ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
OCTOBER 24, 1973
In THE most astonishing about-face of his controversial career, U.S. President Richard nixon last night agreed to hand over all the Watergate tapes. He surrendered them in court before Judge John J. Sirica, who had threatened to hold the President in contempt unless he obeyed the law.
OCTOBER 24, 2001
SHE is known for keeping a cool head under that famous camouflage hat. But on the issue of women being employed as reporters and newscasters on the basis of their looks, Kate Adie became hot under the collar. ‘They want women with cute faces, cute bottoms and nothing else in between,’ said the BBC’s 56-year-old chief war correspondent.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ESTHER MCVEY, 52. The Liverpool- born Housing Minister found fame as a GMTV presenter. Last year, she revealed she was a ‘Barnardo’s child’ who spent her first two years of life in foster care. Her former agent said McVey (right) became a ‘showbiz pariah’ among former colleagues by voting against gay marriage, adding: ‘Though it must be said, they didn’t really like her to start with.’
BARRY DAVIES, 82. The retired BBC sports commentator, whose style was described as ‘part schoolmaster, part eccentric uncle’, covered ten World Cup finals, 12 Summer Olympics and 33 Wimbledons — but quit Match Of The Day after 35 years in 2004 because he felt he was being sidelined. At the 1988 Olympics, when he was commentating on Great Britain’s men winning hockey gold, he famously said: ‘And where were the Germans? And quite frankly, who cares?’
BORN ON THIS DAY
DAME SYBIL THORNDIKE (1882-1976). The Lincolnshire-born actress toured the world starring in Shakespeare productions. George Bernard Shaw wrote the play Saint Joan especially for her (she performed it more than 2,000 times). She studied at Guildhall School of Music and dreamed of being a pianist — until she broke her wrist.
SIR ROBIN DAY (19232000). The broadcaster (right) was Question Time’s first chairman — instantly recognisable with his distinctive glasses and polkadot bow-tie. His most memorable interview was with defence secretary John nott in 1982. Asking about naval cuts, Day said: ‘Why should the public on this issue believe you, a transient, here today and, if I may say so, gone tomorrow politician . . . ?’ nott stormed out of the studio.
ON OCTOBER 24…
IN 1929, the Wall Street Crash started with ‘Black Thursday’. IN 1931, U.S. gangster Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Revetment (c1765)
A) A retaining wall. B) Calling together hunting hounds. C) Priest’s act of dressing
Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
All spruced up — meaning all cleaned up or dressed up; it refers to ‘spruce’, a Middle English word for Prussia, an area that produced high- quality leather and had a reputation for being neat and organised.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
WHAT the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order.
P.D. James, English crime writer (1920-2014)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW are false teeth like stars?
They come out at night. Guess The Definition answer: A.