ON THIS DAY
NOVEMBER 11, 1949 ANEURIN BEVAN is considering how to stop abuses of the National Health Service by overseas visitors. People have come from abroad specially to obtain free spectacles, false teeth and wigs. The Minister of Health has said that those ‘raiding’ the scheme will either have to pay or go without. NOVEMBER 11, 1969 THE Queen’s Press Secretary, Mr William Heseltine, said last night: ‘The question of the Queen’s abdication has never arisen.’ It came after an American TV interview with Prince Philip in which Barbara Walters said she had heard Her Majesty might quit one day. He said: ‘As far as I know it is a rumour. I mean, it has its attractions, obviously.’
CALISTA FLOCKHART, 53. Came to fame as the lead role in U.S. series Ally McBeal in the Nineties. She denied rumours then that she had an eating disorder, but years later admitted: ‘I just didn’t find time to eat. I am much more healthy these days.’ She married Harrison Ford (pictured with her), who is 22 years older, in 2010. STANLEY TUCCI, 57. The U.S. star of films including Spotlight and The Hunger Games is married to the sister of British-born actress Emily Blunt — his co-star in The Devil Wears Prada. He lives in London, and of his move to the UK, he said: ‘It’s great. It was a very easy transition — once I’d figured how to top up my Oyster card.’ He says his most embarrassing moment was forgetting his lines while naked on stage.
BEN HOLLIOAKE (19772002). Australian- born cricketer (right) who played for Surrey and England with his brother Adam. He died in a car crash in Perth, Australia when his Porsche 944 spun off the road and into a wall — witnessed by his younger sister in the car behind him. FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY (1821-1881). The Moscow-born author was arrested in 1849 for publicly reading a radical letter, and sentenced to death. The punishment was commuted to jail, but he was subjected to mock execution by firing squad. This inspired him to write his most famous book Crime And Punishment.
IN 1918, Germany signed an armistice with the Allies, ending World War I. IN 1965, Rhodesia declared its independence from the UK.
GUESS THE DEFINITION Birl (coined 1724) A) Scrambling for sweets. B) To cause anything to rotate quickly. C) A single ear of corn. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Take with a pinch of salt: To accept something with skepticism. Said to date from Ancient Rome when, according to Pliny, a grain of salt was used in an antidote to poison, while Pompey was said to have ingested poisons to make himself immune — with a grain of salt to improve the taste.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
ThE only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.
Mark Twain, author (1835-1910)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you call a pile of kittens? A meowntain. Guess The Definition answer: B.