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In celebration of the launch of The Times Archive, The Times Newspaper are giving away six DVDs that explore some of the most momentous events in world history. They appear to have two different events on each DVD, so that is effectively 12 different events. Most of these seem to be different from the Mirror ones I mentioned earlier, So I may get them. You can collect them with The Times at WHSmith (or Ebay next week , Titles in the series are:

* The assassination of President John F Kennedy and the resignation of President Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.
* The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the death of Hitler.
* The first flight of the Wright Brothers and the first lunar landing.
* The Great Train Robbery and Captain Blood’s theft of the Crown Jewels.
* The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone.
* The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the death of Diana.

This week In the Sunday Telegraph there were two Classic Audio CDs. The first of these was “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier

The story concerns a young woman who meets an English nobleman named Maxim de Winter while on holiday. Maxim is trying to come to terms with the death of his first wife Rebecca, who died in a mysterious boating accident less than a year earlier.

After a whirlwind romance she marries Maxim, and the two of them return to Manderley, his country estate. There, she finds herself haunted by reminders of his first wife, Rebecca, whose spirit affects nearly everything that takes place at Manderley. She also gets a growing sense of distrust toward those who loved Rebecca, (Especially Mrs Danvers) wondering just how much they resent her for taking Rebecca’s place.

It soon becomes apparant that there may be more to Rebecca’s death, than meets the eye, and she faces an uphill struggle to reveal what actually happened the day Rebecca died, with some people going to extraordinary lengths to conceal what actually took place on that fatefull night….

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The Second Audio CD was “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemmingway

For Whom The Bell Tolls takes place during May 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War and concerns An American man named Robert Jordan, who has left the United States to enlist on the Republican side in the war, Where he then travels behind enemy lines working with Spanish guerrilla fighters.

The Republican command assigns Robert Jordan the dangerous and difficult task of blowing up a Fascist-controlled bridge as part of a larger Republican offensive. So he seeks the help of the local guerrilla fighters. A peasant named Anselmo guides Robert Jordan to the local guerrilla camp, which is hidden in a cave.

Along the way, they encounter Pablo, the leader of the camp, who greets Robert Jordan with hostility and opposes the bridge operation because he believes it endangers the guerrilleros’ safety. Robert Jordan suspects that Pablo may betray or sabotage the mission.

At the guerrilleros’ camp, Robert Jordan meets Pilar, Pablo’s “woman.” She appears to be the real leader of the band of guerrilleros. Pretty soon a rapport develops between Robert Jordan and Pilar. During the course of the evening, Robert Jordan also meets the six other inhabitants of the camp: Rafael, Agustín, Fernando, old Primitivo, and brothers Andrés and Eladio. The camp also shelters a young woman named Maria, whom a band of Fascists raped not long before.

So the small group of Guerrillas begin the daring & difficult mission of blowing up the Fascist-controlled bridge. They are then joined by El Sordo, and his group band of guerrilleros, who also agree to help with the mission….