TheLittlehampton libels were a series of letters sent to numerous residents ofLittlehampton, in southern England, over a three-year period between 1920 and 1923. The letters, which contained obscenities and false accusations, were written by Edith Swan, a thirty-year-old laundress; she tried to incriminate her neighbour, Rose Gooding, a thirty-year-old married woman. Swan and Gooding(both pictured) had once been friends, but after Swan made a false report to theNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children accusing Gooding of maltreating one of her sister's children, the letters started arriving. Many of them were signed as if from Gooding. Swan brought aprivate prosecution against Gooding forlibel. Gooding was imprisoned twice, butScotland Yard investigated and cleared her. Swan was prosecuted in December 1921. A similar case of letters being sent over several years was reported in 2024, in the village ofShiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire.(Full article...)
December 16:Day of Reconciliation in South Africa
TheAfrican chaffinch (Fringilla spodiogenys) is a species ofpasserine bird in the genusFringilla. The African chaffinch is found from southern Morocco to northwestern Libya, and in Italy on the islands ofLampedusa andPantelleria. There is also an isolated population in northeastern Libya. Its habitat includes deciduous forests and lowlands, and during the nonbreeding season extends its habitat to open areas including weedy fields and olive groves. The diet of the African chaffinch is similar to the Eurasian chaffinch, consisting mostly of small invertebrates and their larvae as well as flowers, seeds, and buds. This female African chaffinch was photographed inSfax, Tunisia. Photograph credit:Charles J. Sharp Recently featured: |
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