That Was the Year That Was - 1996
-
Description
1996 In the UK Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales get divorced and Mad Cow Disease hits Britain ( BSE ) causing the mass slaughter of Herds of Cows and new laws to stop beef being sold on the bone. A severe Meningitas Epidemic occurs in West Africa. In technology DVD's are Launched in Japan and the number of users on the Internet exceed 10 million This is also the year Ebay and Ask Jeeves is started and the first ever cloning of a mammal Dolly the sheep. Martina Hingis became the youngest person to win a Wimbledon tennis final, in the music world, an estimated 3.5 million people applied for tickets for two Oasis concerts at Knebworth. There were only 250,000 tickets issued. ITV airs the final episode of the long running satirical puppet show Spitting Image. The Spice Girls release their début single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom.The song proves to be a global hit, hitting number 1 in 31 countries and becoming not only the biggest-selling début single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time. July - The Spice Girls appear in Top of the Pops magazine, where each member is given a nickname based upon her image: "Posh Spice", "Baby Spice", "Scary Spice", "Ginger Spice", and "Sporty Spice". Jarvis Cocker disrupts a performance by Michael Jackson at the BRIT Awards. During an elaborate staging of "Earth Song" Cocker and Peter Mansell (a former Pulp member) invade the stage; Cocker lifts his shirt and points his bottom in Jackson's direction before getting into a scuffle with security. He is arrested and taken for questioning (with Bob Mortimer acting as his solicitor), but is released without charge. Cocker later states that his actions were "a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing". http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xalpov_brit-awards-1996-jarvis-cocker-vs-m_creation" rel="nofollow">www.dailymotion.com/video/xalpov_brit-awards-1996-jarvis-... Weather Notes: 5th-7th February - Heavy snow from Lancashire through the Lake District to southwest Scotland with 2m drifts in places. 7th June - Violent thunderstorms in Dorset and Hampshire, and through the south and east Midlands to East Anglia. Golf ball sized hail was reported, with over 70mm of rain recorded at Wantage (Oxfordshire). 28th/29th August - Windy and wet in Norfolk with over 100mm of rain at Coltishall (Norfolk). There was a short intense heatwave during the first week of June 1996, where maxima got as high as 33.1C in London on the 7th, however by that Friday evening, some really severe thunderstorms developed and the worst affected areas was an area from Weymouth to western parts of Norfolk. Golf ball sized hail fell widely in this area and in an area from south Oxfordshire to west Berkshire, rainfall totals exceeded 40mm. Lightning was widely seen across England in one of the most brilliant and widespread displays of recent times. In Manchester, the Friday was clear and not especially hot but during the evening heavy rain and thunder suddenly spread up from the south. Quite a turn around from during the day. GM, food The first genetically modified, or GM, food goes on sale today in British supermarkets. Genetically modified tomato puree, which will be available in Safeway and Sainsbury stores, has been produced from fruit which has had the rotting gene removed. It means the tomatoes remain firmer and last longer than conventionally-grown ones and the puree they produce is subsequently cheaper. However, supermarket giant Tesco said it would not be stocking the GM puree because the new product did not offer any additional benefits to customers compared to normal puree. IRA ceasefire ends The IRA has admitted planting the bomb that exploded in the Docklands area of London last night. One man was found dead by police sifting through the wreckage today and another person has been reported missing. Five of the 39 casualties - including three police officers - remain in hospital, one of them in a critical condition. The bombing marks the end of a 17-month IRA ceasefire during which Irish, British and American leaders worked for a political solution to the troubles in Northern Ireland. They have all condemned the attacks. Three people are feared dead and eight have been hurt after a bomb exploded on a double decker bus in the heart of London's West End. The front of the bus was destroyed by the force of the blast on the Aldwych near the Strand. The bus had travelled over Waterloo Bridge along Lancaster Place and was passing a Ministry of Defence building and turning onto Aldwych when the bomb exploded. The explosion comes just nine days after the IRA ended its ceasefire with a bombing in the Docklands area of London, which killed two people. A massive bomb has devastated a busy shopping area in central Manchester. Two hundred people were injured in the attack, mostly by flying glass, and seven are said to be in a serious condition. Police believe the IRA planted the device. The bomb exploded at about 1120 BST on Corporation Street outside the Arndale shopping centre. It is the seventh attack by the Irish Republican group since it broke its ceasefire in February and is the second largest on the British mainland. Massacre in Dunblane school gym A lone gunman has gone on a shooting spree at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and their teacher. The killer sprayed shots at random around the school gym in an attack that lasted just three minutes, but caused carnage in a class of five and six year olds. He then turned the gun on himself. Twelve other children were taken to hospital in Stirling, where one is reported to have later died of his injuries. The killer has been named as Thomas Hamilton, 43, a local man, who had once - briefly - been a scout master before being sacked by the Scout Association. Seven slashed in school machete attack Three young children and four adults have been attacked by a man with a machete at an infant school in Wolverhampton. They were enjoying a teddy bears' picnic at St Luke's Church of England school in the Blackenhall area. Emergency services received reports of the attack at about 1515 BST and paramedics arrived on the scene within seconds. Police are looking for a black man with a beard, in his mid-30s, 5ft 9in (1.75m) tall and of slim build. They have named a man they would like to question. The victims were taken by West Midlands Ambulance Service to New Cross Hospital where they are being treated for stab wounds. Their conditions are not life threatening but some have serious head injuries. In just a couple of minutes the knifeman had attacked a parent barring his entrance into the school and launched a frenzied assault on the nursery group in the garden. Wolverhampton education chairman Bob Jones has praised the bravery of parents and staff for preventing any loss of life. After searches by riot police Horrett Irving Campbell was found in Villiers House and charged with seven counts of attempted murder. In March 1997 Campbell, 33, was found guilty and sent to a secure mental hospital for an indefinite period. He was suffering from severe schizophrenia. 1996 Timeline 10 January – Terry Venables announces that he will resign as manager of the England national football team after this summer's European Championships, which will be hosted in England. 12 January – Gaby Roslin presents her final edition of The Big Breakfast after three years as co-presenter, weeping live on air. 13 January – NUM leader Arthur Scargill announces that he is defecting from the Labour Party to set up his own Socialist Labour Party. 15 January – Zoe Ball takes over as co-presenter of The Big Breakfast. 19 January - The first MORI poll of 1996 shows Labour still comfortably ahead of the Conservatives with a showing of 55% and a lead of 26 points. Ian and Kevin Maxwell, sons of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, are cleared of fraud at the Old Bailey after an 11-day trial. 23 to 26 January – Much of Britain is struck with sub zero temperatures and snow storms. Schools and transport is affected. 1 February – A brand new Friday entertainment show TFI Friday begins on Channel 4. The show ran for over 4 and a half years with 6 series. 4 February – First two passenger train operating companies begin operation of their service franchises as part of the privatisation of British Rail: South West Trains (part of the Stagecoach Group) and Great Western Trains (management buyout). 5 February – The first genetically modified food products go on sale in the UK. 9 February - A large bomb explodes in the London Docklands area, near to South Quay DLR station, injures around 40 people. The bomb was the responsibility of the IRA, and marks the end of a 17-month ceasefire. The Parole Board announces that Moors Murderer Myra Hindley could soon be moved to an open prison. Hindley, 53 and in her 30th year of imprisonment, is currently being held at Durham Prison, but if Home Secretary Michael Howard backs the Parole Board's recommendation, Hindley could soon be transferred to a prison with a more relaxed regime. 10 February – The bodies of two men are discovered at Canary Wharf, the only fatalities of the IRA bombing – of which it was initially believed there were no fatalities. 13 February – Take That, the most successful British band so far this decade, announce that they are splitting up. 15 February – A report on the Arms-to-Iraq affair is critical of government ministers. 18 February – A bomb explodes on a bus in Central London, killing the IRA bomber transporting the device, and injuring several people. ITV airs the final episode of the long running satirical puppet show Spitting Image. 19/20 February – Approximately 1000 passengers are trapped in the Channel Tunnel when two Eurostar trains break down due to electronic failures caused by snow and ice. 19 February – At the 1996 BRIT Awards, subsequently aired by ITV, Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker invades the stage during Michael Jackson's performance of his "Earth Song". Jackson, surrounded by children, was dressed as a Christ-like figure, an image which Cocker found objectionable. 22 February – Conservative MP Peter Thurnham announces his resignation from Parliament, reducing the party's majority to just 2 seats. Resignations and by-election defeats have cost the Conservatives 19 seats since the general election just under four years ago. 28 February - The Princess of Wales agrees to give The Prince of Wales a divorce, more than three years after separating. Sandra Gregory, a British teacher, is sentenced to 25 years in prison in Thailand for drug smuggling, three years after her arrest at Bangkok airport. Her co-accused, Robert Lock, is cleared of the same charge and returns home. 13 March – The Dunblane massacre – A gunman kills 16 children, their teacher and himself at a primary school in Dunblane, Stirling. The killer, who wounded 13 other children and another teacher, is quickly identified as 43-year-old former scout leader Thomas Hamilton. It is the worst killing spree in Britain since the Hungerford massacre in August 1987. 20 March – Home Secretary Michael Howard unveils plans to give courts the power to hand down heavier prison sentences, including sending burglars to prison for at least three years after a third offence and all drugs to prison for at least six years. The plans spark controversy, with some critics pointing out that it will increase the prison population by at least 20%. 22 March – The European Union prohibits exports of British beef as a result of the BSE crisis. 24 March – ITV airs Coronation Street – The Cruise, something which proves to be controversial as the film had only been released on VHS a few months earlier to celebrate the show's 35th anniversary. 29 March – Three British soldiers, all in their twenties, are sentenced to life imprisonment in Cyprus for the abduction, attempted rape and manslaughter of Danish woman Louise Jensen. The three soldiers are Allan Ford from Birmingham, Justin Fowler from Falmouth and Jeffrey Pernell from Oldbury. 1 April – The Local Government etc. (Scotland) and Local Government (Wales) Acts of 1994 come into effect, creating new unitary authorities. 16 April – South East Staffordshire by-election: In a 22-point swing, Labour wins the Staffordshire South East seat from the Conservatives in a by-election, cutting the government's majority to three seats almost exactly four years after they began the current term of parliament with a 21-seat majority. 17 April – The Duke and Duchess of York are divorced after ten years of marriage and four years after their separation. 2 May – The Conservatives lose 578 seats in local council elections, while Labour increases its total number of councilors nationally to almost 11,000. The Football Association announces that Glenn Hoddle, the current Chelsea manager, will succeed Terry Venables as manager of the England national football team after next month's European Championships, which England is hosting for the first time. 5 May - Manchester United win the FA Premier League title for the third time in four seasons. 11 May – Manchester United win the FA Cup for a record ninth time by beating Liverpool 1-0 and also become the first team to win the double of the league title and FA Cup twice. 17 May – Timothy Morss and Brett Tyler are found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Daniel Handley, who disappeared near his London home in October 1994 and whose body was found near Bristol five months later. The Old Bailey trial judge sentences them to life imprisonment and recommends that neither of them are ever released. 25 May – Paul Doody wins the seventh series of Stars in Their Eyes, performing as Marti Pellow. He is the second Grand Final winner to portray the singer. 27 May – Doctor Who, an American television movie continuation of the famous British series of the same name, airs on BBC One. This television movie is regarded as being a part of the same story as the original series and is an unsuccessful pilot for a new, American co-produced series. Paul McGann stars as the Eighth Doctor. Doctor Who does not return as a full series until 2005. 30 May - The Duke and Duchess of York complete their divorce proceedings. The former Duchess loses the style HRH and becomes Sarah, Duchess of York. Sara Thornton, a Warwickshire woman who was jailed for life in 1990 for the murder of her abusive husband Malcolm the previous year, is released from prison after the Court of Appeal reduces her conviction to manslaughter. 8 June – The European Football Championships begin in England, with the host nation drawing 1–1 with Switzerland in the opening game. 13 June - The parliament of Guernsey, Channel Islands, votes to legalize abortion 86 years after it was made illegal. 15 June – A massive IRA bomb explodes in Manchester city centre, devastating the city's retail district. 19 June – The government selects the Greenwich Peninsula site on the banks of the River Thames as the location for the Millennium Dome exhibition which is set to open for the year 2000. 21 June – The latest MORI poll shows the Conservatives on 31%, their best showing for three years, but they are still 21 points behind Labour with just under a year to go before an election has to be held. 26 June – England's hopes of being European champions of football for the first time are ended with a penalty shootout defeat to Germany after a 1–1 draw in the semi-final. 30 June – Germany wins the European Championship final with a 2–1 victory over Czech Republic at Wembley. 5 July – Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. 8 July – The Spice Girls first single Wannabe is released. 12 July – South African president Nelson Mandela visits Britain. 18 July – Howard Hughes, 31, is found guilty of the murder of seven-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno, North Wales, 12 months ago. He is sentenced to life imprisonment at Chester Crown Court and the trial judge Mr Justice Curtis recommends that he is never released. 19 July – 9 August – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and win 1 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals. 24 July – Buckingham Palace ends the BBC's monopoly on producing the Royal Christmas Message, which has been the sole responsibility of the broadcaster for 63 years. It is produced by ITV from 1997, before returning to the BBC in 1999, then ITV again from 2001. The two year changeover continues to the present day. 26 July – The BBC and Hat Trick Productions are fined £10,000 each in the High Court for contempt of court over comments made on a 1994 edition of Have I Got News for You, in which presenter Angus Deayton referred to Ian and Kevin Maxwell as "two heartless, scheming bastards" ahead of their trial. 30 July – Alan Shearer becomes the most expensive footballer in the world in a £15million transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United. 14 August – Unemployment has fallen to 2,126,200 – its lowest level since the summer of 1991. 28 August – The Prince and Princess of Wales complete their divorce proceedings after 15 years of marriage. Their separation was first announced nearly four years ago. The former Princess of Wales loses her style of Royal Highness and assumes the style, Diana, Princess of Wales. September - Ford launches its revolutionary new Ka city car, which makes use of a shortened Fiesta chassis. A revamped Mondeo goes on sale next month. Launch of the second generation Nissan Primera, built at Nissan's Sunderland factory. BBC Two shows first episode of lifestyle reality television show Changing Rooms. 5 September – Matthew Harding, vice-chairman of Chelsea football club, makes a £1million donation to the Labour Party – the largest donation made to the party by any individual. 20 September – 53-year-old jockey Willie Carson is badly injured after being kicked by a horse at Newbury, Berkshire. 12 October – The Conservative government's majority has dwindled to a single seat with the defection of Peter Thurnham to the Liberal Democrats. 13 October – Racing driver Damon Hill wins the Japanese Grand Prix thus clinching the Drivers' World Championship. 14 October – 2 new programmes both on the best-selling toys. (Sky Dancers and Dragon Flyz) 16 October – The Government announces plans to make possession of handguns illegal in the UK, following the Dunblane massacre. 25 October – 11 VCI children's titles – out now on video. 3 November – Barry Porter, Conservative MP for Wirral South, dies of cancer aged 57. 8 November – With the next general election no more than six months away, Labour still look set for a return to power after eighteen years, but the Conservatives have cut their lead to seventeen points in the latest MORI opinion poll – one of the narrowest gaps seen between the two leading parties in any opinion poll over the last three years. 18 November – Channel Tunnel fire – the Channel Tunnel is closed when a truck on a transporter wagon catches fire, disrupting Eurotunnel Shuttle and Eurostar services. 30 November – The Stone of Scone is installed in Edinburgh Castle 700 years after it was removed from Scotland by King Edward I of England. 7 December – Sir John Gorst, 68-year-old Conservative MP for Hendon North in London, announces his resignation, leaving his party without a majority in the House of Commons. 10 December - James Mirrlees wins the Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with William Vickrey "for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information". Harold Kroto wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley "for their discovery of fullerenes". 18 December – Unemployment has fallen below 2,000,000 for the first time in almost six years, four years since it peaked at nearly 3,000,000 in the recession. Despite the strong economic recovery and falling unemployment, the Conservatives are still trailing behind Labour in the opinion polls, a stark contrast to their performance at the last election, where they retained power despite Britain being in recession. Lawyer and politician John Taylor is made a Life Peer as Baron Taylor of Warwick, the first black Conservative peer. More than 4% of the UK population (some 2.5million people) now have internet access. New car sales in the United Kingdom are above 2 million for this year, a level last seen in 1990. Television BBC1 2 January – The Demon Headmaster (1996–1998) 1 February – Ballykissangel (1996–2001) 21 February – Silent Witness (1996–present) 8 March – Muppets Tonight (1996–1998) 16 March – Dalziel and Pascoe (1996–2007) 4 September – Changing Rooms (1996–2004) BBC2 15 January – Our Friends in the North (1996) 18 March – This Life (1996–1997) 2 May – Airport (1996–2005) 12 November – Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996–present) ITV Wake Up in the Wild Room (1996–1998) Power Rangers Zeo (1996–1997) 4 May – Man O Man (1996–1999) 18 August - Cadfael The Devil's Novice (1996 Season 2 Episode 2) 25 August - Cadfael A Morbid Taste for Bones (1996) 1 December - Percy the Park Keeper (1996-1999) Channel 4 6 January - The Adam and Joe Show (1996-2001) 9 February – TFI Friday (1996–2000) Cartoon Network 27 April – Dexter's Laboratory (1996–2003) Charts Number-one singles "Earth Song" - Michael Jackson "Jesus to a Child" - George Michael "Spaceman" - Babylon Zoo "Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis "How Deep Is Your Love" - Take That "Firestarter" - The Prodigy "Return of the Mack" - Mark Morrison "Fastlove" - George Michael "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" - Gina G "Three Lions" - Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds "Killing Me Softly" - The Fugees "Forever Love" - Gary Barlow "Wannabe" - Spice Girls "Flava" - Peter Andre "Ready or Not" - The Fugees "Breakfast At Tiffany's" - Deep Blue Something "Setting Sun" - The Chemical Brothers "Words" - Boyzone "Say You'll Be There" - Spice Girls "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted / Saturday Night At the Movies / You'll Never Walk Alone" - Robson & Jerome "Breathe" - The Prodigy "I Feel You" - Peter Andre "A Different Beat" - Boyzone "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" - Dunblane "2 Become 1" - Spice Girls -
Owner
brizzle born and bred -
Source
Flickr (Flickr) -
License
What does this mean? Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License
-
Further information
Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/20654194@N07/18104162098/
Resource type: Image
Added by: Peter Smith
Last modified: 6 years, 9 months ago
Viewed: 529 times
Picture Taken: 2015-05-31T06:08:56 -
Co-Curate tags
