RIP George Foreman

I was lucky enough to interview George Foreman in Houston in 1990. A lot of top sports people are surrounded by minders. Not George. Former heavyweight champion of the world he might have been, but when you rang his number, a friendly voice answered: 'Hi! This is George'. By then, of course, he was a Christian minister.

I met him at a gym in a fairly rundown area of the city. He was a mountain of a man, gently sparring with a white boy in his early teens. George had to get down on his knees so their heads were at something like the same level. The ex-champion was charming and friendly, but if you had told me that in five years' time he was going to regain his title, I would have been rather surprised.

On the same trip to America, I interviewed another former world heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson. When Foreman lost his heavyweight championship in 1974 it was famously to Muhammad Ali who created a sensation by regaining the title, but Patterson was the first man to perform that feat, in 1960, beating the Swede Ingemar Johansson who had surprisingly defeated him the previous year.

Patterson, who had been the youngest ever heavyweight champion, was also entourage-free, charming and unassuming. I interviewed him on army base, where I think one of his children was serving in the military. He had been born into poverty and talked about how he felt boxing had saved him from a life of crime.

Fireworks and nightclub fires

At least 59 people were killed in the North Macedonia nightclub fire which appears to have been set off by fireworks. As I reveal in my recent book A History of Fireworks (Reaktion Books), accidents of this kind have become disturbingly familiar.

The North Macedonia fire happened on 16 March in Kocani, 60 miles from the capital Skopje, where about 500 people were attending a concert by DNK, one of the country's most popular bands. The blaze seems to have been started by sparks from flares hitting the ceiling which was made of inflammable material. 

There were reports that the venue was not licensed, and survivors spoke of there being only one exit, and of those trying to escape being trampled in the crush. Only one member of the band survived, and police detained 15 people.

In 2003, 100 people were killed at a club in West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA as they watched the rock band Great White, who had just incorporated pyrotechnics into their act. Sparks set fire to inflammable foam lining the ceiling, walls and even an exit door. One band member was killed. 

The following year, nearly 200 people died in an eerily similar fire at a nightclub in Buenos Aires. Among those gaoled were members of the rock band who had been performing. Then in 2009, 156 people perished at the Lame Horse club at Perm in Russia. The building had no fire exits.

But the worst disaster came at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Brazil in 2013 (pictured). Again, the band set off a flare which ignited soundproofing foam on the ceiling, filling the place with toxic fumes. Police said the club had no working fire extinguishers and exits were poorly signposted. The death toll was 242.

 

Thank you Wootton + Trump assassination attempt + history of fireworks podcast

Thank you, Wootton, near Woodstock for inviting me to talk about the history of assassination on Valentine's Day! I loved the Village Hall venue - looked like a full house, with chairs packed tightly together, delivering a great atmosphere. 

Good questions too. Did I think the Trump assassination attempt was faked? Though I consider Trump a thoroughly disgraceful character, I said I did not, because even if you could procure a sniper of Eddie Redmayne calibre, it would be too risky to fire a shot designed to graze or very narrowly miss Trump. The suggestion that Trump was injured by shrapnel from the teleprompter screen rather than by a bullet does not change my view. But maybe I'm missing something? It was certainly very convenient for him, but that does not mean it was fake.

Btw my podcast with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb on the history of fireworks from their mysterious origins to the present day (based on my book A History of Fireworks published by Reaktion) is available here - https://podcasts.apple.com/ai/podcast/fireworks-from-the-tudors-to-guy-fawkes/id1564113869?i=1000674896970

The history of assassination roadshow hits Wootton

Looking forward to delivering one of the famous Wootton Village Hall talks in Oxfordshire on Friday. Subject - the history of assassination. I'll be talking about the world's first assassination; asking whether London was the scene of the world's first assassination by firearm; examining the surprising carelessness of some victims - like Abraham Lincoln, who let his bodyguard go off for a drink; and telling the story of the weird ones - murder by booby-trapped statuette, poisoned umbrella and man disguised as bear. 

Drawing on my book Assassins' Deeds. A History of Assassination from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day (Reaktion Books), I'll also be detailing the most famous ones - such as Julius Caesar, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, JFK, as well as the not very famous British prime minister who was the only one to be assassinated. 

And, of course, Friday being Valentine's Day, the talk will include a love story. All proceeds go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

http://www.woottontalks.co.uk/

Stanmore: are you ready for fireworks?

Looking forward to talking about my new book 'A History of Fireworks' (Reaktion Books) at Stanmore & District u3a on Monday, 20 January. I'll be sharing secrets about the mysterious origins of fireworks, Britain's first major display, rowdy Bonfire Nights, firework disasters, famous firework makers, fireworks in art, music and literature and the challenges they now face because of fears about pollution and the effects they have on animals https://stanmore.u3asite.uk/u3a_events/monday-20th-january-john-withington/

Can fireworks change the weather? A new look at my new book

Can fireworks change the weather? When and where did they begin? When was Britain's first display? How did 5 November become a date that it was compulsory by law to celebrate but also a focus for anti-establishment disorder? What role has London played in the history of fireworks? How did an Islington fireworks disaster make history? These are some of the questions explored by Dan Carrier in his 'Islington Tribune' article on my new book 'A History of Fireworks from their Origins to the Present Day' (Reaktion Books)

https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/rocket-man

How Warwickshire helped give Britain the fireworks bug

Great to be interviewed by Richard Williams of BBC CWR about my new book 'A History of Fireworks from their Origins to the Present Day' (Reaktion Books). We talked about Elizabeth I's love of fireworks, about two major displays she went to at Warwick (pictured) and Kenilworth Castles, how the Warwick one got out of hand and killed a couple of people in the town, about Britain's first firework display, about when fireworks first started to be used to celebrate 5 November and much more. The interview is in two parts. Part 1 is about 1 hr 18 mins in, and Part 2 about 2 hrs 19 mins in

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jy2h4v