Tag: video

On This Day 53 Years Ago – Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space!

On: By: Philip Wake
On 16 June 1963 Valentina Tereshkova piloted Vostok 6 and became the first woman in space! In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Valentina was honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force so she also became the first civilian to fly in space. Featured Image   Read more [...]

On This Day 50 Years Ago – the hovercraft was the most quickly progressed invention of modern science!

On: By: Philip Wake
On 15th June 1966, at the Browndown Hovershow on the Solent, Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten said: "No invention of modern science has progressed anything like so quickly as the hovercraft!" It was patented in 1956, the first experimental one was launched on 11th June 1959 and only 7 years later the hovercraft was being promoted by the Ministry of Defence for the export market! Only 10 years since the hovercraft was invented a show attended by military from all over the Read more [...]

On This Day 81 Years Ago – Ella Fitzgerald the Queen of Jazz made her first recording!

On: By: Philip Wake
On 12th June 1935 Ella Fitzgerald at the tender age of 17 made her first recording of "Love and Kisses" and "I'll Chase the Blues Away"  in the 78 rpm gramophone record format. Both songs became big hits and set her off on a road to everlasting glory as the Queen of Jazz! Only two other queens reigned for more than 60 years and they were Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Jump to 0:58 to hear Ella singing!   Read more [...]

On This Day 57 Years Ago – Is it a boat, is it a plane, no it’s a flying saucer!

On: By: Philip Wake
On 11th June 1959 a revolutionary new form of transport which can operate on sea and land is officially launched in the Solent off the south coast of England! The hovercraft, can be described as a cross between an aircraft, a boat and a bus which marks a new era in passenger travel by sea. Dubbed a man-made flying saucer, the hovercraft is propelled on a cushion of air created by its own fan power which means it hovers just above the waves at sea and avoids any irregular surfaces on land. The Read more [...]

On This Day 18 Years Ago – Beatles re-unite in memory of Linda McCartney

On: By: Philip Wake
On 8th June 1998 the three surviving members of the Beatles re-unite for the Memorial Service for Paul's late wife Linda who died from breast cancer earlier in that year on 17th April at the age of 56. Many other stars turn out to pay tribute to Linda including Elton John, Spike Milligan, Joanna Lumley, Pete Townshend and Sting. Linda & Paul both became outspoken vegetarian and animal rights activists. They lent their support to many organisations such as People for the Ethical Treatment Read more [...]

On This Day 60 years ago – Elvis Presley Scandalised Audiences with Suggestive Hip Gyrations

On: By: Philip Wake
On 5th June 1956 Elvis Presley introduces his new single Hound Dog on the Milton Berle Show. and scandalized the audience with his suggestive hip gyrations. Mr Teenager's sexually-charged rendition of Hound Dog that evening lead to a virulent condemnation from the press and the pulpit which pushed Elvis to the forefront in the cultural battle for the hearts of minds of teenagers in the mid-fifties! Read more about the genial genius with the gyrating gonads who started a teenage revolution at elvis-history-blog.com. Read more [...]

On This Day 76 Years Ago: Churchill Said: “We shall fight on the beaches!”

On: By: Philip Wake
On 4th June 1940 the Dunkirk evacuation was completed with over 338,000 troops rescued to fight another day and Winston Churchill made his famous "We shall fight on the beaches!" speech. Mr Churchill tempered his admiration for the success of Operation Dynamo with these words: "Wars are not won by evacuations". "There is no doubt in my mind that the last few weeks have been a colossal military disaster." "The British Expeditionary Force had to leave behind all its heavy armour and Read more [...]

On This Day 63 Years Ago – Elizabeth Crowned Queen of England

On: By: Philip Wake
On 2nd June 1953 Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England in a ceremony in Westminster Abbey in London! In front of more than 8,000 guests, including prime ministers and heads of state from around the Commonwealth, she took the Coronation Oath and is now bound to serve her people and to maintain the laws agreed in parliament. After being handed the four symbols of authority - the orb, the sceptre, the rod of mercy and the royal ring of sapphire and rubies - the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Read more [...]

On This Day 157 Years ago – Big Ben Rings Out over London for the First Time

On: By: Philip Wake
On 31st May 1859 the famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high St Stephen's Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament (aka the Palace of Westminster) in London, for the first time! The tower was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to honour the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration. After a fire destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster – the headquarters of the British Parliament – in October 1834, a standout feature of the design for the new palace Read more [...]

On This Day 66 Years Ago – Frank Sinatra Appears in the TV Film The Star-Spangled Revue

On: By: Philip Wake
On 27th May 1950 Frank Sinatra made his TV debut on NBC in the TV Film Star-Spangled Review staring Bob Hope He went on to be one of the most successful and recognizable figures in music history! 1950 was a good year for Frank Sinatra: he was still married to the love of his life Ava Gardner and he made his first visit to the UK! In July, Frank topped a variety bill at the London Palladium, two performances each night, with matinees twice a week. Also billed were Wilson, Keppel and Betty Read more [...]

Diary: Thursday 19th May 2016

On: By: Philip Wake
Dancing at Drift tonight was great upstairs once it got started - had lots of lovely salsa & bachata dances and even a merengue & a kizomba! Stayed until 1am but then decided I need all my energy for Friday night at El Grande until 3am at least! It's been a busy day but very productive having now got my new blog site www.wake.co.uk going well including the facility for people to connect via facebook for making comments and sharing on facebook & other Read more [...]