By the time we got to Woodstock,Words and Music by Joni Mitchell © 1969 by Siquomb Publishing Co.
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes
Riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are caught in the devils bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Regular readers will know about my fascination with manned space flight. Today is the day; the anniversary of an event which delivered Kennedy's promise - "We will do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are difficult." When Neil Armstrong stepped down from the LEM step and that little puff of moon dust was blown up my generation knew that if a man could walk on the moon all things were possible. The moon landing is still a powerful symbol of many things, not all of them good, but I still prefer to think of that one idea; if a man can walk on the moon I can achieve anything.
The Open University was established by Royal Charter in 1969. On April 23 of that year The Queen endorsed the proposals and asked for a Charter to be drawn up. This was to establish The Open University for the "advancement and dissemination of learning and knowledge by teaching and research by a diversity of means such as broadcasting and technological devices".
