Thursday 18 October 2007

The 1920's and Rouge Lipstick

This article is by Fredrick Lewis Allen, from ‘Only Yesterday’ published in 1931, shows how times changed in the 1920's by 'Rouge' lipstick becoming popular.

‘Perhaps the readiest way of measuring the change in the public attitude towards cosmetics is to compare the advertisements in a conservative periodical at the beginning of the decade with those at the end. Although the June 1919 issue of the Ladies’ Home Journal contained four advertisements which listed rouge among their products, only one of them commented on its inclusion, and this referred to its rouge as one that was “imperceptible if properly applied”. In those days the woman who used rouge – at least in the circles in which the Journal was read – wished to disguise the fact……In the June 1929 issue, exactly ten years later, the Journal permitted a lipstick to be advertised with the comment, “It’s comforting to know that the alluring note of scarlet will stay with you for hours.”’

Wednesday 17 October 2007

The Cricket Ball and Miss Stone

The story of Miss Stone is very interesting, she was unlucky to be hit on the head by a cricket ball that was hit 'out of the ground.'

Here it is from 'The Encyclopaedia of Cricket' by Maurice Golesworthy.

"One of the most interesting Law cases involving cricket was that which arose out of an injury sustained by Miss Bessie Stone, of Cheetham, Lancashire.
This lady was struck on the head by a ball hit out of the Cheetham Cricket Ground and she sued the club.

At Manchester Assizes in 1948 Mr. Justice Oliver found in favour of the club but Miss Stone appealed against this decision and had the verdict reversed, being awarded damages of £104 19s 6d. and costs amounting to £449.

By this time the case had attracted the attention of every cricket club in the country. The decision of the Court of Appeal could have a far reaching effect and so it was decided by the M.C.C. (Marylebone Cricket Club) and the National Cricket Club Association that the matter should not be allowed to rest. So, in May 1951, a further appeal came before the House of Lords. Fortunately for cricket the Lordships reversed the decision once again and awarded the Cheetham Club costs against Miss Stone amounting to £2,000.

Because it was felt that this case was so important to the welfare of all clubs the M.C.C. and the National Cricket Club Association got together and paid Miss Stone’s costs."

Monday 15 October 2007

Election votes.

In 1928, Liberian President Charles King put himself up for re-election. He was returned to power with an officially stated majority of 600,000 votes.

King’s opponent in the election was Thomas Faulkner, who later claimed that the election had been rigged. When Faulkner was asked to substantiate his claims, he pointed out that it was impossible for King to win with a 600,000 majority when the electorate was less than 15,000.

Tuesday 9 October 2007

Nicholas Cugnot - The First Car and the First Accident.

The first steam powered vehicle was built by the French military engineer, Nicholas Cugnot in 1769. This 3-wheeled steam machine ran for only 15 minutes and at the end of that short space of time, Cugnot became the world’s first car crash victim. Unfortunately he drove the vehicle into a brick wall.

Cugnot was however not badly hurt and not at all disheartened. He worked on the vehicle, improved the steering and the braking system until it was capable of carrying four people at two miles an hour. He won a contract from the French War Ministry to build a much larger vehicle as a military carrier.

But Cugnot’s road tests of his vehicle proved so dangerous to life and limb that, after several further crashes, he became the first man to be jailed for dangerous driving.

His military vehicle was never put into service, and in 1804 he died in obscurity.

Tuesday 2 October 2007

Cricketers Last Stand

I love stories about Cricket. This one appeared in a national newspaper, I cut it out years ago but I did not keep a record of the date.

"Stumped by Yorkshiremen who made a triumph out of nowt.

Custer, in his darkest hour, could have done with them.

A dogged last stand to two village cricketers had record-keepers thumbing through Wisden, and even the opposition had to admire the Yorkshire grit shown by Norman Pipes, 44, and Sam Armitage, 45.

When the two came together for the last wicket, their team had collapsed to 17 for 9. Defeat seemed minutes away for Crayke in their York and District League match against Hovingham. But the partners held out for the remaining 35 overs – without scoring a single run. In the end Crayke reached 36, courtesy of 19 extras, to earn a draw. Geoffrey Boycott would have approved.

Mr Pipes’s brother Michael, playing for Hovingham, who had made 165, said: “You can imagine how frustrating it was. But you have to take your cap off to Norman and Sam. That was some defending. They were the men of the match.”"

Monday 1 October 2007

Duelling

This fasinating little article on Duelling came from Christopher Duffy's book, 'The Army of Frederick the Great."

"Duels in the Prussian Army at the time of Frederick the Great were serious affairs. A typically bloody set-to was staged in August 1762 when Lieutenant-General v. Platen and the quarrelsome Major-General v. Meier hacked each other about messily in the head. General v. Hulsen stepped in to break up the fight and received a stab wound for his pains.

Sometimes the formalities were dispensed with altogether. Thus in January 1746 Major v. Chazot of the Bayreuth Dragoons found himself fighting for his life against Bronikowsky, an officer whom he had once had occasion to reprimand. Chazot was able to draw his sword before he could come to serious harm and

“Now the battle took a more favourable turn, and with one of my cuts. I slashed the eguillettes from his uniform. So they were scatted around the room in shreds. Since he was bigger than I was, and considered himself more powerful, my real aim was to disarm him.
I drove him across the room as far as the stove, where I intended to snatch his sword, but I lost my footing and a major blow in the right arm which bit to the bone. The pain of my wound increased my violence, and I was unlucky enough to give him a cut which split his skull. He collapsed on the floor just in front of the door where he had first attacked me.”

Bronikowsky died of the wound, and Chazot was sentenced to one year’s fortress arrest in Spandau, of which he served only a few weeks."
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