ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
FEBRUARY 2, 1940 The first conscientious objector wife, whose views on war led her to refuse to accept evacuee children, cost her husband £8.8s [£8.40, and worth £503 in today’s money] yesterday. her husband, Robert edgar Lawton, of Cheadle hulme, Cheshire, was fined the same amount for failing to accept an evacuee child. Mrs Lawton had written to the authorities: ‘As a Christian I have strong views about war. I feel I must not take part in anything to do with war.’ FEBRUARY 2, 1966 ChILDReN who tell lies in Isle of Man courts may be caned under a clause passed by the island Parliament yesterday. Isle of Man courts are the only ones in Britain that can order children to be beaten.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ChRISTIe BRINKLeY, 64. The U. S. supermodel (right) has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers and was the face of CoverGirl for 25 years — the record for a cosmetics contract. One of her four marriages was to musician Billy Joel and she inspired his hit song Uptown Girl. GeMMA ARTeRTON, 32. The actress from Kent, the daughter of a welder and cleaner, shot to stardom as Strawberry Fields in Quantum Of Solace but has described the role as ‘secondary totty’ and said she wouldn’t play a Bond girl now. She was born with a sixth finger on each hand and still has small lumps where the extra digits were removed as a baby.
BORN ON THIS DAY
eLAINe STRITCh (19252014). The Broadway star ( right) dated John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Rock hudson. She is best remembered by British audiences for her role in BBC sitcom Two’s Company in the Seventies opposite Donald Sinden. She was known for her drinking, with Judy Garland ending one session at 8am, saying: ‘elaine, I never thought I’d say this, but good night!’ LeS DAWSON (1931-1993). The comedian from Manchester was described by one writer as ‘a slob of a man but with a very sensitive mind’. Although the former vacuum cleaner salesman was best known for his mother-in-law jokes, he was a lover of literature and amassed a collection of 4,000 books, writing 12 of his own. he died when his youngest child, Charlotte, a reality TV star, was eight months old.
ON FEBRUARY 2…
IN 1922, Ulysses, by James Joyce, was published on the author’s 40th birthday. IN 1943, German forces surrendered to the Soviets, ending the Battle of Stalingrad. IN 2009, hillary Clinton was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State.
WORD WIZADRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Lucubration (1595) A) Late night study by lamplight. B) The condition of being full of small air bubbles. C) An extravagant and boisterous public celebration.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
There’s the rub: Refers to the point at which doubt or difficulty arises to create a problem and derives from Shakespeare’s hamlet: ‘To die, to sleep; to sleep, perchance to dream. Ay there’s the rub.’
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Ever noticed that no matter what happens in one day, it exactly fits in the newspaper? Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
JOKE OF THE DAY
What do you call anxious dinosaurs? The nervous rex. Guess The Definition Answer: A.