ON THIS DAY
SEPTEMBER 5, 1939
early today, Germany tried a new method to reach English listeners with her propaganda. Shortly after 2am, listeners who had tuned in to the 449 metres wavelength of the BBC Northern home broadcast were surprised to hear a voice, speaking in perfect English, announce a German news bulletin for listeners in Britain.
An official said the BBC would have to take steps about it. ‘We could jam it out,’ he said, ‘by simply switching on dance music.’
SEPTEMBER 5, 1963
Another man was arrested last night and charged with taking part in the Great Train robbery. He is ronald Arthur Biggs, a 34-year- old carpenter, of Alpine road, redhill, Surrey. Police swooped on his small detached house and turned out cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. He is the ninth person to be arrested by train raid police.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Mark Ramprakash, 48. The former England Test cricketer from Hertfordshire won Strictly Come Dancing with karen Hardy (right) in 2006, and was described as being so ‘indecently gorgeous’ that ‘ half of British womanhood melts into a puddle’. During the series, he was revealed to have had a six-year affair. In 2010, he divorced after 18 years of marriage. Tracy Edwards, 55. Having been expelled from school at age 15, the English yachtswoman skippered the first female crew to sail around the world in 1989, when she was 26. British firms refused to support her team, fearing reputational damage if the women died during the race.
BORN ON THIS DAY
JESSE JAMES (1847-1882). American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerilla, gang leader and murderer. Despite popular portrayals, there was nothing of the robin Hood about him. He was shot and killed by new gang member Bob Ford, who profited from a travelling show about the deed, and was himself shot dead 12 years later. JOHN CAGE (1912-1992). Leading postwar avant-garde American composer best known for his 1952 composition 4’33” (4 minutes 33 seconds), for which musicians make no deliberate sound aside from being present for the duration of the title.
ON SEPTEMBER 5…
IN 1921, at a party thrown by actor Fatty Arbuckle (right), actress Virginia rappe suffered injuries from which she died. Arbuckle was found not guilty of manslaughter, but the case, which scandalised Prohibition-era America and ‘sold more papers than the sinking of the Lusitania’, ended his career.
IN 1957, Jack kerouac’s On The road, the classic book which defined the ‘ Beat Generation’, was published.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Lubberland (coined 1598) A) A day that never comes. B) Mythical paradise reserved for the lazy. C) An awkward situation, a state of suspense, a critical position. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
Glove money: A bribe; refers to the ancient custom of presenting a pair of gloves to a person who undertook a cause for you
QUOTE FOR TODAY
When I was in college, there were certain words you couldn’t say in front of a girl. now you can say them, but you can’t say “girl”. Tom Lehrer, U.S. comedian
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHICH nuts always sound like they have a cold? Cashews! Guess The Definition answer: B.