320 Years Late, London Bakers Fired Up Over Apology

--London’s bakers finally apologized to the lord mayor for setting fire to the city. The Great Fire of London happened in 1666, but in a country that not only treasures its history but often seems to be living in it, what’s a mere 320 years? So the members of the Worshipful Company of Bakers gathered in Pudding Lane at the place where the fire began. Watched by a small crowd of dignitaries and bemused bystanders, the bakers formally acknowledged what Londoners have known for some time: that the fire was started by Thomas Faryner, the king’s baker, who failed to douse his oven before turning in on Saturday night, Sept. 1, 1666. Clad in his robes and chain of office, John Copeman, master of the bakers’ company, unveiled a plaque in the wall of the bank that stands where Faryner had his establishment. Allen Davis, the lord mayor of London, commented: “It’s never too late to apologize.” There was much to forgive. The five-day fire, though it caused no fatalities, laid waste to 13,200 houses, 89 churches and 44 livery halls over 450 acres.

--Deposed Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier moved from Grasse to a new home nearby on the French Riviera, four months after he was forced to flee his homeland. His new home is in Mougins, a suburb of Cannes on the Mediterranean coast. Saudi billionaire Adnan Kashogi is a neighbor. French officials say they are still looking for a permanent exile home in another country for Duvalier, who has said he prefers to live in France.

--Billy Carter is moving home to Plains, Ga., even though he once vowed never to go back. For the last four years, Former President Jimmy Carter’s colorful younger brother has lived in Waycross, 150 miles west of Plains. Billy Carter, 49, was always upset that his brother’s election to the presidency turned Plains into a tourist attraction, but the visitors no longer are coming in. “The movers are here now to pick up our things,” Carter’s wife, Sybil, said in Waycross. “We’re real excited to be moving back to Plains. Our families are there and that’s where we want to live.” Until January, Carter was vice president of Scott Housing Systems in Waycross, but now he is setting up mobile home lots of his own in the South. “Billy’s not normal--he just couldn’t stand wearing a shirt and tie,” his wife said when he decided to go into business for himself.