Marrying in office
It was announced Boris Johnson will marry his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, next year. This will be only the fourth time a serving prime minister has married while in office.
— Robert Walpole married Maria Skerrett, daughter of a wealthy merchant, on 3 March 1738, following the death of his first wife. Sadly, Maria died in childbirth a year later.
— In the 15 months the Duke of Grafton was prime minister he found time to divorce his first wife and marry his second, Elizabeth Wrottlesley, on 24 June 1769.
— Lord Liverpool married Mary Chester, a friend of his deceased first wife, at Hampton Court on 24 September 1822.
Cancer detection
How has cancer treatment been affected by the pandemic? According to Cancer Research UK, between March 2020 and March 2021 there were:
380,000 fewer referrals by GPs to specialists than would normally be expected.
45,000 fewer people starting treatment.
9,200 fewer cases picked up by screening.
However, things are beginning to get back to normal. In March 2021 there were 15,000 more referrals than in March 2019. Breast cancer referrals were 6% up on 2019, but lung cancer referrals were still 24% down.
Cable-car disasters
Fourteen people were killed when a cable car plunged 70 feet down a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. How safe are cable cars? Some other accidents:
43 people died in March 1976 when a cable car descending from Mount Cermis in the resort of Cavalese in the Italian Dolomites fell 660 feet, after two cables crossed.
20 people died in the same location in March 1998 when a US marine corps plane sliced through a cable, causing the cable car to plunge 260 feet.
20 members of staff died at an astronomical observatory at St Etienne en Devoluy, France, when a cable car fell 250 feet.
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