ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 24, 1954
ALL my big brother wants for Christmas is Marilyn Monroe (pictured), a Lancashire girl has written to Santa Claus. Signed ‘Pat, age eight, of Barton Lane, Eccles,’ she wrote: ‘My brother would like someone to hug. He is 21 and says he would not need any other presents if he gets Marilyn.’ It was made public by the Danish tourist office, which receives dozens of letters posted to ‘Santa Claus, Greenland’.
NOVEMBER 24, 1960
MR ANTHONy WEDGWOOD BENN has made the first move in his battle to remain in the House of Commons. He has formally renounced his viscountcy by posting his Letters Patent to Buckingham Palace. He was Labour MP for Bristol SE until his father’s death last week [when he inherited a peerage, barring him from the Commons: he returned only after a 1963 law change].
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
MARGARET MOUNTFORD, 66. The Northern Irish former corporate lawyer found TV fame as Lord (Alan) Sugar’s sidekick on The Apprentice from 2005 to 2009, speaking volumes with her icy stares and raised eyebrows. She stepped down to complete a PhD in papyrology (the study of ancient texts on papyrus) at University College London. Told her left eyebrow had a Twitter account, she said: ‘Good to know it has a life of its own.’ PETE BEST, 76. The Beatles’ original drummer (pictured) was one of The Fab Four from 1960 to 1962, before being ousted, aged 20, by Ringo Starr. He later worked at a bread factory, then as a civil servant for 20 years. He did not receive Beatles royalties until 1995, when early demo recordings were released.
BORN ON THIS DAY
PENNY HALSALL (1946-2011). Under pen name Penny Jordan, the Lancashire-born Mills & Boon author wrote more than 200 books, selling more than 100 million copies worldwide. The former shorthand-typist said the sex scenes, which she found hard to write, were not the crucial part — ‘the appeal of romance is love’. She said the kind of story she loved best had a ‘sheikh hero’. FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT (18491924). The Manchester-born author of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden loved horticulture. She described herself as a ‘flower drunk’ and said: ‘As long as one has a garden, one has a future; and as long as one has a future, one is alive.’
ON NOVEMBER 24…
IN 1877, Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, was published. It was her only novel. IN 1950, Guys & Dolls opened on Broadway.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Undaftiness (coined 1555) A) Good sense. B) Untidiness. C) Without deliberation. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
To root for someone: To show support for another person. Comes from Americans urging on their sports team, and is possibly a corruption of to ‘rout’ or cause uproar.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
HAVE you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot — and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? Ronnie Corbett, comedian (1930-2016)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHy did the fish blush? Because it saw the ocean’s bottom. Guess The Definition answer: B