England

St. Piran’s Day Patron Saint of Cornwall

Saint Piran’s Day (Cornish: Gool Peran), or the Feast of Saint Piran, is the national day of Cornwall, held on 5 March every year. The day is named after one of the patron saints of Cornwall, Saint Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners.

England Glastonbury Thorn Day

Glastonbury Abbey in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, now presents itself as traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the world situated in the mystical land of Avalon by dating the founding of the community of monks at A.D. 63, the legendary visit of Joseph of Arimathea, who was supposed to have brought the Holy Grail and planted the Glastonbury Thorn. Even the skeptic finds much else to admire about Glastonburys evocative ruins and its splendid documented history.

Live Aid Concert

Start of firemens strike which lasted for two months; cover was provided by the army with their out of date green goddess fire engines.

The nationwide firefighters’ strike occurred between 1977 and early 1978, months prior to the Winter of Discontent.

Decimal currency introduced, abandoning 12 pennies to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound

Everyone in Britain over the age of 18 was allowed to vote in parliamentary elections

The Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, the first major country to do so. The Representation of the People Act 1985 gave British citizens abroad the right to vote for a five-year period after they had left the United Kingdom. The Representation of the People Act 1989 extended the period to 20 years; and citizens who were too young to vote when they left the country also became eligible.

Cigarette advertising banned on television in Britain

Cigarette advertising banned on television in Britain.

Conscription in the United Kingdom, was brought to an end

National Service in the United Kingdom, which required young men to undergo compulsory military training for a certain period, was brought to an end in 1960. The system of National Service had been in place since the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and was initially introduced as an emergency measure during the war.

WW2 Food rationing officially ended in UK

On July 04, 1954, while Americans celebrated their independence by gorging on hot dogs, the British celebrated being allowed to gorge on hot dogs. That day the U.K. officially ended 14 years of food rationing imposed at the dawn of World War II.

WW2 Rationing of chocolate and sweets finally ended

Rationing of chocolate and sweets in the United Kingdom, which was imposed during World War II as part of the broader system of rationing, finally ended on February 5, 1953. The rationing system was introduced during the war to ensure the fair distribution of food and goods, which were in short supply due to the conflict and the blockading of trade routes.