Latest news with #1966
South China Morning Post
31-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
When 6 people were killed at a Hong Kong bus stop in the 1960s
'A young European mother of four, and five schoolchildren were killed yesterday when a ten-foot high concrete wall collapsed on a bus queue during heavy rain in Boundary Street. Sixteen people were injured,' reported the South China Morning Post on June 9, 1966. Advertisement 'The woman, wife of a British serviceman, and the children, aged between 12 and 16, were crushed under tons of masonry as a 50-foot section of the 250-ft long wall crashed on to the pavement in front of the La Salle Primary School. Minutes after the incident, British troops stationed in the area, passersby, firemen and police rushed to the rescue. 'Wall collapse kills six,' reported the South China Morning Post on June 9, 1966. Photo: SCMP Archives 'A British Army wife who lives nearby said she arrived at the scene about five minutes after the tragedy. 'It was dreadful,' she said. 'There was rubble all over the place and people were screaming. I saw children trapped under blocks of concrete. Some of them were horribly crushed. Troops and police were trying to get them out. Some were rushed off in ambulances. I shall never forget that scene for the rest of my life.' Troops, passersby, firemen and police dig through rubble on Boundary Street after a concrete wall collapsed on a bus queue during heavy rain in 1966. Photo: SCMP Archives 'Two Scammell recovery vehicles with heavy cranes were provided by 50 Command Workshop, 28 Squadron Gurkha Transport Regiment , to clear the debris. Within about two hours the last of the injured had been taken to hospital. 'The wall collapsed at about 12.30pm. By 5pm the road had been cleared of rubble and was opened to traffic. The British Red Cross answered an emergency call for blood and rushed 117 pints to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Meanwhile, hundreds of anxious parents jammed the switchboards of newspaper offices, police stations and hospitals with inquiries about the names of the dead and injured. 'Army authorities last night refused to reveal the identity of the dead woman until her relatives in England had been notified.' Advertisement
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Robert Munsch's first job in the French countryside turned out to be a stinky situation
Kicking off the first 'How I Spent My Summer' of this year, beloved children's author Robert Munsch shares how he expected farming in the French countryside would be a gorgeous getaway where he'd learn a language, earn a green thumb and be one with nature. Instead, the now 79-year-old slept in a barn, didn't shower all summer and made friends with a mouse. But at least the food was good, he says. The first job I ever had was, strangely enough, hoeing rutabagas in France. I was there in 1966 as a 21-year-old, supposedly learning French. I spent the summer in a tiny little town of 60 people called Aulon in Massif Central, near Limoges, which is kinda the Appalachia of France. Sounds great, right? I thought so. My friend said, 'You'll be gardening in a big beautiful field, the people speak a great dialect, you'll perfect your French.' I thought I'd spend the summer getting in touch with the spirit of the earth, blah blah blah. Instead, I found it ridiculously hard, mind-numbingly boring and to be altogether avoided. There were seven of us – four guys and three girls – and everyone but me was English from England, so I didn't even learn any French. The rutabagas were not very vocal. A rutabaga is like a big turnip. By the time we arrived, they were already growing, so we were basically hoeing weeds between these long rows that went on forever and ever and ever. More like a mile. You'd have to very carefully use your tool to nick all the stuff growing around the rutabaga, but under no circumstances should you nick the rutabaga itself. The farmer would walk around sometimes and yell in French about the nicks. Former Chief Justice shares her first job: 'I covered the Salad Queen contest, which was a big deal in those days' Broadcaster Dan Shulman's first job as a camp 'counsellor in training' was peak teenage living I don't think I was any good at the job, but I didn't get fired either. Nobody got fired. I can't imagine it was an easy job to fill. The pay was so low that I can't even remember what it was, only that it was not good. The guy that got me the job left that piece of information out. The hours were long and slow. We'd start very early in the morning, like 6 a.m., and we'd go until about 11, when we'd stop to have a slow Gallic breakfast. The French cooking was actually quite good, and definitely the best part of the whole thing. We'd have a big salad and what I suspect was rabbit. Maybe some frog legs. What was really interesting about this place was that it was where Caesar had a camp during the Gallic wars. We'd be busy hoeing rutabagas when you'd dig up a piece of Roman statuary. The first time I found one, I said to the boss, 'What should I do with this?' He said, 'Wreck it! Break it into small pieces so the plants can eat it!' But I couldn't do that, so I'd put them in my pocket. By the end of the summer, I had a small collection going. You really had to pay attention to what you were doing, so I didn't have many deep or great thoughts. I wasn't thinking about what came next or what I wanted to be, mostly just, 'God, I have to finish this, when will this be over?' It was disgustingly hard strained physical labour, six days a week, and at the end of every day, you'd wrecked yourself. The first day I felt like I'd been stomped on by an elephant, then I had to get up and do it again the next day. Luckily, they gave us free access to a barn for sleeping. That was also left out of my friend's job description. I made friends with this little mouse in the barn. It had these little ears that stuck up and it was a very good climbing mouse. I suspect it was sniffing my face while I was asleep because it would take off when I woke up. I also got bugs from sleeping in the barn. We all did. You'd be right in the middle of a sentence when something started crawling down your forehead. I was itchy all the time and didn't get a shower until the end of the summer. They were considered a weird North American thing. Yes, we stank. Over the years, I've often wondered why I didn't quit. Maybe I thought since I'd decided I was doing this, I had to do it. Maybe I mistakenly thought being true to myself meant I should stay. Anyhow, I don't know why I stayed, but I did. I finished and then I was done. My wife handles all the gardening now. And I know now that whenever someone says, 'I have a great job for you!' you should run. As told to Rosemary Counter
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mark Wahlberg Crime Thriller ‘By Any Means' Boarded by Bright White Light (EXCLUSIVE)
Bright White Light has boarded Elegance Bratton's 'By Any Means,' co-financing and executive producing the upcoming crime thriller starring Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, David Strathairn, Ethan Embry, LisaGay Hamilton and LaChanze. Bright White Light's Wayne Marc Godfrey and Nicki Cortese will executive produce. More from Variety Harris Dickinson's Directorial Debut 'Urchin' Gets 5-Minute Cannes Standing Ovation, Plus Lots of Love From Paul Mescal Marisa Tomei, Sam Rockwell and Chris Messina to Star in Zombie Comedy 'Hellhound' (EXCLUSIVE) Why Harris Dickinson Put His Rising Acting Career on Hold to Direct Cannes Premiere 'Urchin': 'I Didn't Work as an Actor for a Year' Hammerstone Studios' Alex Lebovici, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are producing for Thunder Road alongside Chester Algernal Gordon for Freedom Principle, Stephen Levinson and Wahlberg under his company Municipal. WME Independent and CAA Media Finance are co-representing U.S. rights and is representing international sales. 'By Any Means' follows a notorious mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent as they team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi. ''By Any Means' is truly one of those special projects that you can't believe is actually based on a true story,' said Bright White Light CEOs Godfrey and Cortese. 'We are so grateful to have been invited by Alex, Basil and Erica to be part of this exceptional production and that we were able to add some additional value to the already impressive cast, director, producers and financiers' Founded by Godfrey and Cortese, Bright White Light produces, develops, and finances both independent and studio films, in addition to providing financial and creative backing to filmmakers, producers, entrepreneurs, and capital investors. The company has invested more than $500 million in film productions and has produced more than 130 feature films. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
