ON THIS DAY

JANUARY 3, 1951

WOMEN should not wear large hats at the cinema or theatre, thinks the Rev. John White, vicar of All Saints, Upper Norwood, in South-East London. ‘It is unfortunate to have booked an expensive seat behind one of these,’ he wrote in his parish magazine. ‘It is a clear Christian duty to use more discretion in choosing headgear. My wife never wears a hat in the cinema or theatre.’

JANUARY 3, 1964

A CORONER yesterday backed the Daily Mail’s campaign for legislation to ban the sale of inflammable nightdresses. He had heard how a girl of three died when her nightie caught fire. It was the third such inquest in three days. The Consumer Council and the Retail Trading Standards Association said last night they were backing the Mail’s campaign, and four big stores will now refuse to sell them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

DAVID STARKEY, 73. The Tv historian, who grew up in near-poverty in kendal and has been dubbed ‘the rudest man in Britain’, says he hates ‘ authoritarian personalities. At the softest extreme, it’s the lollipop lady; at the other end it’s the concentration-camp guard. But God, is it easy to get from one to the other.’ JUSTIN WEBB, 57. The Radio 4 Today presenter earns around £200,000 a year but last year moaned his co-host Nick Robinson ‘is paid £100,000 more than me for what is essentially the same job’. In 2011, he revealed he was born after his mother had an affair with BBC newsreader Peter Woods, who provided for his son financially but met him only once, at six months old.

BORN ON THIS DAY

JOHN THAW (1942-2002). The actor, from Manchester, got his big break in The Sweeney, before playing opera- loving Inspector Morse (pictured with his vintage Mk II Jaguar). As Morse, he attracted audiences of up to 18 million, and was thought to earn up to £2 million a year. He said: ‘I get a lot but that’s what I’m worth. I think I’m getting the rate for the job, just like a chippie.’ CLEMENT ATTLEE (1883-1967). As postwar Labour Prime Minister, he nationalised one-fifth of the economy. He presided over the launch of the NHS and expansion of the social security system, the creation of national parks and widespread decolonisation. In 2004, in a poll of academics, he was voted most successful British PM ever.

ON JANUARY 3…

IN 1924, the 3,000-year-old sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter.

IN 1993, U.S. and Russian presidents George Bush and Boris yeltsin signed a treaty agreeing to destroy 75 per cent of their nuclear warheads — limiting each country to a total of 3,000-3,500 strategic weapons.

WORD WIZARDRY

GUESS THE DEFINITION Agel ast (1877) A) To belittle someone verbally. B) Cold to the point of being near frozen. C) Person who never laughs. Answer below

PHRASE EXPLAINED

To have no flies on one: Meaning someone not easily deceived nor slow or dull. It originated in 1840s Australia and alludes to flies settling on sluggish cattle.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

It Always seems impossible until it’s done. Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

JOKE OF THE DAY

TWO matches got into a fight at work... One got struck off and the other got fired. Guess the Definition answer: C.