ON THIS DAY
September, 6, 2018
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE SEPTEMBER 6, 1940
YOU must not take a souvenir from a crashed enemy plane, but if a German airman gives you something you can keep it. This was decided yesterday at a police court where garage owner William Philpott was charged with failing to report removing a flying helmet from a plane. It is thought to be the first case in which the Crown’s right to spoils of war has been disputed. Philpott said: ‘The pilot took off his helmet and gave it to me, saying, “Souvenir.” ’
SEPTEMBER 6, 1963
RONALD BIGGS, a £35-a-week builder, accused of taking part in the £2.6 million Great Train Robbery, was granted legal aid yesterday. Told he faces charges over the raid, the married father-of-two, who claimed to be in debt, told magistrates at Linslade, Bucks: ‘You will have to prove it all the way. I am admitting nothing to you people.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
IDRIS ELBA, 46. The star (right) found fame in u.S. TV series The Wire and BBC1’s Luther. He played Nelson Mandela in Long Walk To Freedom and shares his birthday with co- star Naomie Harris, 42 today, who played Mandela’s wife Winnie. Tipped as the next James Bond, he raised speculation last month by tweeting: ‘My name’s Elba, Idris Elba.’ But he may have to change his martini habits. Asked how he likes them, he replied: ‘Stir fried.’ EMILY MAITLIS, 48. The Newsnight presenter, who earns from £220,000 to £229,999 a year at the BBC, speaks Spanish, Italian, French and Mandarin. She has ‘really curly hair’, but admitted she gets it blow-dried by a woman who comes to her home on a bicycle three times a week and happens to be a former general in the Albanian army.
BORN ON THIS DAY
DOLORES O’RIORDAN (1971-2018). The singer of Irish band The Cranberries (right) wrote their hit Linger, about her first kiss, aged 17. She said: ‘until then, I’d always thought putting tongues in mouths was disgusting, but when he gave me my first proper kiss, I did indeed “have to let it linger”.’ O’Riordan was found dead in her room at a London hotel in January. A delayed inquest into her death is due to be held at Westminster Coroner’s Court today, which would have been her 47th birthday. CHARLES FOLEY (1930-2013). The American co-created the game Twister in 1966. It was dubbed ‘sex in a box’, but Foley said: ‘Once you get men and women in play positions, unless you’re drinking, you forget the sex thing. The urge to win takes over.’
ON SEPTEMBER 6…
IN 1952, 31 people were killed and dozens injured when a jet fighter crashed into crowds at the Farnborough Air Show. IN 1963, Cilla Black was signed by The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Welkin (1739) A) Small welk. B) The firmament or heavens. C) unsettled weather. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
To have egg on one’s face: To make an embarrassing mistake. It has its origins in early to mid 20th-century America, when bad actors were pelted with eggs, or when farm dogs stole and messily ate chicken eggs.