were celebratinh. Did you see it?' 'Yeah it was gear, it really was.I had to watch it in a bar down from Bernard's, but it was fabulous.' 'Could you see the velvet collar?' 'Sure, you could see everything.' (When the decision to 'go commercial' and buy suits instead of the cool Hamburg leathers was reached, mainly by Brian, Paul had smoothed over the shock by saying, 'But ours are different from anybody else's…ours have got velvet collars…look.' As the cardboard box lid was lifted and the white tissue paper unfolded to disclose the dark blue 'Dougy Millins' tailor-made suit, sure enough, the highly polished, trouser creased, mohair suit was topped with a black velvet collar.) 'But why did you talk like that on the TV? It sounded like George gone wrong…you don't talk like that.' 'I know that, you know that, but they don't know that…It's part of the image…' 'Monkey suit and phoney accents?…anyway it worked, it was fantastic.' 'Gear, I'll be off then, ny nyte.' 'Nigh-night…psst can I have your autograph?' 'Sod off.'

(Mike McCartney, 1981, Thank U Very Much. Mike McCartney's Family Album)

Part (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V), (VI)

Interviewer: Are you going to lose some of your Liverpool dialect for the Royal show? Paul McCartney: No, we don't all speak like BBC

(Interview 16th Oct 1963, befor the Royal Variety Charity)

We went to London to party. I always tell this story, it happened pretty much like this. The week before Merseybeat broke up here [in London], or a couple of weeks before, I was just with my friends, and you were at a posh party, and they'd come up to you [adopts 'posh' voice] 'hi, how are you?' 'Great, thanks.' 'My name's Peregrine, and this is Cecilia…' 'Oh, great, hi.' 'Where are you from?' 'Oh, Liverpool…' 'Anyway, Cecilia, you said…' And they just turned their backs on you, because it was so simple - you were useless to them, useless. Anything north of the Cape was the hinterland, the jungle. So they couldn't care less. And then, a week later, Merseybeat suddenly goes 'bang!' He goes down to London before he conquers America and the world… and it's the same party, "Oh, I'm Sebastian, this is Claudia, what's your name?" "I'm Mike." "Where are you from?" "Liverpool." "Liverpool, oh my God, guys, come here, look, these guys from Liverpool, it's just wonderful." And then they'd do a Liverpool accent, and that's why it always came out Brummie [Birmingham], because they couldn't do a Liverpool accent. So, yeah, you were a nobody, and suddenly everything changed.

(Mike McCartney, interview for the Super Deluxe Edition, September 26, 2019)

pic by lisamarie-vee

+about suits

[themattress]

Kingdom Hearts vs. Kingdom Hearts II vs. Kingdom Hearts III

I am never playing Kingdom Hearts IV, so might as well see how these three stack up.

GRAPHICS - Let’s get the easiest one out of the way first. Obviously graphics improve as time goes on, and such is the case here. While I have issues with many of the KH-original characters’ models in Kingdom Hearts III since they seem so stiff, that’s more than balanced out by all the breathtakingly accurate Disney models and scenery. The worlds of Hercules and Winnie the Pooh look great enough, but the worlds of Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Tangled, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Pirates of the Caribbean look exactly like those movies; it’s amazing!

Winner: Kingdom Hearts III

GAMEPLAY - The combat in the original Kingdom Hearts is fun, but can also be pretty cumbersome due to Sora’s unrefined movement, Donald and Goofy’s less than reliable AI, a frustratingly too-close camera, and the default game difficulty being a tad more difficult than one might expect. The combat in Kingdom Hearts III is also fun, but its problem is the exact opposite - it’s way too easy, with Sora’s floaty movements combined with all kinds of special features in battle at your disposal right from the start making every fight a walk in the park. Kingdom Hearts II‘s combat, otoh, is a perfect balance; the best in the series hands-down.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts II

MUSIC - This seems like a tough one since Yoko Shimomura always does a fantastic job. However, you have to ask yourself which soundtrack is the most impressive on the basis of how it was put together. And the answer is the original Kingdom Hearts’ soundtrack - with the other games’, musical tracks are always re-used and put alongside new additions. The first game’s soundtrack, by contrast, was 100% new, meaning its success was crucial. Also, none of Utadu Hikaru’s songs afterward are nearly as iconic as “Hikari” / “Simple and Clean”.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts

VOICE-ACTING - Another tough one, since the KH series usually excels at voice-acting, helped by many of the voices being original Disney film cast members or convincing soundalikes. When it comes down to it, though, I’m going to have to give the nod to Kingdom Hearts II. There’s only one especially bad performance in that game - Mena Suvari as Aerith. But otherwise, everyone is giving it their best. Standouts include Haley Joel Osment, who isn’t as whinily high as in the first game or artificially modulated to sound younger in the third, Jesse McCartney who first showed us all what an amazing voice-actor he can be with his performance as Roxas, Paul St. Peter who is chilling as Xemnas, the late Wayne Allwine who makes Mickey sound convincing even with dialogue like “Did somebody mention the Door to Darkness?”, and the legendary Sir Christopher Lee lending all his dignity, gravity and general badassness as DiZ / Ansem the Wise. It’s just a perfectly skilled and star-studded vocal cast. 

Winner: Kingdom Hearts II

STORY - Ha! This one’s easy. The original Kingdom Hearts, no question about it. The story of Kingdom Hearts II is good, but it’s haphazardly told due to disharmony between its primary tellers (Tetsuya Nomura, Kazushige Nojima and Masaru Oka), can be confounding with its central concepts which isn’t helped by said haphazard storytelling, and won’t leave the same impact if you haven’t been through Chain of Memories first. And as for the story of Kingdom Hearts III....pfffft, WHAT story? That thing is a goddamn mess! This naturally leaves the original Kingdom Hearts’ story, which is classically themed, perfectly structured, and beautifully told, being both incredibly simple and incredibly deep. The talents of Tetsuya Nomura, Jun Akiyama, Daisuke Watanabe, Kazushige Nojima, and Keiko Nobumoto came together perfectly; it was lightning in a bottle that was never really going to be recaptured.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts

CHARACTERS - From a character arc standpoint, the three leads Sora, Riku and Kairi were never written better than they were in the original Kingdom Hearts. They feel like they’re just wrapping up loose ends in Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts III shits on all of them in various ways. While Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II is actually a stronger character than his Heartless counterpart Ansem in Kingdom Hearts, Ansem is still well-written in his own right, and both are far ahead of Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts III. Kingdom Hearts II also has the advantage of memorable characters such as Roxas and his friends, Namine, Axel, and DiZ /  Ansem the Wise. Kingdom Hearts has more Disney characters in major roles, while Kingdom Hearts II has more original characters in major roles, with certain Final Fantasy characters having major roles in both (and absolutely not in Kingdom Hearts III!) Given that and how well the majority are depicted, I think this one is a tie between the PS2 installments.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts & Kingdom Hearts II (TIE)

UNIVERSAL LORE - Let’s rule out Kingdom Hearts III right now, since the universal lore at this point is nigh incomprehensible and so sharply divided from the Disney stuff that it may as well be two different universes altogether. As for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, their universal lore is equally solid and compatible, and the difference lies in their presentation. Simply put, Kingdom Hearts does it better because it’s simply put. The more perplexing aspects of the lore are there for you to think about on your own as they float along in the background of the story and the actions of the characters. Kingdom Hearts II brought them to the forefront, which leads to a lot of expositing and drawn-out cutscenes that more often than not still leave players confused, and unless it’s Christopher Lee talking it’s never done particularly well. Leagues ahead of Kingdom Hearts III, don’t get me wrong, but not ideal.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts 

WORLDS - With this category, I mean the worlds from an outside perspective, not related to the events or gameplay that goes on within them. Which assortment of worlds holds the most appeal? Much of that will depend on your preference in Disney properties, but this is my post so my opinion is the one that counts here. And my opinion is that Kingdom Hearts II wins out. Worlds representing Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King and Tron, all some of the finest Disney properties of all time....oh, and let’s top that off with a world based on fucking Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse’s premiere! You just can’t beat a line-up like this.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts II

LEVEL DESIGN - Now we get into how it actually feels to play through the worlds. Kingdom Hearts’ worlds are designed where you get the maximum amount out of all space available, with all sorts of things to interact with, puzzles to solve, and treasures to collect. The downside is that combat in these areas can be a chore, especially with the game’s weak camera. Kingdom Hearts II’s worlds are streamlined for combat, with the camera expanded which helps make battling through them fun as all Hell (or Hades, in one specific case), but the lack of interactivity and exploration is missed, and the lack of collectibles given how easy it is to get every treasure chest in the original edition went over so badly that Final Mix had to make up for it with the puzzle piece and Mushroom XIII sidequests. And that brings us to Kingdom Hearts III - not only are both previous game’s styles merged perfectly, but each world feels like it’s in its own sub-genre of video game altogether. Combine that with the graphics replicating each world’s cinematic source material perfectly and you have the best experience playing through worlds. Kingdom Hearts III is worth it if not only for this factor.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts III

GUMMI SHIP - The scenery and music in the original Kingdom Hearts’ Gummi Ship segments is wonderful, but the gameplay is horrendous. Kingdom Hearts III has great scenery and gameplay, but the music is bland and forcing you to fight Gummi bosses three times to progress to a world was not a good choice. Kingdom Hearts II is the only one that it’s get it all right - great visuals, great music (in a wide variety of different tracks, too!), and great gameplay, feeling almost like a Disney theme park ride. I always love going through it.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts II

MINIGAMES - Kingdom Hearts had many memorable minigames....unfortunately, the majority of them weren’t very well designed. Kingdom Hearts II’s are much better designed, but a lot of them are repetitive and sometimes feel like more time went into them than other things that needed it more. That leaves Kingdom Hearts III as the winner, as its minigames such as the Bistro, the 100 Acre Wood and the Flan Heartless, are fun, plentiful and unique. Special mention goes to the Classic Kingdom app, which packs over 20 minigames into it.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts III

EXTRA CONTENT - In terms of which game is packed with the most stuff beyond what is required to get through, I’m not sure which one objectively places first. What I do know is that what Kingdom Hearts II had initially didn’t feel sufficient compared to its predecessor and needed to be rectified by its Final Mix. Kingdom Hearts III had more from the getgo, but at the cost of crucial things that should have been required being absent and needing to be filled in with Re:Mind. The original Kingdom Hearts, even before its Final Mix, felt so loaded with extra content that it was dizzying; truly on par with what you would expect out of a Final Fantasy game. Square, still headed by Hironobu Sakaguchi at the time, spared no expense.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts 

OVERALL SATISFACTION - So, Kingdom Hearts III clearly isn’t winning this whole thing, with just two victories to its name. But Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II are tied, so this last category has to serve as the tiebreaker. Which game, as a whole product, is the most satisfactory? Which of the two has all its qualities even out to provide the best experience?

Personally, playing through the original Kingdom Hearts is an experience that has never been matched by anything since in this franchise. And therein lies the problem. It’s not that the game doesn’t hold up and I don’t enjoy replaying it - far from it! But the sheer magical feeling that gripped me back at the end of 2002 and start of 2003 can’t be replicated, which leaves some of the game’s technical issues in a more glaring light. And that’s a problem that doesn’t exist with Kingdom Hearts II (especially the Final Mix version). It was a highly fun, thrilling, well-polished ride to begin with, and it still is with every new playthrough. It feels like the apex of what the concept of Kingdom Hearts is supposed to be: the best of Disney and the best of Square all in one crazy, epic package. It’s the series’ finest game....and it always will be.

Winner: Kingdom Hearts II

[mrepstein]

The Beatles Book Monthly (No. 5, December 1963)

‘A TALE OF FOUR BEATLES’ by Billy Shepherd

PART IV (PART I // PART II // PART III)

Part IV opens in June, 1961 and charts Brian Epstein's early involvement with the Beatles.

And so the Beatles, with two experience-garnering trips to Germany behind them, got back to Liverpool. A swingin’ scene... and they were very much a part of it. It was the end of June, 1961.

But though they liked having more money to spend, they hadn’t the foggiest idea of just how much they were worth. The offers came in. Anything between £6 and £14 was the pay-packet, to be shared between Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and drummer Pete Best.

“We just didn’t know,” admits George. “We loved the work, the excitement. We didn’t realise we were often being exploited. But it was hard work and somehow we didn’t seem to have much money in the kitty after we’d kept our equipment up to scratch...”

July, 1961, could go down as a summit meeting in Merseybeat history. A steamy, summery, shimmery night at Litherland Town Hall. A young promoter named Brian Kelly announced his attraction: The Beatmakers.

George Harrison was on lead guitar. Paul McCartney on rhythm. John Lennon on piano. Drummers were Pete Best and Freddie Marsden. Les Maguire operated on saxophone, Les Chadwick on bass guitar - and Gerry Marsden nipped on and off behind a big grin to take the vocals.

Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Beatles had linked up. For one night only and for a fee which is the smallest fraction of what they’d command for such a show now.

It led to friendships between the group members... but it didn’t seem to be leading to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Beatles.

Says John: “We went on knocking ourselves out night after night but somehow there was a bit of frustration creeping in to it all. It didn’t seem to be leading anywhere.”

But the audiences were greatly appreciative.

Says Paul: “We started accepting dates further south. We got pretty near London on some of them. No change of material for us - still the stuff that went down so well in Germany. But we were veering away from the leather gear. Don’t make this sound big-headed, but the fact is that a lot of other groups were copying the way we looked on stage. So we changed to more ordinary clothes for a while.”

But in September, depression set in. Paul and John took themselves off to Paris for a holiday. They remember being flat broke. Remember having to search through every pocket to rake up enough francs for a Coke. Now, of course, they can go where they please and not count the cost.

And George and Pete stayed on in Liverpool, virtually lost to the Beat scene. Ray McFall, owner of the Cavern Club remembers seeing Messrs. Harrison and Best around the lunch-time sessions but they seemed dispirited. They took a lot of persuading even to join in on the impromptu roar-ups.

Let well-known Liverpool show compere Bob Wooler fill in the background to this black spot in the Beatles’ history.

“I’ve known the boys since the early days. I’ve been a long-time admirer. What they really needed was a manager in those far-off days. They seemed content not to argue about the fees they were offered. And they didn’t seem to realise that they were pulling in crowds on the strength of their own name and performance.

“After all, they had to live. They had to look after their equipment - and they often had travelling expenses to pay. It’s all very well being popular and enjoying your work, but you should be paid what you’re worth as well.

“Ray McFall at the Cavern was different. If the crowd was good, he upped the fee. That’s why the boys have always been so loyal to the Cavern. But you can understand them being puzzled at the lack of hard cash from their other venues where they were so often doubling the attendances.”

Paul and John were meanwhile spending a lot of time on their song-writing. You’ll see how much they’d already achieved in this direction as the story pushes on to the first recording days.

John and Paul could never sit down and simply write a song to order. They admit: “We have to wait for the ideas to arrive. It can happen anywhere. On a bus, or a train, or backstage at a dance-hall or theatre. Sometimes the title suggests itself first. Then we get going on the words and music. Sometimes we’ve finished a very successful seller in less than an hour.”

But their most pressing need was for a manager. Paul has told me “When we first started on paid jobs, we honestly thought we weren’t manageable. We thought nobody would want to bother with us. We were a pretty off-beat bunch of characters, to say the least. And we had a sense of humour which somehow involved us all and which was hardly in the interests of discipline. So, for a long time, we just didn’t take any notice of the advice that we should be properly handled. ‘Who’d WANT US,’ was the way we thought...

“And that’s where we were wrong...”

A MANAGER. Liverpool man Allan Williams took on the chore for a while... he now runs the Blue Angel Club on Merseyside.

But the man who was to make show business history with the Beatles knew nothing about the group in that September of 1961. That man, of course, was Brian Epstein, one-time drama student, member of a family which owned a chain of furniture and radio-TV stores in Liverpool.

He was not exactly WITH the beat scene. But he WAS in touch with the public taste through his work in the record department of the stores. He’d been there for five years, building up the business, enlarging the staff roster and increasing the turnover.

And in September, 1961, he was a puzzled man. Fans kept approaching him with: “Have you any records by the Beatles?” Brian mused. Pondered. Wondered. One young lad was particularly persistent in his demands. Brian dug deep into the record-lists. And found reference to that “My Bonnie” single, recorded in Germany, on which the Beatles played a strictly supporting role to guitar-star Tony Sheridan.

“I became Beatle-conscious for a while,” he says. “I always tried to work on the theory that the customer was right - and if they wanted the Beatles, well... I’d do my best to supply the Beatles. Eventually I traced the source and ordered some 200 copies for the record-stores. They sold quickly...

“Then out of the blue I heard they were Liverpool boys, had a rapidly-growing following - and were actually playing in a club near the store. It was a place that I’m sure I’d visited before, a sort of teenage gathering-place, but I really didn’t know much about it.

“After a while, I thought I’d better pop down there and see what all the fuss was about.”

Brian Epstein went to the Cavern. Met the Beatles. And things really started happening for the ambitious but not-too-sure group.

There are two ways of looking at this near-historic meeting. Brian Epstein’s. And the Beatles’ viewpoint.

Beatles first. Said George: “He started talking to us about the record that had created the demand. We didn’t know much about him but he seemed very interested in us and also a little bit baffled.

“He came back several times and talked to us. It seemed there was something he wanted to say, but he wouldn’t come out with it. He just kind of watched us and studied what we were doing. One day, he took us to the store and introduced us. We thought he looked rather red and embarrassed about it all.

“Eventually, he started talking about becoming our manager. Well, we hadn’t really had anybody actually VOLUNTEER in that sense. At the same time, he was very honest about it all - you know, like saying he didn’t really know anything about managing a group like us. He sort of hinted that he was keen if we’d go along with him...”

Brian, quite honestly, thought that the Beatles looked a mess. He wondered what exactly they thought they were trying to be. Their strange jackets, the rather scruffy jeans, the hair-styles, which could only have been styled on something called “chaos.”

“But there was something enormously attractive about them,” he recalls. “I liked the way they worked and the obvious enthusiasm they put into their numbers. People talk about the Liverpool sound but I sometimes wonder what exactly they mean. These boys put everything into their routines but they didn’t use echo. That struck me as being a very good thing.

“It was the boys themselves, though, who really swung it. Each had something which I could see would be highly commercial if only someone could push it to the top. They were DIFFERENT characters but they were so obviously part of the whole. Quite frankly, I was excited about their prospects, provided some things could be changed.”

And Brian told his friends: “This could easily turn out to be the biggest show business attraction since Elvis Presley.” It’s a tribute to his foresight and intuition that that is precisely what has happened.

Brian decided to get the boys together at a round-table conference at his store. A time was fixed and the boys agreed. But Beatles are not always the easiest of people to organise. Brian sat waiting... and waiting... and waiting. He was trying to cope with the vastly complex figures of Christmas orders for the store and minutes were precious to him.

Eventually THREE Beatles arrived. George, John and Pete. No Paul. Story goes that Brian got George to ring through and see what had happened to the left-handed guitar-star. And that Paul admitted he was still in the bath... but wouldn’t be long!

Brian was rather on his high-horse. He felt it was not the right thing for someone who wanted to talk business to be kept waiting. He pointed out that Paul, the cherubic one of the four, would be extremely late. “Yes,” said George, forcing back a grin. “But he’ll also be extremely clean.”

Says Brian: “That sense of humour is invaluable. You could hardly feel annoyed at their lack of business ability. They were just four individual and off-beat characters.”

Prior to Brian taking such an interest, there was great concern among Cavern people that there was a chance of the Beatles packing in all thoughts of show business careers. Bob Wooler had tried hard to get BBC television producer Jack Good interested in the group. Jack had produced beat shows, like “Six-Five Special” which had been the stepping-stone to success for artistes like Cliff Richard. But Jack was also in demand in the States... and he’d gone there to further his own career long before Bob could get any decision from the telly-folk.

Brian, having eventually assembled all four Beatles in the same room, put his propositions to them. He went through a process of brain-washing, though he did it all very tactfully. He didn’t like their manner of dress. Wasn’t knocked out by the unruly hair-cuts. Was singularly unimpressed by the way they casually drank tea on stage while in the middle of shows.

He pleaded with them rather than ordered them. He knew they were a valuable property and he was knocked out at the way their personal following was growing through the Merseyside area.

Said John: “He’d tell us that jeans were not particularity smart and could we possibly manage to wear PROPER trousers. But he didn’t want us suddenly looking square. He let us have our own sense of individuality.”

He added: “We respected his views. We stopped champing at cheese rolls and jam butties on stage. We paid a lot more attention to what we were doing. Did our best to be on time. And we smartened up, in the sense that we wore suits instead of any sloppy old clothes.”

It was a master-plan. A long-term plan if necessary but it was aimed at making the most of four young men who clearly had that star quality in them... even though a recording contract was still more than nine months away.

Obviously, Brian Epstein’s main job was to get the group on record. He knew the strength of their popularity in Liverpool and he felt it wouldn’t be a hard job to interest some of the London companies. But that was where Brian was wrong.

He even delayed any sort of action until the results of the 1961 “Mersey Beat Poll” were announced. That came up at the end of the year. And the Beatles were high and dry in top place in this important survey of how the public felt about the myriad groups operating in the scene. Said Brian: “I thought this was the ‘Open Sesame’ to the recording scene. I felt that Liverpool was important enough to have London executives falling about to sign the boys. I was wrong...”

Brian, though technically still in charge of important parts of the family business, threw himself into the job of getting the Beatles known nationally. He had the backing of the Beatles’ parents and it was to be no holds barred for the major break through.

He started visiting London. Hopefully. Optimistically. But record executives showed an alarming tendency to register non-committal gloom. Brian had to keep reporting apparent failure to the boys - by now riding higher than ever in popular acclaim in Liverpool.

Cont’d next month in No. 6

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.6

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility. 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. 1411 – Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the Konstanz Cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.) 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey. 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England. 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England. 1536 – The explorer Jacques Cartier lands at st.Malo at the end of his second expedition to North America. He returns with none of the gold he expected to find. 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again. 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. 1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta. 1630 – Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. Troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War. 1791 – At Padua, the Emperor Leopold II calls on the monarchs of Europe to joint him in demanding the king of France Louis XVI's freedom. 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt. 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members. 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial. 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India. 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so. 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France. 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff. 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded. 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. 1996 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-88 operating as Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 experiences a turbine engine failure during take off from Pensacola International Airport, killing two and injuring five of the 147 people on board. 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively. 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.

[lesleykaleski-blog]

Grow Organic Cannabis

CBD Essential Extract Review http://cbdessentialextract.net/. And CBD Essential Extract Review exactly what it's come to be, several. . . in A lot of states., Or., Wa. anyway, will be the in 10 other america. They'd laid out a match plan and followed it to the letter. Now, the goal is to obtain the scam accepted across the whole nation, CBD Essential Extract Price state by state! There exists a deep-pockets-cartel funding them and next, (as they stated) comes legalization of all drugs. Portland, is that what would like? THC being a Schedule I drug and prohibited by Federal law! It isn't (as he claims) a schedule III junk. Take a look; once there, scroll down to find: Tetrahydrocannabinols 7370 N THC, Delta-8 THC, Delta-9 THC other people. Subsequent levels of scheduled medicines are below exactly who!

Family members advised all the boys, especially since a few were the particular legal day of 21 to sign a. But Brian was savvy about the tunes business. They agreed in order to some five-year contract, which gave Brian Epstein 25 % of the gross livelihood. Brian had created a management division from NEMS and convinced his family that the management would only try his effort part schedule. The Beatles autographed.but Brian did not. He did, however, sign Lennon and McCartney the following year to a publishing contract with NEMS for couple of years. Now obtain the Cannabis and drop it slowly into the oil very. Stir continuously until you finish dropping all of the Cannabis in the pan with heated teak oil. In laymen terms, one might deduce these types of clinics are essentially like any other clinic or doctor office a person would stop at. A better way to consider about them would be to do a comparison to a specialty doctor, much like a pediatrician. Such clinics have placed their sole focus on diagnosing patients who are suffering and providing them with a valid medical marijuana recommendation and therefore they can obtain the relief they are attempting to get. One of this things about cancer often that it is a parasite naturally. At first it consumes our food proper that is insufficient, it consumes some of our tissue. Cancer cells are voracious parasites and can hard to eliminate. Almost everything that attacks and kills a cancer cell, will do the same with normal, functioning body cellphones. That in essence could be the same thing that happens with chemotherapy. It goes in and kills cells and ultimately process kills the healthy cells too. A friend recently quit smoking, unveiled she claims her stomach is bloated like ridiculous. is this normal? does it want to do beside such things as shes not smoking once more? if so, why? Her body is intending to crush.

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

The Rolling Stones: A Reassessment

The Rolling Stones have continuously marketed themselves as the world’s greatest living rock ‘n’ roll band. Yet, they could possibly be billed as the world’s greatest marketing band. The other day, I started to watch some of their older music videos and began to discover something. Throughout their catalog, they have quite a few songs that could be most simply labeled as complete and utter filler. I remember reading this in a book by Stephen Davis, but never really thought too much of it. He wrote that Black and Blue in 1976 was their last great album. I am beginning to agree with such an assessment. This does not mean they did not make the occasional good song because examples of that persist including such tracks as “Love Is Strong” and “Mixed Emotions,” but those moments were few and far between. I was watching a playlist with all of their official promo videos and music videos throughout the years. I was at first excited because there were 55 videos available. Yet, more than half of the songs on this playlist emerged as average, ordinary, and gave me no compelling reason to ever listen to that song ever again. This is something that I did not realize, which is partially my fault because I spent too much time listening to their compilations. Younger fans probably make the same mistake as well. Hot Rocks anyone? The question now becomes to me as the critic why does everything suck so bad with the Rolling Stones after the mid-1970s.

First, this is nothing new because it happens with a lot of musicians. Other artists have had these issues. Much like Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, and many others, they experience a kind of golden era of songwriting. Everything that they release in a certain period of time is a great song. For the Stones, this was 1969-1975 when they did Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers, Let It Bleed, among others. This was the band at their most creative, but nothing can last forever. Noel Gallagher once said that no musician can create great music after age 30. Perhaps there is a bit of truth to that statement.

Second, Mick Taylor left the band in 1975. I think this fact is swept under the rug too often when discussing the Rolling Stones. People do not realize how much he contributed to Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. He was a key to the songwriting success in those albums because Taylor brought a melodic quality that was previously missing in some of their other albums. Accompanying the fact that Taylor left the band is another factor in regards to Keith Richards. Taylor was such a good guitarist that his presence pushed Richards in creative and technical ways that nobody else did at the time. This eventually manifested itself within Richards as a kind of jealousy, which in turn brought out a meanness that is nothing new to anybody that has followed this band. Mick Taylor was replaced by Ron Wood, which I believe Richards personally selected him for the band. Wood was not quite the songwriter that Taylor was, while at the same time Richards could influence him more easily, than he did with Taylor. Wood really looked up to Keith, such a thing can be problematic when creating music. Perhaps Keith relaxed a little too much once Taylor had left the band as far as songwriting goes. He was no longer being pushed as much creatively, so he did not so work as hard at it.

Third, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger grew apart as friends and collaborators in the eighties. The success of the Rolling Stones beginning in 1969 can be mostly attributed to the fact that the songwriting team of Jager and Richards was a very good one. For some reason, the two of them began drifting apart eventually leading to what some referred to as World War III when they recorded Dirty Work in 1986. One possible factor was the presence of Ron Wood in the band because he and Keith essentially became besties/drinking buddies. Their drinking was one of the reasons that Jagger would stop touring with them in the 80s. They were much too drunk to play effectively on stage. Another issue affecting this collaboration was that Richards felt that Jager was not bringing his best ideas to the Rolling Stones songwriting table, instead keeping them for his solo project. The solo album is always a tricky thing with any band, but especially for this band. If the solo album in the 80’s that Mick Jagger released had been much more successful; I do not think that he returns to the Stones in the way that he did. Jager came back because he needed the band more than the band actually needed him at the time. His solo album had failed and he needed something successful to maintain himself as an icon in rock.

Fourth, the Rolling Stones at times forgot who they were as a band. At some point in the 80s, I think they forgot that they were a rhythm and blues band named after a Muddy Waters song. The number one example of this is when they did “Harlem Shuffle.” As the song “Miss You” was meant to adapt their sound to the disco era. They tried to do the same thing in the 80’s pop era, but this just did not work. I really believe that at times they did forget the classic rock ‘n’ roll part to the their makeup. The band did a remix with Will. iam, which seemed fairly pointless because it added absolutely nothing concrete to the song.

Finally, perhaps this band began to believe too much in their own hype as the worlds greatest living rock band. If you are currently billed as that around the world. Nobody tells you that you are not the world's greatest living rock band, then who is to say that anything you do or try is not that good. The enormous success of the touring arm of the band probably makes it impossible to stretch themselves in any new ways creatively, or even to ever go back to the drawing board. They really do not have anyone pushing them in any way, so everything that they create now is good enough because the world says that it is. One example would be with their most recent release after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Upon its release, it seem like media everywhere in the entire world were applauding the release because it was the first one in almost 8 years. Yet, I I did not see anyone from various media outlets asking the question whether the song is any good. Within hours, Shazam had named it the song of the week, along with other outlets. As a critic, I do not wish to rush to judgment without objectively evaluating the content, no matter who it is. The question becomes do the Rolling Stones get a pass on a lot of things that they do creatively because of who they are. I would say yes, and I would also say that is probably a bad thing. Yet, that is a different article for a different day.

Now, I want to return to the Rolling Stones as the world’s greatest living rock and roll band. This only makes sense if you are speaking about longevity, quantity of material, and the only ones crazy enough to still be touring at age 80 or whatever age Keith Richards is in drug years. If you say in 1975, then they are the greatest band, but that has not been the case for many decades. I would say Bob Dylan has a much greater value in his artistic output from the 1980’s forward than the Rolling Stones.. More recently, I have heard both Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger sounding off on the question of who was the better band, the Beatles or The Rolling Stones. My one point about that question is if you look at the Beatles, they were only together for nine years. The Rolling Stones have been together for 50 years, so they have had a lot more opportunities to throw things at the wall to see what sticks. To put it in baseball terms, The Rolling Stones had 500 at bats, while the Beatles only really had 50. Such is only my opinion and this reassessment has not diminished my love for the band in any way. And so it goes.

[junker-town]

Royal Wedding prop bets: Prince William’s hair, the queen’s hat, and if the Spice Girls will perform

Weddings are about love, companionship, spending a lot of money to look really, really pretty for one day in your life when everyone will be photographing you, and hopefully lifelong happiness between two people.

For celebrity weddings, it’s about all of the above and also about who gets to design the dress, who’s invited, where it’s happening, and how many details you can absorb about the ceremony in real time.

For royal weddings, it’s about all of that plus what royal waves are rippling because of the marriage, any international drama leading up to the big day, and extra-fancy details like which carriage the bride and groom will be riding in and what time the queen is arriving.

All that, and betting. It’s also about betting.

Royal weddings are inherently a spectator sport because of the high profile details and how much public interest is already attached to the participants from the second they announced their engagement (and probably before). Being able to gamble on a life event that’s usually only good for open bars and seeing friends from college makes it all the better. Super rich people involved? Perfect.

This is where I say gambling isn’t legal in the US and this is all for fun. Unless you live somewhere it’s legal, then Go. To. Town. Here, organized by category, are the best and weirdest bets you can make in the lead up to the big day.

Artists performing

In March Ladbrokes released the odds on who will perform at the wedding reception as such:

Elton John – 1/5

Spice Girls – 5/6

Stormzy – 4/1

Liam Payne – 25/1

Elton John canceled multiple performances on his farewell tour to be at the wedding — as he was of course a dear friend of Princess Diana’s — so it’s not a question of whether he’ll be there, only of whether he’ll tickle the ivories while he’s at the party. Still holding out for that Spice Girls reunion though. Who doesn’t want to have “Spice Up Your Life” played at their wedding?

Who will walk Meghan down the aisle?

Originally, Meghan was meant to be escorted to the chapel by her mother Doria Ragland, and then handed off to her father, Thomas, for the actual walk down the aisle so as to include both her parents in the ceremony.

But after recent breaking news about her father — involving some stage paparazzi photos Thomas agreed to, a heart attack, and multiple public changes of mind about whether he’ll even be at the wedding now, odds have reopened on who will do the honors.

Paddy Power has the latest odds as:

Thomas Markle — 1/2

Doria Ragland — 4/1

Meghan walks alone — 14/1

Prince William, Prince Charles, or Lindsay Roth (Meghan’s best friend) — 18/1

You can also get Suits stars Patrick J. Adams or Gabriel Macht at 18/1, Princes Harry or Philip at 33/1, and Kate Middleton is available at 100/1. There’s also Donald Trump at 500/1 just for kicks.

Future Titles

Everyone knows the happy couple will no longer be Meghan Markle and Harry Wales after Saturday, but what title will the queen bestow on them on the big day? The hot money is on Duke and Duchess of Sussex right now at 1/3, with others available options as:

Clarence — 6/1

Monmouth — 8/1

Connaught or Kendal — 14/1

Kintyre — 20/1

There has only ever been one Duke of Sussex: Prince Augustus in 1801. His wife was never the Duchess of Sussex though, so Meghan could break new ground on Saturday.

First dance song

Artists performing are one thing, but whose song will be the most musically important part of the day? Odds on the couple’s first song of the night as follows:

Whitney Houston — 2/5

Bob Marley — 10/1

Elton John — 2/1

Shaggy — 66/1

The wine

We know that the cake will be lemon elderflower with buttercream frosting instead of fruitcake, and what the flowers will probably look like, but what will they be drankin’? Ladbrokes has the odds for the nationality of the wine as such:

Californian wine - 1/3

British wine - 5/4

Prince William’s hair

This is one of the goofier ones, since good ol’ Will probably isn’t doing anything drastic to his head before the big day. But if you want to have fun, as opposed to making money, here’s your opportunity. The odds from William Hill are:

Buzz-cut - 1/2

Shaved Head - 6/4

Full Head/Hair Transplant - 16/1

Ponytail - 100/1

Wig - 100/1

This is your chance to finally get hair plugs and make people some money at the same time, Wills!

Be Our Guest?

The guest list is in flux but the speculation on others is more fun. Paddy Power has a whole slew of guest possibilities and corresponding odds, including but not limited to:

Patrick J. Adams — 1/100

Elton John — 1/50

Joss Stone — 1/9

Serena Williams — 1/7

David and Victoria Beckham — 1/5

Rory McIlroy — 1/3

James Blunt — 3/10

Chelsy Davy — 1/2

Paul McCartney — 5/4

Boris Johnson — 2/1

Barack and Michelle Obama — 3/1

Sean Connery — 3/1

Justin Trudeau — 4/1

Simon Cowell — 5/1

Angela Merkel — 10/1

Hillary Clinton — 14/1

ANY Kardashian — 20/1

Piers Morgan — 22/1

Jennifer Aniston — 25/1

Wayne Rooney — 25/1

James Hewitt — 50/1

Mohamed Al Fayed — 50/1

Vladimir Putin — 66/1

Robert Mugabe — 200/1

There’s some spicy ones in there! While Hillary Clinton or Piers Morgan are just risky enough to be fun, those last few people are definitely not going to be there for various reasons. Have fun burning money if you want to take those odds though!

What About Weather

The defining characteristic of England’s weather is ... rain. So the odds of it raining are pretty high! And no matter how much it rains, rain counts as rain. Betway has the odds of rain on their wedding day as:

Rain — 7/4

No rain — 2/5

If you want slightly different odds, Cora and Ladbrokes both have rain at 3/1. Paddy Power has rain at 13/8 and no rain at 4/9.

The dress

Odds on the dress have been closed by betting sites multiple times so far, the first happening a few months ago when Alexander McQueen was getting a lot of play and then more recently when Ralph & Russo had a lot of play and it seemed like that was a near-lock.

This close to the wedding, you’re probably not going to get any more open betting on the dress. It’s finished by now, and that means the answer is known by multiple people so leaving odds open is too risky. You’re just going to have to opt for a wedding dress pool at your watch party if you want to try and make some cash.

Some top options besides McQueen and Ralph & Russo are Erdem, Burberry, or Stella McCartney.

The Tiara

The best part about being royal is the tiara right? Kate Middleton wore the Cartier Halo tiara on her big day and it’s currently on loan to an exhibition, so that’s out of the question. Paddy Power has odds on the various tiaras Meghan might get loaned to her from the queen as:

Spencer Family Tiara — 4/1

None — 8/1

Cambridge Lovers Knot — 9/1

George III Fringe Tiara — 10/1

The Strathmore Rose — 12/1

Something new — 12/1

The Cambridge Lovers Knot is also a favorite of Kate’s, so that’s probably out as well, and you can get odds as deep as 66/1 for the Duchess of York Wedding Tiara if you’re so inclined.

Harry’s Outfit

You can bet on whether Harry will be clean shaven or not (both at 5/6 odds) and what he’ll wear. He’s most likely going to opt for full military dress (1/8 odds) but you can throw money away and bet he’ll be in black tie at 66/1 odds. It’s against morning dress guidelines though, so say goodbye to that money if you go that route.

First comes love, then comes marriage ...

... then comes royal pressure to have babies to continue the royal line? That’s definitely how the children’s rhyme goes. According to Ladbrokes the odds are currently 4/1 that the newlyweds will announce a pregnancy this year. Over at William Hill, the odds for an announcement by year are:

2018 — 25/1

2019 — 2/5

2020 — 3/1

2021 or later — 6/1

If you want to get in on the really improbable odds, Paddy Power has the odds that Meghan is revealed to be pregnant by the time of the ceremony at 13/2. Can you imagine the queen’s face?!

You’ll be up at dawn watching, but how many people are joining you?

If you think more people will watch this wedding than did William and Kate’s (a whopping 2 billion estimated, even if it was probably significantly less) then you can bet on that at 5/2 odds.

Bye bye, Britain

Paddy Power has odds that Harry will emigrate to the United States before 2020 at 5/1. Honestly if Kate and Will have any more kids, he might want to live in the states full-time just for some peace and quiet.

The queen’s hat

The queen always wears bright or unorthodox colors at public events so she can be easily spotted in crowds. The most important prop bet of the entire day is what color her hat will be and, oh boy, do you have options.

Blue — 2/1

Pink — 3/1

Purple — 7/2

Yellow — 4/1

Cream/Ivory — 6/1

Orange — 8/1

Gold — 12/1

At the very least, this gives you the opportunity to picture the queen decked head to toe in gold rolling up to this shindig.

Happy betting!

[benito2world-blog]

Sabrina ho chiu yeng

Rebel in White: Sabrina Ho

There’s a strict set of centuries old rules to which debutants presented at Queen Charlotte’s Ball, the culmination of the famously traditional London Season, must adhere. Sabrina Ho, radiant in a floor-length white gown offset by a sparkling, custom-designed Chopard tiara and earrings, apparently complied, playing the role of beautiful young debutante with aplomb. But unbeknown to organisers watching as she swept gracefully down the magnificent staircase at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, she was wearing black rock-chick platform trainers by Stella McCartney. It was a small act of rebellion that perfectly encapsulates Sabrina’s bold, brave and slightly mischievous attitude to life.

“I loved knowing I was wearing my sneakers under my dress,” she says with a giggle. “I mean, why would you wear heels when you have to be on your feet from 9am to 1am? The best part was that I converted some of the other girls to my badly behaved ways and soon there was a whole group of us wearing trainers—which made it kind of awkward when the photographer asked us to lift our dresses to show off our shoes.”

Stanley Ho and Angela Leong’s oldest daughter is the perfect mixture of Asian ambition and British creativity. Sent to a Yorkshire boarding school at the age of 13, she fell in love with the English way of life. She began studying art history at University College London but had to return to Hong Kong halfway through her first year for family reasons. Now, at the age of 25, she is debating whether to move back to London.

“There’s something about London that really appeals to me. I think it’s the freedom I feel when I’m here,” she says over tea and cake at Hotel Café Royal in Piccadilly on what must be the hottest day of the year. “Sure, nobody knows who I am, which is kind of liberating, but it’s more than that. Young people here get the chance to explore who they are and what they want to do with their lives. I feel really inspired when I’m here and I’m so keen to experience the full spectrum of what the city has to offer.”

And what better way to kick-start a potential life in London than with the quintessentially British Queen Charlotte’s Ball? The illustrious event has taken place almost every year since 1780, when King George III hosted the first to celebrate his wife’s birthday. The ceremony has remained largely unchanged for the ensuing 250 years, with debutantes wearing dazzling white gowns, waltzing with their fathers and cutting a vast cake to symbolise their entry into society. The ball was traditionally held at Buckingham Palace until 1958, when it was decided that it could no longer fit into the queen’s hectic schedule. Since then it has been held at various locations around London, with the Royal Horseguards Hotel, the former headquarters of MI6, serving as the venue this year.

With such a pedigree, it’s definitely not the kind of event that girls can turn up to unprepared and bust out a few dance moves learned on a holiday in Ibiza. To ensure everything goes smoothly, the organisers hold a series of etiquette and dancing lessons for young women who haven’t been brought up waltzing and curtseying—which surely must be everyone these days. “They were kind of fun and definitely useful. I think I mastered everything except Scottish reeling, which was really difficult because you don’t stick with one dance partner and there’s so much jumping,” says Sabrina, looking the opposite of a traditional reeler in her white Bardot top, sequined denim shorts and platform trainers.

Luckily for Sabrina, she had the one accessory that every young woman attending an intimidating ball has always wished for—a dashing young prince to hold her hand. Her date, Archduke Alexander of Austria, not only has an impressive title, but he’s also rather handsome. After some probing, I gather that Alexander is not Sabrina’s boyfriend—but from the twinkle in her eye whenever his name is mentioned, I can see that she has a bit of a crush on him. “We’re friends,” she says firmly, blushing. “We know each other from parties and I thought I’d much rather invite him than go with a total stranger. And he flew all the way to England from Austria for one day, which was super kind. He’s actually thinking about moving to London, which would be cool.”

Cool indeed, although Sabrina wasn’t the only one with her eye on him. “All the girls wanted to waltz with Alex. Which I was totally fine with, but I was also like, ‘Can I have one dance with my date, please?’ He’s a really good dancer, you see.”

He was probably equally dazzled by Sabrina. Her dress was by Berketex Bride London—all the debutantes have to use the same designer—and she chose a particularly fashionable off-the-shoulder style with a fitted bodice and long train. “The funny thing is that I thought I picked such a modern look, but then there was this portrait of an Austrian princess at the venue from 100 years ago and she was dressed the same as me. It was hilarious.”

Sabrina’s dress was beautiful, but it was the jewels that really elevated her look. A close personal friend of Chopard president Caroline Scheufele, Sabrina worked with the Swiss brand to design her own tiara and earrings. Surprisingly, it was the first tiara that Chopard has made. “It was so beautiful,” says Sabrina. “Caroline persuaded me to design my own tiara by saying I could use it as a necklace in the future. I love it and it will always be filled with such great memories for me.”

To know read more about Sabrina ho

[tavolgisvist]

There are about eighty things wrong with working for the Beatles and one of them is that there aren’t any Beatles any more and another is that one forgets who one is, whoever one may be; the experience of working for the Beatles has affected all of us in different ways, but affected us it has and forever; come what may we will never be the same. Simon Albury of BBC 24 Hours told me yesterday that when he was making a film of John for the BBC, he became increasingly frightened by the growing awareness that John’s only concern was for Yoko and for no one else. I realised, he said, that if John heard that everyone at Apple had been killed in a fire, his mind would turn immediately to the inconvenience of replacing them. He said that this feeling was the more bizarre because John was such a kind man, very courteous and thoughtful in little ways and so he is and so too would he not give two pennies if everyone on earth vanished into the oceans leaving himself and Yoko in peace, however imperfect. Aunt Mimi taught him his manners well and there is in all of that family, whom I met, a gracefulness that has passed to John, but sentimental he isn’t, never; neither is Paul and I don’t think George and Ringo are, but is anyone really that concerned about anyone else, I mean really worried about their fellow humans? I don’t mean Shelter and Oxfam and Bangladesh, but what about the rest? John himself and George, and Paul and Ringo too, in differing ways, have given away stacks of money to causes good and unproven, always given it quietly. But they are very tough, too, and working for them has made all of us very uneasy – I think because they are four very hard tight men, not callous, but calloused. Us Beatles’ aides, we come and go and we are mostly unmourned when we have gone.

...

Oh, it has been a great adventure, and we all shared the fun. The Beatles were generous with the fun. The Beatles liked the people around them and the people around them liked the Beatles. We were not sycophants, yet we were rarely bold. I think we were always nervous because there were four of them, and only four. There were two assets common to those who survived a close relationship with them: 1. We didn’t want to be Beatles and we didn’t ever think about their money; 2. We were good at what we did and what we did they couldn’t do. But it wasn’t always enough, I felt, because in the final analysis, they were themselves enough and any of the aides could go jump off the Empire State Building and the show could go on, but if any one of them had a sore throat, the rasping could be heard from Newcastle under-Lyme to Singapore. I was a very good press officer for them, and there was no doubt about that and I could reflect some of their best interests and speak their truth, but the quotes were theirs and there is no comparison between a mouth and a mouthpiece.

...

Did they ever think: ‘Goddamn them! Who do they think they are? Who needs them? We are the Beatles, we are the four.’ To press and public we had many faces. We were the link, the pipeline, the barrier, the obstacle course to be cleared to reach the big prize, but it was just a job, y’know, you know how that riff runs. Neil and Mal and me and Peter, we were there because we wanted to serve the Beatles, we were heavy fans, so are all the people around them; I guess the whole world is and the miracle is not that the Beatles survived the world’s adoration (they didn’t, they took a powder to end the pain), but that Lennon and McCartney and Harrison and Starkey had the wit and the wisdom to cling to the good earth and not fall off.

(As Time Goes by Derek Taylor)

(Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI)

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.6

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility. 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. 1411 – Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.) 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey. 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England. 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England. 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again. 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. 1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta. 1630 – Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War. 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt. 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members. 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial. 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India. 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so. 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France. 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff. 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded. 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively. 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area. Births

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.6

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra, where Epaminondas defeated Cleombrotus I, takes place 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. 1411 – Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned as a heretic and then burned at the stake. 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey. 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England. 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England. 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again. 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. 1614 – Żejtun and the surrounding villages suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta. 1630 – Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War. 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held. 1865 – The first issue of The Nation magazine is published. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt. 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members. 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial. 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.[1] 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.[2] 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.[3] 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.[4] 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France. 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff. 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded. 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively. 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.6

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra, where Epaminondas defeated Cleombrotus I, takes place 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). 1044 – The Battle of Ménfő between troops led by Emperor Henry III and Magyar forces led by Samuel Aba, King of Hungary, takes place. 1189 – Richard I "the Lionheart" accedes to the English throne. 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. 1411 – Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned as a heretic and then burned at the stake. 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey. 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England. 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England. 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again. 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. 1614 – Żejtun and the surrounding villages suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta. 1630 – Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War. 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held. 1865 – The first issue of The Nation magazine is published. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt. 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial. 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so. 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France. 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff. 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded. 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively. 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.6

371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra, where Epaminondas defeated Cleombrotus I, takes place 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). 1044 – The Battle of Ménfő between troops led by Emperor Henry III and Magyar forces led by Samuel Aba, King of Hungary, takes place. 1189 – Richard I "the Lionheart" accedes to the English throne. 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. 1411 – Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor. 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned as a heretic and then burned at the stake. 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England. 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England. 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again. 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. 1614 – Żejtun and the surrounding villages suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta. 1630 – Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War. 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held. 1865 – The first issue of The Nation magazine is published. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. 1892 – Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain. 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt. 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell. 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. 1939 – Holocaust: The last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed. 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. 1941 – Nazi Germany launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk. 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial. 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so. 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France. 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff. 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded. 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. 1999 – U.S. Army private Barry Winchell dies from baseball-bat injuries inflicted on him in his sleep the previous day by a fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, for his relationship with transgender showgirl and former Navy Corpsman Calpernia Addams. 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively. 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board. 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.