Previously on this day

In 1991 at London’s Hyde Park, Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti gave a massive free concert in to celebrate 30 years in opera. A huge crowd of one hundred thousand people turned up to watch Pavarotti sign 20 arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and Wagner.

The event at Hyde Park was the biggest since the Rolling Stones performed there in 1969.

I am not the biggest opera fan, however I did go to Opera in the Park last weekend with my boyfriend and his family. The weather wasn’t amazing and we had a bit of drizzle, but this did not put us off because we had huge golf umbrellas which we sat under and it was nice and cosy!

I would recommend going to an opera concert because you have to try something different every now and again and this is very cultured.

Share this page

On this day, 18th July 1990: Two English teenagers were held in Thailand over drugs. The two girls were called Patricia Cahill, 17, and Karen Smith, 18, they were from the Midlands and they were arrested for drug smuggling in Thailand.

The girls were arrested at Bangkok airport whilst trying to board a flight to Amsterdam. They had nearly 70lb (32kg) of powdered heroin with a street value of about £4m hidden in shampoo bottles and coffee and biscuit tins. The girls claim they did not know what was in the containers, given to them by a third person.

The girls dad said he did not even know his daughter had left the country. Patrick Cahill thought she was holidaying in Scotland. He said that Patricia was “dead against drugs, she was dead against abortions and things like that.”

Share this page

I am not a religious person, I have not been baptised and I do not go to church. Therefore it baffles me that there are still old fashioned and unrealistic people in the world who still live in the stone ages.

Take for example Pope Paul VI; in July 1968 a church commission recommended that the church lift the ban in the use of contraceptives by Roman Catholics.

However, Pope Paul said if the Roman Catholic Church were to permit the use of birth control “a wide and easy road” to conjugal infidelity would be opened up. WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH!

The majority of the church members stated it was time for the Church to face the realities of the modern world. Women are free to make their own decision and should not be held back by old fashioned men of the church. It makes me VERY angry that a group of men should think of themselves so highly that they can dictate how a woman should lead her life.

Share this page

On the 21st July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. When Neil first landed on the moon he is quoted as saying: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” He said the Eagle has landed because the space craft they travelled in was called the Eagle.

The most famous saying from Neil Armstong being on the moon is when he first stepped down on to the moon, he declared: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The activity on the moon was captured by TV cameras which were installed on the Eagle and turned on by Neil Armstrong once they landed. When he was on the moon Neil Armstrong took photographs and soil samples, he was then joined by his partner Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin the two collected data and jumped across the landscape, finally they planted the American Stars and Stripes flag and unveiled a plaque which read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind.”

Share this page

What happened on this day in history?

There are many, many websites online which tell you what happened on this day in history. The best one of these that I have found is the BBC Website - On This Day.

The BBC website allows you to choose which date you would like to view in history from a drop down and then it gives you the option to view all the articles from that day in history.

It is my birthday on the 23rd March 1984, I was born at 6am in the morning, the year I was born, Torvill and Dean won the ice skating Olympics. Since then they have been hosting on Dancing on Ice - they are still good. However, it is a mystery to me as to why Torvill always wears long skirts rather than wearing the short ones?

Share this page

On this day in history, in 1985 Live Aid raised millions for starving children in Africa.

In my opinion, I am fairly generous, I wouldn’t say I am the most charitable person in the world, I have bought a Big Issue once. However, I am no where near as selfless as Bob Geldof.

Bob Geldof decided to organise the rock festival in order to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Wembly stadium was packed out and TV cameras were there to film the rock concert. Different stars and celebrities were even flown in by helicopter including Status Quo and David Bowie.

Nine months after the droughts, disease and famine in north eastern Africa were brought to the media’s attention the UN has warned that 160m people are still affected.

Since the event the governments have begun a global relief operation however issues are still present in some of the problem areas such as Sudan and Ethiopia.

Share this page