An anti-poll tax rally in central London erupted into riots on 31 March 1990.
More than 400 people were arrested and property was damaged with repairs estimated at £400,000 after the demonstration which saw 100,000 people turn out to protest against the poll tax.
The demonstration had been preceded by many smaller rallies across the country.
Forty-five police officers were among the 113 people injured, as well as 20 police horses.
Originally broadcast on 1 April 1990.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
This story is confirmed in Elmer Bendiner's book, The Fall of Fortresses.
Sometimes, it's not really just luck. *
Elmer Bendiner was a navigator in a B-17 during WW II. He tells this story of a World War II bombing run over Kassel, Germany, and the unexpected result of a direct hit on their fuel tanks. "Our B-17, the Tondelayo, was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our fuel tanks were hit.
Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a 20-millimetre shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple. "On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck.
The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but 11 had been found in the fuel tanks. 11 unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had been parted for us. A near-miracle, I thought.
Even after 35 years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.
"He was told that the shells had been sent to the armourers to be defused. The armourers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer. "Apparently when the armourers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were as clean as a whistle and just as harmless.
Empty? Not all of them! One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech.Eventually they found one to decipher the note. It set us marvelling. Translated, the note read:
*"This is all we can do for you now...
Using Jewish slave labour is never a good idea."
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - We Now Start a New Chapter - Pennod newydd
I think this is the best place to post, but Mods, please move if necessary
I regularly (these days) watch and thoroughly enjoy a show in the UK (BBC 1) called "The Repair Shop" - pretty sure it's been mentioned before. Basically, a team of experts restoring historical items - in BBC wording: -
"Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life"
Anywho, the latest episode included an "Inclined Plane Clock" - something I've never really come across and found truly fascinating... I'm a lover of clocks and watches for my sins - mechanical stuff
pharvey wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:10 pm
I think this is the best place to post, but Mods, please move if necessary
I regularly (these days) watch and thoroughly enjoy a show in the UK (BBC 1) called "The Repair Shop" - pretty sure it's been mentioned before. Basically, a team of experts restoring historical items - in BBC wording: -
"Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life"
Anywho, the latest episode included an "Inclined Plane Clock" - something I've never really come across and found truly fascinating... I'm a lover of clocks and watches for my sins - mechanical stuff
Video at link.
