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Here are the biggest news, sports and entertainment stories from 1994…

The English and Welsh welcomed a change in the law that meant they could go shopping on Sundays. Since 1950 they had not been able to do so due to a law that prohibited the opening of stores on the traditionally holy day. Church groups opposed the measure, but both the people and the government agreed that it was an outdated concept.

Britain’s first national lottery was launched to mixed reactions; some felt it was wrong to promote the game and others just loved the opportunity to win easy money. However, the fact that a considerable amount of money each week would go to charity was enough to sweeten many of the doubters and, having been given the go-ahead, the first draw was a huge success; the jackpot reaches over £7 million.

Someone who won a personal lottery was the man who would be given a ‘bionic’ heart. The media took a lot of interest in the pioneering operation, led by UK doctors in Cambridgeshire, in which the world’s first battery-powered heart was implanted.

In the political world, people finally dared to hope for peace in Northern Ireland following ceasefire announcements by both the IRA and loyalists; the Conservatives negotiating at last seem to have paid off. Despite that, it was not a great year for John Major and company, although they may not have realized it at the time, as little-known and fresh-faced Tony Blair was brought in as the new leader of the House Labor Party. opposition. ; bringing with it talk of ‘change’ and a modernizing agenda.

As for sports, in 1994 Great Britain missed out on the World Cup fun in the US; the first time since 1938 that no British representative had been to the event. Brazil won that competition and eventually beat Italy in the final on penalties, but much attention was still focused on Argentina’s Diego Maradona, who had been suspended midway through the tournament after being caught taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Since home country football matches are of no importance, it was an ideal opportunity for the 5 nations of rugby union to take center stage. Wales dominated the tournament, but the defeat against England in their last game prevented them from sealing a ‘grand slam’.

Britain’s television screens lit up in 1994 with two familiar faces in new guises on BBC 2. Steve Coogan’s creation of the socially inappropriate Alan Partridge was a huge success, viewers cringing when Partridge humiliated and vilified his guests on the fictitious chat program. ‘Knowing me, Knowing you’. The BBC’s second triumph is ‘The Fast Show’; Created by Harry Enfield regular Paul Whitehouse, the show reinvigorated the tired sketch show format and launched a variety of catchphrases.

On the big screen, this was the year Hugh Grant became a household name as a result of his starring role in ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’; the same movie is also responsible for promoting the much loved/hated song ‘Love Is All Around’ from ‘Wet Wet Wet’. The hottest movie of 1994 was Quentin Tarrantino’s gangster flick ‘Pulp Fiction.’ Telling the intertwined stories of two mafia hitmen, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of bandits, it was about violence and redemption.

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