ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
SEPTEMBER 24, 1945 A gADgET that will answer phone calls and record messages while you are out is announced by a Chicago firm today. By plugging your phone in to a dictaphone device, you can leave a message to tell callers you are unavailable and record any message the caller cares to leave. SEPTEMBER 24, 1962 THE 13-year-old Prince of Wales has shot his first stag on the hills above Balmoral while out with his father, Prince Philip. The young Prince hit the animal with his first shot. Mrs Jean Pyke, of the League against Cruel Sports, said: ‘They have been teaching the boy to do horrible things like this.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JACk DEE, 57. The morose comedian from kent, the winner of the first Celebrity Big Brother, says fans want him to be as grumpy in real life: ‘People feel a bit let down if I’m laughing or smiling.’ The father of four almost became a priest (‘I went to the interview and went through the vetting procedure’), but said he had a narrow escape, ‘both for me and the church’. HELEN LEDERER, 64. The comic actress, right, who grew up in South-East London, describes herself as the ‘supply teacher of comedy’ for popping up everywhere, but is best known as dippy Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous. When she turned 60, she started referring to herself as ‘too old for Hugh Hefner, too young for Harry Styles’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANTHONy NEWLEy (1931-1999). The Hackney- born actor, writer, singer, composer and director co-wrote the musical Stop The World — I Want To get Off, the theme tune for Bond film goldfinger, and the Nina Simone smash-hit Feeling good. He had two children with actress Joan Collins, but she said the marriage ended ‘because of his womanising...’ JIM HENSON ( 19361990). The American puppeteer created The Muppet Show. He said kermit the Frog (pictured with him, right) was ‘an alter ego... he says things I hold myself back from saying.’ Henson died of pneumonia, aged 53, and his coffin was topped by his frog, bearing a sign that read: ‘I’ve lost my voice.’
ON SEPTEMBER 24…
IN 1890, the Mormon Church officially renounced polygamy.
IN 1916, a german Zeppelin crashed in Little Wigborough, in Essex. The crew members were arrested when they asked a policeman for directions to Colchester.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Ignivomous (1721) A) giving off a booming sound B) Emitting fire C) Angry; furious (Answer below) PHRASE EXPLAINED
Eavesdropper — meaning to listen secretly. From the obsolete noun eavesdrop, ‘ the ground on to which water drips from the eaves’, itself probably from the Old Norse upsardropi. By medieval times, it meant someone who stood under the eaves to listen to conversations within a house.