Wednesday, March 1, 2006

100 years ago

Miss Elizabeth Smellie was a chorus girl who appeared in the pantomime at Mr Robert Arthur's theatre, at Christmas 1904. Tights were supplied to Miss Smellie and the other chorus girls, and the garments were sent to a laundry on December 31 (Saturday) and returned on the Monday, January 2 following, for a midday and evening performance. It was alleged that the tights were returned in a damp condition, with the result that Miss Smellie contracted phlebitis and phthisis. The County Court Judge granted Miss Smellie £50 damages, and Mr Arthur appealed against the judgement on the grounds that knowledge of the defect had not been brought home to the employer, and that the engaging of a proper person to do the work relieved him of all responsibility. However, their lordships dismissed the appeal with costs.

50 years ago

Many reviewers, discussing the Japanese film "Children of Hiroshima," had remarked on the restraint, artistic merit and freedom from bitterness with which the subject had been treated. Few commercial cinemas were screening it, but the film could be seen in York at the Friends' Meeting House, Clifford Street, where it was being presented by the York Peace Group. Bertrand Russell's comments on the film were, "The makers of the film obviously intended sincerely to produce a horror of war, and not hatred of this or that warring nation, and we see the affectations and power of suffering among a common people, who are much more like ourselves than we are inclined to think. I hope this picture will help you to realise that we have no better reason to hate the populations of other countries than they have to hate us."

25 years ago

Cleanliness was top priority in Yorkshire and Humberside. The region had the lowest household expenditure in the country but the highest number of homes with a washing machine. These facts were included in a report published by the Central Statistical Office. The report -- Regional Trends 1981 -- looked at everything from population, employment and income to types of holiday taken and numbers of people arrested for speeding. In 1979, the latest year for which figures were available, the average house price in Yorkshire and Humberside was almost £5,000 below the national average of £19,925, and 70 per cent of those homes were semi-detached or terraced, which was 10 per cent above the national average. Average gross weekly earnings were a little below the national rate of £101.40, but with the lowest weekly expenditure of £78.54 Yorkshire and Humberside came high on saving. On consumer durables, Yorkshire and Humberside could boast the highest number of washing machines but had the lowest number of households with a car - only 48 per cent.

Updated: 16:30 Tuesday, February 28, 2006