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Category Archives: News
Humorous Review of 1919
Snippets 212. Exactly one hundred years ago today, on 1st January 1920, the West Sussex Gazette carried a very tongue-in-cheek look back on previous year, titled “Humorous Review of the Year 1919”. The following are the highlights of this amusing … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Britain, History, Humor, Humour, News, Newspapers, Snippets
Tagged Lord Northcliffe, West Sussex Gazette, World War I, WWI
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Fish Tank on the Head
Quick Quotes 31. The following quote is taken from the John O’Groat Journal, from 19th April 1877. The journal is re-reporting an article taken from the New York Times, as was commonplace for local newspapers at the time to bulk … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, History, Humor, Humour, News, Newspapers, People, Quick Quotes, Travel, USA
Tagged John O'Groat Journal, New York Times
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Midhurst Local Issues, 1908
The following quote is taken from the Bognor Regis Observer, 16th September 1908, and features three small pieces of news relating to Midhurst: Workhouse Struck by Lightning. At the last meeting of the Midhurst Guardians it was reported that the … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Britain, England, History, Local History, News, Newspapers
Tagged Midhurst, Workhouses
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Midhurst: Rotten Borough?
The Reform Act of 1832 disenfranchised 57 “rotten” boroughs, areas of the country sending members to parliament despite very small populations. The most notorious of these was Old Sarum, a constituency of just seven voters that was responsible for the … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, England, History, Local History, News, Newspapers, People
Tagged Charles James Fox, Midhurst, Politics, Reform Act 1832, Rotten Boroughs
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Fire in the Theatre
Snippets 198. The life of a theatre actor is an interesting one. Unlike television there are no re-takes. If anything goes wrong, an actor has to work with it, and improvise very quickly if necessary. However, sometimes improvisation skills are … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, History, Humor, Humour, News, Newspapers, Snippets
Tagged Florence, Milan, Niccolina Theatre, Othello, Theatre
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The Bottomless Tram
Quick Quotes 25. The following quote is from a newspaper report in the Western Morning News, from 14th December 1898: Between nine and ten o’clock last evening a very usual and rather alarming mishap occurred in Devonport. As a tramcar was … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, History, News, Newspapers, Quick Quotes, Travel
Tagged Accidents, Devonport, Trams
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Missing Mail in 1862
Snippets 196. In the mid 19th Century the postal service in Britain was not exactly in its infancy, but was certainly undergoing a rapid programme of modernisation. The Penny Black was introduced in 1840 and the first post boxes started … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, Crime, History, Humor, Humour, News, Newspapers, Snippets
Tagged Royal Mail
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Hot Air Balloon Crash
Snippets 194. The Crystal Palace was a famous London landmark, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. After the Exhibition it was relocated from Hyde Park to Penge Common, where it stood until it was destroyed by fire in 1936. … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century, Britain, England, History, London, News, Newspapers, Snippets
Tagged Accidents, Crystal Palace, Hot Air Balloons
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The Early Cinema Queuing Nuisance
Snippets 193. Looking at old newspaper articles, one thing that is often quite striking is how much resistance can be found to an idea that we now consider commonplace, but was unusual at the time. One such example comes from … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Britain, History, Law, Magazines, News, Newspapers, Snippets
Tagged Bioscope, Cinema, Manchester, Theatre Reform League
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Early Closing at 7pm? No thanks.
There is much of interest to be found by trawling through the pages of old local newspapers. On 7th October 1908, the Bognor Regis Observer carried a report about the popularity of the Women’s Suffrage movement in Midhurst, West Sussex: … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Britain, Crime, England, History, Humor, Humour, Local History, News, Newspapers
Tagged Midhurst, Suffrage
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Windows into History 