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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Winter_of_discontent
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1992-09-02
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The winter of 1978-79 in Britain, marked by a
series of strikes that contributed to the
defeat of the Labour government in the
general election of spring 1979. The phrase
is from Shakespeare's Richard III: `Now is
the winter of our discontent/Made glorious
summer by this sun of York.' The strikes
included Ford Motor Company workers Sept-Nov
1978, bakery workers Nov-Dec 1978, lorry
drivers Jan-Feb 1979, train drivers Jan 1979,
local-authority workers and health-service
ancillaries and ambulance crews Jan-Mar 1979
(which led to the much publicized failure to
bury dead bodies and to the partial breakdown
of some hospital services), water and
sewerage workers Feb 1979, and civil servants
Feb and Apr 1979.