The Anglo-Irish Agreement - 30 Years On.

Margaret Thatcher

It was 30 years ago today (15th November 1985), the Anglo-Irish agreement was signed which gave Dublin a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland for the first time in over 60 years. The British Prime Minister at the time Margaret Thatcher considered it a pathway to bringing an end to violence in the province.

Garrett FitzGerald

Signed by Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garrett FitzGerald at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, it set up a framework for consultation between both governments to discuss matters pertaining to and within Northern Ireland. 

The agreement was bitterly opposed by the Unionists, whose MPs all resigned their seats at Westminster as a protest. It was also rejected by the Republican faction because of its confirmation of Northern Ireland’s continuing status as part of the UK.

In the short-term it failed to bring about a relief to the political violence in the province. However over a period of time it did bring about improvements in relations between the British and Irish governments, becoming a stepping-stone to the Good Friday Agreement 13 years later.

George Bernard Shaw

Shaw in 1936

Monday 2^nd November 2015 sees the 65^th anniversary of the death of Irish playwright and literary critic, George Bernard Shaw.

Best remembered for Pygmalion (the story of which became the musical My Fair Lady) and Major Barbara, he penned in excess of 60 plays, ranging from purely satirical works to historical allegory pieces. He became arguably, the most important English language playwright since the 17^th Century.

Born in Dublin in 1856, he won the 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature along with an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Pygmalion) 13 years later. He refused all other offers of awards including that of a Knighthood.

He was also one of the founders of the London School of Economics in 1895 when he and fellow Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb and Graham Wallas set up the institution for what they considered to be the “betterment of society” (the Fabian Society itself was set up by the Webbs, HG Wells and GBS, being a group promoting non-Marxist evolutionary socialism).

Frontage of Shaw's Corner

He died at the grand age of 94 of renal failure, brought about from injuries received after falling when attempting to prune a tree. 

His home, now called Shaw's Corner in the small village of Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, close to Harpenden and Welwyn Garden City, is now a National Trust property and well worth a visit.

Goodbye Sir!

I was sad to read in today’s paper of the death of actor Richard Davies (pictured right, with co-star John Alderton).

For anyone like me who is something of a connoisseur (or should that be an anorak) of 60s, 70s and 80s TV shows and sitcoms, Davies is best remembered as Mr Price, the Welsh Science teacher in London Weekend TV’s Please Sir, which initially aired in the late 60s to early 70s.

Starring such infamous sitcom actors as John Alderton, Deryck Guyler and Joan Sanderson, Please Sir was based at a fictional school in London’s Fenn Street and it took in the antics of both teachers and pupils in the school. It ran on TV for 55 episodes, spinning off into a separate sitcom called the Fenn Street Gang. The original show also found its way on to the big screen in 1971.

Initially from Merthyr Tydfill, Richard Davies went down the pit at the age of 14 and when training to join the military police in the 2^nd World War, was moved into an entertainment unit.

He was a regular visitor to our TV screens over the years appearing in favourite shows such as Coronation Street, Fawlty Towers, 2 Point 4 Children and Oh No, it’s Selwyn Froggitt. He is also fondly remembered for his role of Private Jones in the silver screen blockbuster Zulu.

In recent years he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and passed away aged 89, survived by his wife and 3 children.

Did you know?

1. Peter Cleall, who played student Eric Duffy in the original Please Sir sitcom is now 71 years old. That is just 3 years younger than John Alderton, who played Bernard Hedges, the teacher of class 5C, who is now 74.

2. David Barry, who played the self styled gum chewing tough guy Frankie Abbott, who was really something of a “mummy’s boy”, is now a successful author of numerous novels such as Each Man Kills, Flashback and Willie The Actor (click here for link to David's Amazon page).

Britain's First Lady Newsreader

When you think of British female newsreaders on TV, you immediately remember Angela Rippon, Anna Ford and Jan Leeming. But the first ever lady newsreader on British screens was Barbara Mandell, who presented the midday news on the newly launched Independent Television back in 1955.

Along with Barbara Mandell, who presented the lunchtime bulletin, former Olympic runner Christopher Chataway and news legend Robin Day were selected by ITN Editor Aidan Crawley from over 150 candidates, to front the news coverage for the newly licensed station. 

It was 60 years ago, on 23^rd September 1955, the day after the launch of independent, commercial television, that she made her first broadcast. ITV had decided upon a different form of news coverage to the established BBC output, fronting the bulletin with an actual newscaster as opposed to the Corporation’s continued use of newsreel with a voiceover. 

Barbara Mandell was born in London in July 1920, but relocated, as a 4 year old, to South Africa, where her father was deputy editor for the anti-apartheid Rand Daily Mail. She followed her father into journalism, initially working for the same newspaper, moving on to work for the South African Broadcasting Company. After a short period in the US, she returned to her native UK where she was employed as a news editor by the BBC. In 1955 she switched over to independent, commercial TV.

Her tenure on the lunchtime news only lasted a few months however as ITV was initially beset with financial problem and it wasn’t long before the mid-day news bulletin was dropped. She stayed there throughout the 1950s working as a reporter and occasionally fronting weekend news bulletins. Later she moved to working behind the scenes and retired from ITN in 1980. 

After moving to Luxembourg and writing travel books, she later returned to the UK and passed away in 1998. 

Did you know?

The first female BBC newsreader was Nan Winton who started reading the news in 1960, while in Ireland, the first RTE newsreader was Geraldine McInerney, who was not seen on screen until as late as 1975.

Today's the Day

Due to pressure of other work, the Today's the Day posts are taking a rest for the time being. Many thanks for reading.

Uncle Tatty will return with other articles soon - watch this space.

Today's the Day - 21st August

• 250 years ago: King William IV was born on this day in 1765. Born at Buckingham Palace, he ascended the throne in 1830 at the age of 64 – the oldest person ever to assume the throne. He was unassuming, disliking pomp and ceremony and was known throughout his early reign to walk unaccompanied through London and Brighton, making him very popular with his subjects. His reign lasted 6 days short of 7 years when he passed away from heart failure at Windsor Castle.

• 80 years ago: John Hartley, the no.1 tennis player in the world during 1879-1880, died on this day in 1935. Winning Wimbledon in both those years and runner-up in 1881, he has the distinction of being the only clergyman to ever be successful at the tournament. He passed away in Knaresborough, Yorkshire at the age of 86.

• 75 years ago: Marxist revolutionary and Soviet politician Leon Trotsky was assassinated on this day in 1940. Killed in Mexico City, where he had been living for 4 years, he was attacked by Ramón Mercader who used a mountaineer’s ice axe as a weapon. It didn’t kill him instantly, he was taken to hospital where they operated, but he passed away from excessive blood loss and shock. He was 60.

Today's the Day - 20th August

• 125 years ago: On this day in 1890, HP Lovecraft was born. Howard Phillips Lovecraft achieved fame posthumously through his influential horror writing and is now regarded as one of the most influential 20^th century writers in this genre. Gaunt with dark eyes and a very pale face, he was very reclusive and lived very frugally. He died, aged 46 in 1937 from cancer.

• 75 years ago: In 1940, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force in his famous House of Commons speech, saying “ Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few.”

Bobby Moore statue at Wembley

• 45 years ago: On this day in 1970, England football captain Bobby Moore was finally cleared of stealing an emerald bracelet in Columbia after being set-up. On 18^th May, Moore and fellow England player Bobby Charlton went into a store in Bogota, looking for a present for Charlton’s wife. Upon leaving the store, the owner called the Police, accusing the star of stealing the bracelet, worth £600. A week later Moore was charged and after initially being placed under house arrest, he was freed 3 days later so that he could play in the World Cup tournament in Mexico.