ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
DECEMBER 26, 1929
MORE women than ever will be taking to the air in the next few festive days. The fascination of flying has got a hold on women and several lady members of the London Aerodrome Club are flying to visit their friends, while a good few are dashing over to the Continent in their own machines.
DECEMBER 26, 1990
AUTHOR Salman Rushdie’s hopes of gaining forgiveness by Iran over The Satanic Verses were dealt a double blow yesterday. In Britain, Muslim leaders condemned Rushdie’s pledge not to publish the controversial book in paperback as ‘an empty gesture’. And in Tehran, it was said the death sentence imposed by the late Ayatollah Khomeini would stand for ever.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DERMOT MURNAGHAN, 62. The Devon-born, Northern Irish-raised Sky News presenter made his name in 1997 after being woken in the middle of the night to be told of the car crash involving Princess Diana and then hosting ITV News for most of the day. He once received a letter from a female admirer, who ‘sent me her door keys and some money along with a note saying her husband was away on a North Sea oil rig’. KIT HARINGTON, 33. The actor from London played Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. As a student he met his character-to-be’s namesake, Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow, but embarrassed himself when he confused him with the BBC’s John Simpson. Harington is a direct descendant of Charles II.
BORN ON THIS DAY
CAROLL SPINNEY (19332019). The U.S. puppeteer, who died this month, played Big Bird on Sesame Street from its launch in 1969 until late last year. Spinney, who also played Oscar the Grouch, met his wife of 45 years on the Sesame Street set. He said he was ‘still playing a six-yearold’ into his 80s — ‘I guess that makes me the world’s oldest child star’.
MARY SOMERVILLE ( 1780- 1872). Described as the ‘Queen of 19th- century science’, Somerville played a key role in the discovery of the planet Neptune and gave her name to Somerville College, Oxford. She was a friend of computing pioneer Charles Babbage, and she appears on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s £10 note.
ON DECEMBER 26…
IN 1998, the Spice Girls notched up their eighth No. 1, and their first since the departure of Geri Halliwell. IN 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, died aged 93.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Scabrous (c 1575)
A) Slanderous B) Rough; hard to handle with decency C) Ravenou. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Darling buds of May — refers to the beautiful flower buds that sprout in the springtime; coined by Shakespeare in his most famous sonnet ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day ... ?’
QUOTE FOR TODAY
CHRISTMAS begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realise what you spent, around April 15 of next year.
P.J. O’Rourke, American writer
JOKE OF THE DAY
I THINK my calendar is trying to kill me...
My days are numbered. Guess the Definition answer: B.