14th October

Cliff Richard was born on this day in 1940. If you've seen recent photos of the man, you'll know this has to be a typo. He was clearly born in 1990.
Or does he have a painting of himself in the attic ...?

In other news ...

The world came to an end today - although Mother Shipton never noticed it - in 1969. The ten bob note was replaced by a nasty-foreign-looking coin called a 50p. I'd have been happier had it been called a 120p, but you can't have everything.

11th September

'People of the same trade seldom meet together but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or in some diversion to raise prices.'

Adam Smith wrote this in The Wealth of Nations, published today in 1776. The Mother Shipton of his day, Smith was of course talking about bankers in the 21st century.

In other news ...
Oliver Cromwell ordered the slaughter of 1500 rebels at Drogheda on this day in 1649. Among them were women and children. The irony is that Cromwell today is regarded as one of the more tolerant of Puritans. It's just that Papists (i.e. the Irish) didn't come within the remit of his compassion. So next time you read something extolling the virtues of the Lord Protector, just bear Drogheda in mind. Oh, and Wexford too, because he did the same thing there.