A Stranger's London
A baby boy for Diana
Princess Diana gave birth to a healthy 6lb 14oz son at 4.20pm on Saturday September 16, in the private Lindo Wing of the St Mary's Hospital in London's Paddington.When the new Prince was born, delighted nurses appeared at several windows of the Lindo Wing jumping up and down unable to contain their excitement.
Prince Charles emerged at 6.43pm to meet the hundreds of people who had been keeping vigil outside the hospital for hours singing and chanting "For he's a jolly good fellow".
Then the champagne toasts began all over the country. Observed Mrs Pat Beeton of Islington, North London: "This is the sort of thing that gets everybody in the country smiling again."
The television programmes were interrupted with the news flash about the royal birth, while the Sunday papers splashed the stories all over their front pages. "Di's Boy Wonder", said the News of the World, "Boy, oh, Boy" gushed the Sunday Mirror.
While the gambling public sorted out their winnings and losses over the newly-born princes, the bookies were out again with another point over the most likely choice of name for the new Prince. Bookies William Hill reported heavy betting on George (6-4) after Charles's great-great-great-great-great- grandfather George III - who lost the American colonies and was labelled mad. Unfortunately when the name was announced it was Henry, Charles, Albert, David.
Hutchinson accuses reporter of crime
Mike Barron, a Sunday Mirror reporter for 25 years, got the shock of his life when an accused murderer and rapist pointed at him from the dock at the crown court, as the man who had committed the crimes.Arthur Hutchinson, standing trial for the Wedding Night Murder case in which he had been accused of killing solicitor Basil Laitner, 59, his wife Avril, 55 and son Richard 28, rape and aggravated burglary, suddenly pointed at the reporter sitting in the press gallery and blurted out: "There's your killer, my Lord. That's Mike Barron..."
Mr Barron was asked to give a statement, which he did and was discharged. He later said he had been warned by his Press colleagues that Hutchinson intended to point him out as the guilty man. He also reported about the interviews he had with Hutchinson's mother about her son's problems and a visit to the accused in prison. Hutchinson was jailed for 18 years last week after the jury had taken just four hours to find him guilty.
Who is the father?
Problem: "My new baby is now three months old. The problem is that one night shortly before I became pregnant I got very upset over an argument with my husband and confided in a male friend of ours. Without realising what we were doing, we ended up having sex, only once."How likely is it that this is the other man's baby? I feel sick knowing that I may have deceived my husband."
Agony Aunt's Answer: "...Confiding in a counsellor about marital arguments is much wiser than confiding in male 'friends' who add to your problems by seducing you".
Tragic baby's mum
Cruel gossips have tormented the mother of a handicapped child - and even attacked her in the street, reported the News of the World. Tragic tot Rebecca Poulton has to wear supports on her arms, legs and neck because of arthritis.But passers-by have accused her unmarried mother Shirley of being a baby batterer. "One woman rushed up to me in the street, called me a wicked cow and punched me hard. Other people just look at me with sheer disgust, shout at me or talk about me as I walk down the street with Rebecca."
Now Shirley has been forced to hang a notice on 16-month-old Rebecca's pushchair. It reads: "This child is not ill-treated. She suffers from chronic arthritis. It could happen to your child".
Curfew on rector
A vicar appeared in court last week accused of criminal damage to a wife's car with intent to endanger her life. The charge against the Rev. Peter Mark Renouf, 54, alleges that he cut the front brake hoses of a car belonging to Mrs Judith Beath.Grey-haired Renouf, who is Rector of Farnborough, Hants, is also accused of stealing a car's warranty booklet from a garage in Sussex. The Magistrates remanded Renouf of The Rectory, Church Avenue, Farn- borough on £1,000 bail until October 9 under such conditions as observing curfew from 10pm to 7am every night and living in a clergyman's retreat arranged by the Bishop of Guildford.
Inflation and mortgages
The inflation rate went up to 5% in August. The increase, according to Woodrow Wyatt, a columnist, is due to mortgage interest increases. The increase, he claims, is daft. There are 21,500,000 dwellings in Britain. Only a third of those are subject to mortgage.Why should wage claims and so on for two-thirds of the country be based on increases in mortgage payments? The vast majority are not affected by them. Those with mortgages already get huge income tax relief at everyone else's expense. Mortgage interest should be removed from calculations of the inflation rate, he says.
Only pretty faces need apply
A nationwide survey of 1,600 job applicants has disclosed that an overwhelming majority considers that having a pretty or handsome face is the key to getting a job in Britain today.The survey, carried out by Brook Street Bureau, the employment agency, found that 93% of those interviewed thought that if they were fat or ugly or both, they were less likely to be successful in a job interview. Women in particular thought that male interviewers would give preference to them if they were attractive.
However, more than 80 per cent of those questioned thought it wrong to rank good looks as important in an interview. The majority felt that references, career details and examination results were the most important means of selecting the right person for the job.
