Saturday 4th August 2012 From Me To You

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La Tomatina

Amongst the many crazy festivals that take place all over Spain the tomato fight in Bunyol near Valencia is one that has caught the attention of travellers. At the end of August every year thousands of people swarm into this little Valencian town intent on taking part in the world’s biggest tomato fight. The action begins at 11am as the first lorry load of overly ripe tomatoes are unloaded onto the street then for two hours everyone throws them at each other.

In the 1400′s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
Hence we have ‘the rule of thumb’

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Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented.
It was ruled ‘Gentlemen Only…Ladies Forbidden’.. .
and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.

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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone

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Coca-Cola was originally green.

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It is impossible to lick your elbow.

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The cost of raising a medium-size dog
to the age of eleven:
£ 10,120.00

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The first novel ever
written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.

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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents
a great king from history:

Spades – King David

Hearts – Charlemagne

Clubs -Alexander, the Great

Diamonds – Julius Caesar

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111,111,111 x
111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321

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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died
of natural causes

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Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter ‘A’?

A. One thousand

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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?

A. All were invented by women.

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Q.. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?

A. Honey

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In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened,
making the bed firmer to sleep on.
Hence the phrase…’Goodnight , sleep tight’

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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts….
So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down. It’s where we get the phrase:                               ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’

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Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’
is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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At least 75% of people who read this will try to
lick their elbow!

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Don’t delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not,
you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the
first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This
is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by

istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

1735 – Freedom of the press was established with an acquittal of John Peter Zenger. The writer of the New York Weekly Journal had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. The jury said that “the truth is not libellous.”  Fair enough

1753 – George Washington became a Master Mason. All rise

1914 – Britain declared war on Germany in World War I. The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality.Britain was tied in by treaties

1922 – The death of Alexander Graham Bell, two days earlier, was recognized by AT&T and the Bell Systems by shutting down all of its switchboards and switching stations. The shutdown affected 13 million phones. A fitting tribute

1944 – Nazi police raided a house in Amsterdam and arrested eight people. Anne Frank, a teenager at the time, was one of the people arrested. Her diary would be published after her death. An interesting tale

1949 – An earthquake in Ecuador destroyed 50 towns and killed more than 6000 people.Dreadful

1954 – The uranium rush began in Saskatchewan, Canada. I’d never heard of this

1957 – Florence Chadwick set a world record by swimming the English Channel in 6 hours and 7 minutes. I’ll bet she was tired

1957 – Juan Fangio won his final auto race and captured the world auto driving championship. It was his the fifth consecutive year to win. Bearing in mind the popularity of Stirling Moss who never won the title

1958 – Billboard Magazine introduced its “Hot 100″ chart, which was part popularity and a barometer of the movement of potential hits. The first number one song was Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.” This appears on today’s podcast

1972 – Arthur Bremer was found guilty of shooting George Wallace, the governor of Alabama. Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison.

1983 – New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for “causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.”  Seagulls can be very aggressive

1984 – Carl Lewis won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics. Great athlete

1987 – The Fairness Doctrine was rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission. The doctrine had required that radio and TV stations present controversial issues in a balanced fashion. Who decides the balance is right?

1989 – Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani offered to assist end the hostage crisis in Lebanon. Good

1990 – The European Community imposed an embargo on oil from Iraq and Kuwait. This was done to protest the Iraqi invasion of the oil-rich Kuwait. It was justified

1991 – The Oceanos, a Greek luxury liner, sank off of South Africa’s southeast coast. All of the 402 passengers and 179 crewmembers survived. Good

1993 – Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell, Los Angeles police officers were sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Rodney King’s civil rights.Good

1994 – Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs. The border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia was sealed. A very turbulent area

1996 – Josia Thugwane won a gold medal after finishing first in the marathon. He became the first black South African to win a gold medal. Brilliant

1997 – Teamsters began a 15-day strike against UPS (United Parcel Service). The strikers eventually won an increase in full-time positions and defeated a proposed reorganization of the companies pension plan. Probably links to today’s problems

2009 – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardoned two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year. I suppose it will try to recall the favour

1958, Billboard introduced ‘The Hot 100 Singles Chart’, Ricky Nelson was at No.1 with ‘Poor Little Fool’.This is a nice song

1962, The Rolling Stones played the first of 22 weekly shows at Ealing Jazz Club in Ealing, London. They were known as The Rollin’ Stones during this period. What’s an apostrophe between friends?

. 1963, UK music weekly The NME reported that The Beatles could score their first US hit with ‘From Me To You’ as the single was ‘bubbling under’ on the charts at No.116…..a very exciting time
1963, The Beatles appeared at the Queen’s Theatre in Blackpool. So many fans crowded around the theatre, blocking every entrance, that The Beatles had to go through a construction area, up and across some scaffolding to the roof of the theatre, from where they were lowered through a trap door.That’s rock n roll

1966, The Troggs were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘With A Girl Like You’, the group’s only UK No.1 single.Yet it wasn’t as good as Wild Thing

1967, A female Monkees fan stowed away on the bands plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl’s father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines. How could you blame Monkees?
1968, The second day of the two day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California with Blue Cheer, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Grateful Dead, Illinois Speed Press, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Byrds. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.What a gig

1975, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and his wife were both badly injured when the hire car he was driving spun off the road and crashed on the Greek island of Rhodes. Plant smashed both his ankle and his elbow, and was not fully fit for the best part of two years. A forthcoming North American tour had to be cancelled. This was news to me

1984, Prince started a 24 week run at the top of the US album charts with ‘Purple Rain’, it went on to sell over 10 million copies. Good money

1990, During a US tour Janet Jackson collapsed on stage at a show in St Louis, suffering from an inner ear infection. Good performer
1990, Mariah Carey’s started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Vision Of Love’, her debut release. A No.9 hit in the UK. Wonderful singer
1996, Oasis played two sold out nights at Balloch Castle Country Park, Loch Lomand, Scotland to over 80,000 fans. Oasis roadie James Hunter was crushed to death between a fork-lift truck and a lorry during the bands two days shows. Tragic event

2000, Craig David scored his second UK No.1 single with ’7 Days’. At the age of 19, he became the youngest male artist to score two No.1s since Donny Osmond in 1973.Fabulous song

2001, Dave Stewart married fashion photographer Anouska Fisz on a private beach on the French Riviera. Guest’s included Elton John, Mick Jagger, Oasis boys Liam and Noel Gallagher and his former Eurythmics partner Annie Lennox. Good luck to them
2001, The News Of The World reported that Mariah Carey had hired a private eye to spy on her ex husband, record boss Tommy Mottola. Investigator Jack Palladino told the paper that Mariah believed her ex husband was conducting a smear campaign against the singer. Early hacking?
2002, Former Pop Idol contestant Darius started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Colourblind.’ This was a nice song
2002, Toby Keith was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Unleashed.Good country music

’ 2005, American blues singer and guitarist Little Milton died. Milton had suffered a brain aneurysm on 25th July 2005 and had lapsed into a coma. He signed to Sun records in 1953 and had the 1965 US No.25 single ‘We’re Gonna Make It’. He was a great soul singer

2007, US singer, songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer, in his home near Las Vegas aged 78. Hazlewood wrote and produced many of Nancy Sinatra’s most famous hits, including These Boots Were Made For Walkin’, Jackson and Did You Ever? He also produced Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons and Something Stupid – the duet Nancy recorded with her father Frank in 1967. He was a very talented man and I think he might have lived in Spain at some time

Born on this day

1901,  Louis Armstrong, singer, bandleader, trumpet. Had many hits including the 1964 US No.1 ‘Hello Dolly!’, 1968 UK No.1 ‘What A Wonderful World’ plus ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’, and ‘We Have All the Time in the World.’ Died 6th July 1971.
1936,  Elsberry Hobbs, The Drifters, (1960 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’).

1940,  Frankie Ford, (1959 US No.14 single ‘Sea Cruise’).

1940, Larry Knechtel, guitar, Keyboards, Bread, (1970 US No.1 & UK No.5 single ‘Make It With You’). Died on 24th Dec 2009.

1943,  David Carr, keyboards, The Fortunes, (1965 UK No.2 & US No.7 single ‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’)

1947,  Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, German instrumental group, (1974 UK No.15 album ‘Phaedra’).

1947, Paul Layton, The New Seekers, (1972 UK No.1 single ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’).

1951, Roy Flowers, Sweet Sensation, (1974 UK No.1 single with ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’).

Born on this day