DIARY OF THE YEAR
Thursday, July 29: The Opposition seethed, boiled and finally erupted in the Commons as Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr John Davies, announced drastic closures in Upper Clyde Shipyards. Noisy cries of " butchery " greeted the news of John Brown's death and an emergency debate was scheduled for Monday. While Ulster Unionist MPs threatened to withdraw support for the Government, Eire's PM, Jack Lynch, arranged to meet Mr Heath in October. Friday, July 30: Workers control came to Scotland when Shop Stewards with the glowing approval of stir-it-up, Wedgwood Benn, occupied the Clydebank yard. The lunar-landing craft, Falcon made a " picture-book " touchdown, while the world's worst air disaster, killing 162 people on a Boeing 727, took place over Japan. The poorly attended Arab Summit in Tripoli condemned Jordan's treatment of Palestinian refugees but stopped short of expelling her from the Arab League.
Saturday, July 31: The Angry Brigade planted a bomb in Mr Davies' London flat, the Minister, however, was in Cheshire and "amazed." Latest war strategy on Clydeside involved a complicated plan to hijack a ship's keel from the Linthouse steel working unit. The moonmen enjoyed a 'rock 'n' roll' ride across the lunar surface to Hadley Rille and in Wellington the British Lions slammed the All Blacks for an unassailable lead in the series.
Sunday, August 1: Mr Health, in the face of growing opposition taunts, left Cowes for Chequers, prior to attending Monday's UCS debate. With no momentous Earth happenings, the moon, for once, got maximum coverage, monopolizing TV time. Anti-Soviet fervour was unleashed in Sudan with a 48hour ultimatum to Russia, preceding the withdrawal of the Sudanese Ambassadors to Moscow and Bulgaria.
Monday, August 2: While the Commons fiercely debated the UCS break-up, that other jilted lame-duck, Rolls-Royce, rejoiced when the American Senate agreed by one vote to guarantee Lockheeds a £104 million loan. Over on Tyneside an untimely ancillary workers' strike closed Swan Hunters' yards, the. US, at last, publicly voiced support for China's UN bid — but Taiwan, for the present, stays.
Tuesday August 3: John Davies, flanked by his newly-appointed security guards, failed to justify his policies to Clydeside shop stewards, but on a brighter note, Britain's foreign exchange and gold reserves rose by £105m. It was revealed that an eighteen-month-old IRC report on the dire financial state of Rolls-Royce was kept secret from the then Labour government. General Numeiry continued to sack ministers and recall ambassadors of dubious allegiance. A Royal Commission report blamed the collapse of Melbourne's Westgate Bridge on the British designers and three climbers survived a 1,000-foot fall down the Eiger—but a fourth died. Wednesday, August 4: The Aerospace Minister cautiously predicted in the Commons that 30,000 Rolls Royce employees could now expect to continue working. In Munich two armed men barricaded themselves in a bank and demanded £200 000 to be let out. 15 Pakistani Embassy officials demanded asylum in the US.
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