Observances
The End of the Battle of Britain
The Battle
of Britain is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the
German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and
autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain air superiority over
the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially Fighter Command. The Battle of Britain
was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces,and was also
the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date.
Birthdays
Richard
Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 1751 – 7 July 1816) was an Irish-born
playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury
Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of
Commons for Stafford (1780–1806), Westminster (1806–1807) and Ilchester
(1807–1812). Such was the esteem he was held in by his contemporaries when he
died that he was buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. He is known for
his plays such as The Rivals, The School for Scandal and A Trip to Scarborough
Chris Slade
(born Christopher Rees, 30 October 1946, Pontypridd, Glamorgan, South Wales) is
a Welsh rock drummer. Slade has worked with Gary Numan, Tom Jones, Olivia
Newton-John (as co-members of the band Toomorrow), and Uriah Heep. He was a
member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band from 1972 to 1978. In the early 1980s,
Slade played with Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page in The Firm. He has played with
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Gary Moore on his 1989 world tour. Slade
probably received his highest exposure in 1989 when he was asked to join the
Australian hard rock Band AC/DC after their then-drummer Simon Wright had
departed. AC/DC were signed to the same management company as Gary Moore who
Slade had just finished touring with
Gavin
McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English musician, known as the
lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush as well as an actor.
Following Bush's separation in 2002, which lasted for eight years, he was the
lead singer and guitarist for Institute, and later began a solo career. When
performing solo, Gavin plays songs from his extensive musical libraries.
Rossdale is married to fellow musician Gwen Stefani
Vanessa
Karen White (born 30 October 1989) is an English pop singer and songwriter. She
rose to fame in 2008 as a member of English-Irish girl group The Saturdays. She
is the youngest member of the band
Essential Facts about RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN:
ReplyDeleteSheridan was practically born into the theater. His father, Thomas, was an actor-manager at the Theatre Royal in Dublin.
Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals almost did not become the classic it is regarded as today. Its first performance was disastrous, but when one of the key roles was recast, the play was a success.
Like his father, Sheridan was also interested in the business aspect of theater (and the money that came with it). In addition to his playwriting, Sheridan was a shareholder in the Drury Lane Theatre.
Another of Sheridan’s famous plays, The Critic, was not entirely original. It is based on The Rehearsal, a Restoration-era piece.
Sheridan was highly active in politics. On the heels of his most famous plays, Sheridan served in Parliament for nearly three decades.
Operation Hurricane: 1952. This was the first British nuclear test. The device tested was a plutonium implosion bomb similar to the Fat Man, but improved by using a levitated pit. The bomb used plutonium produced at Windscale (now Sellafield) with a low Pu-240 content since hurried production led to short irradiation times. To test the effects of a ship-smuggled bomb (a threat of great concern to the British at the time), Hurricane was exploded inside the hull of the HMS Plym which was anchored in 40 feet of water 400 yards off shore. The explosion occured 2.7 m below the water line, and left a saucer-shaped crater on the seabed 20 feet deep and 1,000 feet across. This crater can still be seen today on the echo sounder when the boat is driven over the exact spot.
ReplyDeleteOn October 30, 1811 Jane Austen's first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published. Promotional advertisements called it a "New" or "Extraordinary" or "Interesting" novel, which in the jargon of the day indicated a love story. Its anonymous author was given as "a Lady" or "Lady___" for reasons of privacy, but also to add romantic allure. Approaching the novel more or less as told, early reviewers found it to be "a genteel, well-written novel" as far as "domestic literature" went, and "just long enough to interest without fatiguing."
ReplyDeleteThe Saturday’s most impressive vocal performer, Vanessa has had some serious training for the job. Born in Yeovil, she longed to perform and would travel down to London every weekend to attend classes at the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School. She was offered a full time place when she was five, and her family subsequently relocated to Stratford in London.
ReplyDeleteVanessa applied for the BRIT School, but was turned down. That didn’t stop this little pop trouper though, and Vanessa went on to bag some high profile parts in top London West End productions including The Lion King and The King and I.
Star Facts:
- Vanessa was accepted into the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School
- Prior to The Saturdays she starred in hit west end musical The Lion King and The King and I
- Vanessa has appeared on the TV talent show Popstar to Operastar
- Her vocal range has been compared to that of Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys