70 Christmas’s and some of the events during my lifetime.
1944 – The Year I was Born
25 December – The snow lay white again upon the stony soil of New England, the grey distances of the plains, the towering Western mountains; once more poinsettias bloomed in the South’s red soil. In Boston’s fabled Louisburg Square, and in every other U.S. city and hamlet, carolers would sing this week below candlelit windows. This would be the fourth U.S. wartime Christmas.
1954 – 10 years old
25 December – Prestwick air disaster: BOAC Boeing 377 Stratocruiser G-ALSA crashes on landing at Prestwick Airport from London in poor visibility at 03:30, killing 28. The first UK Wimpy Bar is opened at the Lyons Corner House in Coventry Street, London
1964 – 20 years old
25 December – The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast in 1964 addressed the important role of the Commonwealth in a year in which anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was jailed in South Africa, and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru died.
1974 – 30 years old
25 December – Early in the morning of December 25 the Territory’s capital city – Darwin – was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy. The city became the site of possibly the greatest natural disaster in the nation’s history causing the mass evacuation south of three-quarters of the city’s 43,000 people.
1984 – 40 years old
25 December – was a Tuesday. Ronald Reagan was President of the US; people were listening to Madonna singing ‘Like A Virgin’, while in the UK ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ was in the top five in the charts. Boxcar Bertha directed by Martin Scorsese was a hit in the cinemas, and ‘Talisman’ by Stephen King and Peter Straub was a best selling book.
1991 – 47 years old
25 December – In this Christmas 1991 Mikhael S. Gorbachev resigned as president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). This action was the final act in a peaceful dissolution of this communist (socialist) nation that had been borne out of the October 1917 revolution, and the start of the new Russian Federation.
It was also the first Christmas we spent with our beautiful Son, Oscar
1994 50 years old
25 December – Scottie Pippen scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for a Christmas Day win over the New York Nicks. At 11.05 am the BBC in UK showed ‘Jetsons’ The Movie Premier and cinema version of the sci-fi cartoon series. And at 10.40 The Morcambe and Wise Christmas Show with guests Shirley Bassey, Glenda Jackson, Andre Previn, Michael Parkinson and Eddie Waring among others.
2004 – 60 years old
Coronation Street – Episode 5923 Steve tries to get near the burning car to rescue Amy; Tracy convinced that Karen killed Amy, jumps in Steve’s car and drives off like a woman possessed. Tracy runs Karen over in Steve’s Car. Karen manages to scramble up the factory steps and bangs on the door. Hayley who’s mending Claire’s dress lets her in. Tracy, wielding a crook-lock forces her way in after Karen, threatening to kill her. Steve’s relieved to find that Amy’s safe and sound with Roy. Steve arrives at the factory and tells Tracy that Amy’s safe, but Tracy doesn’t believe him, thinking he’s just trying to save Karen from her fate. Tracy and Karen continue to fight on the factory floor….etc.
2014 -70 years old
25 December – Former president George H. W. Bush has greeted Christmas Day in a Texas hospital, where he remained for a second night after experiencing breathing problems. Queen Elizabeth uses her Christmas message to pay tribute to medical and aid volunteers fighting the Ebola epidemic around the world. A university in north-western China bans Christmas, calling it a “kitsch” foreign celebration unbefitting of the country’s own traditions.
