No jo mo ਇੱਕੀ in Hot town, summery in the city - 2017

What notable events happened the year I was born. Since I don’t have a great deal of memory from that year, especially as I was born four weeks before the end of the year, I’ve spent the past hour researching…

The age of majority for most legal purposes was reduced from 21 to 18.

The grave of Karl Marx was vandalised by anti-Germanic racists in London (I didn’t even know he was buried here).

A Boeing 747 landed at Heathrow Airport, the first jumbo jet to land in Britain.

A demonstration at the Garden House Hotel by Cambridge University students against the Greek military junta led to police intervention; eight students subsequently received custodial sentences for their part in the affair.

First National Women’s Liberation Conference held, at Ruskin College, Oxford.

The importation of pets was banned after an outbreak of rabies in Newmarket, Suffolk. The quarantine period for cats and dogs was increased to one year as part of the government’s anti-rabies measures. I grew up in a rabies free country and it is still that way.

Eighteen victims of thalidomide were awarded a total of nearly £370,000 in compensation.

British Leyland announces that the Morris Minor, its longest-running model which had been in production since 1948, would be discontinued at the start of next year and be replaced with a new larger car available as a four-door saloon and three-door fastback coupe, and possibly a five-door estate by 1975. My secondary school music teacher had a bright orange Morris Marina 😀

Prime Minister Harold Wilson is hit in the face with an egg thrown by Richard Ware, a Young Conservative demonstrator. Egg throwing is brought back by political demonstrators every few years!

The bodies of two children were found buried in shallow graves in woodland at Waltham Abbey, Essex. They were believed to be those of Susan Blatchford (11) and Gary Hanlon (12), who were last seen alive near their homes in North London on 31 March this year. This became known as the “Babes in the wood” case.

The 1970 general election is held, the first in which eighteen-year-olds were entitled to vote. Opinion polls point towards a third consecutive victory for the Labour Government led by Harold Wilson. However, when the general election results are announced, Edward Heath’s Conservative Party wins with a majority of 30 seats, a major surprise as most of the opinion polls had shown that Harold Wilson’s Labour were likely to stay in power.

The Methodist Church allowed women to become full ministers for the first time.

The British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh.

Police battled with black rioters in Notting Hill, London.

Third Isle of Wight Festival attracted over 500,000 pop music fans, with appearances by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors and Joan Baez.

American rock star Jimi Hendrix, 27, died in London from a suspected drug-induced heart attack.

The first Glastonbury Festival was held, as the Worthy Farm Pop Festival. Tyrannosaurus Rex (replacing The Kinks) headlined and about 1500 attended.

Tony Densham, driving the “Commuter” dragster, set a British land speed record at Elvington, Yorkshire, averaging 207.6 mph over the flying kilometre course.

The Gay Liberation Front organised its first march in London.

The last forced child migration to Australia took place.

Kevin Sussman (Stuart from Big Bang) and Jeff Blake (Quarter back) and (most importantly) myself were born and we will be celebrating our 48th birthdays in one week and six days.

This was a fun research project - it looks as though changes were happening, to make the world a more accepting place, but there was still a long way to go.