ON THIS DAY
February 7, 2018
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE FEBRUARY 7, 1952
QUEEN ELIZABETH and the Duke of Edinburgh were early this morning flying home following the tragically sudden death of King George VI, announced from Sandringham yesterday. They are expected to reach London Airport at 4.30pm after flying the 4,127 miles from Entebbe, uganda. The Queen’s face showed signs of strain, but her manner was as disciplined as always.
FEBRUARY 7, 1969
THE headmaster of Eton, Mr Anthony Chenevix-Trench, clashed last night with Education Minister Mr Edward Short, who told MPs that schools which allow senior pupils to beat juniors may be taken off the approved Government list. He said: ‘I should have thought that Her Majesty’s Government has more important problems both in the economic and educational field with which to concern themselves.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
EDDIE IzzARD, 56. Although known as Britain’s ‘surrealistin-chief’, last year, the comedian and wannabe politician stood for election to Labour’s National Executive Committee. In 2009, after only five weeks’ training, he completed 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief (right). He followed that up in 2016 by completing 27 marathons in 27 days in 30c heat in South Africa to mark the 27 years Nelson Mandela spent in jail, raising £1.35 million, again for Sport Relief. CHRIS MEARS, 25. He won Britain’s first Olympic diving gold with flatmate Jack Laugher in Rio in 2016. In 2009, Mears contracted Epstein Barr virus and had to have surgery to remove a ruptured spleen. He had lost five pints of blood and was given just a 5 per cent chance of survival.
BORN ON THIS DAY
HATTIE JACQuES (1922-1980). The actress (right, with Kenneth Williams) appeared in 14 Carry On films. The British Film Institute called her characters ‘man-devouring predators whose affections were apt to strike terror in weak-kneed men’. It was an apt description — although married to Dad’s Army’s John Le Mesurier, she had an affair with her chauffeur, who took her husband’s place in the marital bed while he moved into the attic. They divorced once she found him a wife. SIR THOMAS MORE (1478-1535). His refusal to accept Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and split with Rome meant he was removed as Lord Chancellor, imprisoned and beheaded. He is said to have told his executioner his beard was innocent and moved it out of harm’s way.
ON FEBRUARY 7…
IN 1962, President John F. Kennedy banned all Cuban imports and exports — but not before he’d ordered 1,200 Cuban cigars.
IN 1991, the IRA launched a mortar attack on Downing Street while prime minister John Major led a meeting inside.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Amorce (1802) A) A poem written for a birthday. B) The percussion cap for a toy pistol. C) A fit of depression. Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
All present and correct: Not an item or person missing — part of the Army’s King’s Regulations; from the report of the Orderly Sergeant indicating a successful roll-call.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
SO it turns out that if you bang two halves of a horse together, it doesn’t make the sound of a coconut. Ken Dodd, English comedian
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT’S white and goes up? A confused snowflake. Guess The Definition Answer: B.