The Week
It wasn't Mr James Callaghan's week. He told us to pull our socks up. Few clapped, and the pound nose-dived, losing zq cents to 81.63 after the Prime Minister's speech to the Labour Party conference. Mr Healey cancelled a trip to Hong Kong at the last moment and a 'stand-by credit tranche', or loan, of 83,900 million was hastily arranged by the international Monetary Fund.
Three days before that Mr Callaghan had called the Labour plan for bank nationalisation an 'electoral albatross'. His words had less effect than other Blackpool events: Mr Wedgwood Benn's call for a 'fundamental shift of power' in the economy; the vote criticising public spending cuts; the election of Mr Norman Atkinson as Labour Party treasurer. With all that on his mind Mr Callaghan could probably take being called 'a bit of a male chauvinist' by his erstwhile colleague Lady Castle.
The sterling crisis almost overshadowed the convoluted story of Rhodesia. Dr Kissinger's prestigious agreement fell flat when five African presidents withdrew their support. Nyerere of Tanzania criticised the composition of the proposed council, and demanded black majority rule within six weeks. Mr Ted Rowlands, said to be a British minister, went to talk to Mr Ian Smith.
The agony of the Lebanon continued with a massive offensive against the Palestinians east of Beirut by the Syrian army. There were general strikes in the Basque country and bY Arabs in Israel. A musicians' strike closed the New York City Opera. Hundreds of Ford car-workers rampaged through the Dagenham car factory to mark the first day of the new model Cortina.
An English journalist was convicted under the South African Terrorism Act. The Irish Government's emergency powers Bill was referred to the Supreme Court. Two pages of the Irish magazine Hibernia appeared blank because of legal problems. Lord Thorneycroft censored two pages of the Conservative Monthly News. A 'metric bible' was published in which Noah was instructed to leave 44 centimetres between the roof and sides of the Ark. Mr Eldridge Cleaver, the black power leader, returned to the United States saying that the °WY deal he had done was with Jesus Christ.
Mr Jim Slater said that he was very sorrY. He added mournfully that he was a million pounds in debt and that he was not going to go to Singapore, where he would not receive a fair trial. Mr Kenneth Tynan said that he was sorry to have been an only child with no opportunities for incest. A Tokyo man was sentenced to fourteen months' hard labour for drawing obscene pictures of the Emperor.
A Russian trawler captain was fined £45° at Plymouth for fishing within the twelve' mile limit. On top of that his ship's cat was confiscated. The Common Market countries turned down a British request for a fifty mile limit. France vetoed the appointment of the new Fijian ambassador to the EEC.
Two shepherds were killed by foreign legionnaires in Corsica leading to calls, from Corsicans, for the Foreign Legion to be moved and, from the French Communists, for its abolition. Six cyclists in central France were attacked by a savage crow. The mummy of Pharaoh Rameses II was greeted with military honours at Orly airport.
Following Mao's death the Chinese people 'turned grief to joy', according 1.0 their news agency, and exploded an atomic bomb. Mr Schlesinger, the American De" fence Secretary, went to visit the Chinese Prime Minister Hua Kuo-feng. Mr Callaghan promised that there would be n° British withdrawal from Ulster. In London' derry the seventeen-year-old son of a Peace organiser had 'IRA' carved on his knee-cap. After a raid on an hotel in Damascus three Palestinian terrorists were summarilY hanged. Muhammed Ali beat Ken Nort0n. though only just, to retain his heavyweight title. Glasgow had a torrential rainstorni which resulted in 4k-foot-deep floods. And at the Old Bailey a judge fined a man £25 for turning up drunk for jury duty.
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