ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JUNE 8, 1929 AT 11am today a new sovereign state was born. Signor Mussolini — the first Italian premier ever to enter the Vatican — exchanged with Cardinal Gasparri ratifications of the Lateran Treaties so creating the Vatican City.
JUNE 8, 1967 THE Queen smiled. The Duchess of Windsor bowed slightly from the waist. The Duke of Windsor stood erect, looking slightly tired, but happy. This was the first moment all had met in public since the Abdication just over 30 years ago. The occasion was the unveiling of a plaque to Queen Mary — the Duke’s mother, the Queen’s grandmother.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
NANCY SINATRA, 80 ( pictured). The elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and his first wife Nancy, was dubbed ‘ the gogobooted sex bomb’. She sang These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ in 1966 and in 1967 released Somethin’ Stupid, a duet with her father, of which she said: ‘Some people call that the Incest Song, which I think is, well, very sweet!’ She played herself in TV’s The Sopranos. COLIN BAKER, 77. The actor from London played the sixth incarnation of the Time Lord in Doctor Who from 1984 to 1986. BBC One controller Michael Grade, who disliked the show, said he would only recommission it if Baker was replaced. Baker said he was ‘brutally selfish’ for not filming the ‘regeneration’ scene for which successor Sylvester McCoy had to wear Baker’s old costume. and a wig. The father of four lost two stone in 17 days on ITV’s 2012 I’m a Celebrity...
BORN ON THIS DAY
JOAN RIVERS (1933-2014). The U.S. comedienne (pictured) was the daughter of Russian- Jewish immigrants. A fan of plastic surgery, she learnt of her husband’s suicide during liposuction. She had no time for those offended by her acerbic wit: ‘Life is tough, darling. Life is hard. And we better laugh at everything; otherwise, we’re going down the tube.’ An antiques collector, she once quipped: ‘If Louis XIV hasn’t sat on it, I don’t want it.’ FRANCIS CRICK (1916-2004). The biologist and Nobel prize-winner from Northamptonshire wrote, with American James Watson, the paper proposing DNA’s double helix structure. He said: ‘Jim and I hit it off immediately because a certain youthful arrogance, a ruthlessness and an impatience with sloppy thinking came naturally to both of us.’
ON JUNE 8…
IN 1924, English mountaineer George Mallory vanished on Mount Everest. IN 1984, Ghostbusters, the film starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, was released.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Vamoose (c 1830)
A) The forward of bees flight of bees. B) A second swarm of bees in one season. C) To leave hurriedly or quickly. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Given the third degree: To be the object of determined interrogation. Perhaps derives from Freemasonry where ‘third degree’ is the highest level of membership.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.
Paul Valéry, French poet (1871-1945)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT is a vampire’s favourite fruit?
A neck-tarine.
Guess The definition answer: C.