Friday July 13th, 1792
PARIS, July 5th. This empire is completely unhinged; whatever the law commands is not executed; whatever reason and the law forbids is sure to happen. Above forty thousand armed men are, at this moment, marching up to the capital to assist at the anniversary ceremony of 14th July, in consequence of a decree of the National Assembly, not sanctioned by the King, and consequently not a law. The demon of civil war is hovering over Paris! Thousands, without exaggeration, have already quitted Paris; thousands are preparing to leave it, apprehensive of finding themselves in a scene of riot, perhaps in a scene of blood. The Mayor of Paris has covered the walls of the capital with advertisements of various colours. He tells the people to be upon their guard, and to beware of what will probably take place before the 10th instant.
Friday July 11th, 1817
REV MR MILNE, in a report to the Missionary Society of China, says, “We want fifty millions of New Testaments for China; and after that only about one sixth of the population would be supplied. I would ask no higher honour on earth than to distribute the said number.” Now, if Mr Milne should now begin his work, and distribute ten each hour during ten hours per day he would end his labours on the 27th day of January in the year of our Lord 3111, at one o’clock in the afternoon.
Friday July 12th, 1867
THE FACT that only a month remains of the usual period of the Parliamentary session is inducing a more rapid progress with the Reform Bill than would otherwise have been likely to be attained. Experience suggests that this alacrity is due rather to the feeling with which some persons hastily gulp a dose of medicine than to love of the work. But the nation will care little for this, and the certainty that the re-distribution scheme is as good as can be got out of the present House of Commons, reconciles us to the haste with which the bill is now being passed through. committee.
Friday July 13th, 1917
A FOURTH aeroplane raid on London took place on Saturday, when a squadron of about twenty enemy machines attacked the capital. A number of bombs were dropped, both on London and the Isle of Thanet, but the casualties were comparatively light. The casualties were – London – 34 killed, 139 injured; Isle of Thanet – 3 killed, 2 injured. One of the outstanding features of the raid was the low altitude at which the raiders flew and the deliberate manner in which they hovered over the city. Although they appeared to be immune from our gunfire, they did not escape altogether, for the Royal Flying Corps brought one of them down off the mouth of the Thames, and three others were accounted for by the Royal Naval Air Service after a chase of forty miles.
Friday July 15th, 1977
CHILDREN who ride their bikes along the footpaths in Bayston Hill could soon cause a fatal accident, it was claimed this week. There have already been minor accidents, but parish councillor Colin Jones said at this week’s meeting that it was only a matter of time before somebody was killed. He told other councillors that the youngsters rode their machines far too fast. “Their speed is absolutely reckless – they take no account of pedestrians or anything else,” he said. Councillor Jones said that a pensioner returning from the shops had been knocked down by two youths on bicycles who did not even stop to see if she was all right. “Some of them do not seem to care about pedestrians or cars coming out of drives. I am not saying I want them banned from the footpaths because I realise it is possibly dangerous for them to ride along the road. But I am asking for them to show more care and manners.”
Thursday July 16th, 1992
SHREWSBURY is “dying a death”, says a former Frankwell shopkeeper who has moved her business to Much Wenlock. Florist Mrs Avril Middleton-Evans, of the Flower Basket, has no regrets about leaving the county capital for the smaller town. She believes Shrewsbury is becoming much less attractive for shopping because of car parking and traffic congestion. And she foresees the day when parts of the shopping centre of Shrewsbury could be boarded up “like some American towns”. “We chose Much Wenlock because Shrewsbury is dying a death,” she said. “The new bypass will not ease traffic congestion in the town centre. So long as you can park in the street, places like Wenlock will have the advantage.”
Thursday July 12th, 2007
EXCITED Gary Peters sends his Shrewsbury side into action at the club’s new stadium for the first time on Saturday insisting that 10,000 all-seater stadium has proved well worth the wait. Peters is all too aware how long chairman Roland Wycherley has spent working towards this weekend becoming a reality, with the Town boss stressing the finished article is even better than he thought it would be. “It’s been a long time coming – 11 years the chairman’s been cracking on with it – and I’m delighted to be in charge of the team who are going to play there,” said Peters ahead of Saturday’s opening friendly with the A-line All Stars. “I think everyone would say the stadium is better than they expected, but the chairman has been relentless, and the quality of the stadium is excellent.”