April 9, 2021 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE APRIl 9, 1977
PRInCESS Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips are giving the Queen the happiest Silver Jubilee present of all — a grandchild. The couple are expecting a baby in november. The news has been a Royal Family secret for a fortnight: Princess Anne told the Queen and Prince Philip while they were in Australia — by letter, rather than phone.
APRIl 9, 1994
ROCk star kurt Cobain has killed himself on the eve of a British tour. The 27-year-old lead singer with nirvana, who survived a drug and alcohol-induced coma in Rome last month, left a suicide note. nirvana were rumoured to be on the verge of splitting up. Cobain’s mother said her son had been missing for six days before his body was discovered.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
kRISTEn STEWART, 31. The American actress starred in the Twilight vampire saga and 2019’s Charlie’s Angels remake. The winner of the Bafta Rising Star Award, she was the highest-paid actress in the world in 2012, at just 22, with earnings of £25 million. Donald Trump even tweeted about her seven times. Her latest role is as Princess Diana. nIGEL SLATER, 63. The cookery writer and presenter from Wolverhampton inspired an online quiz during the first lockdown that was entitled name The Vegetable From nigel Slater’s Description Of It. nigel, who was orphaned at 16, helped launch the career of his pal nigella Lawson when he invited her on to his Channel 4 TV show.
BORN ON THIS DAY
HuGH HEFnER (1926-2017). The American founded Playboy magazine by mortgaging his furniture and selling shares to friends and family, including his mother. The first issue, produced on his kitchen table, featured an image of a naked Marilyn Monroe. At his Playboy Mansion, Hefner enjoyed hosting ‘nude olympics’ in his silk pyjamas. PAuL ROBESOn (18981976). The 6 ft 3 in American singer, actor and activist, who performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Stratfordupon-Avon, had his u. S. passport cancelled in 1950 because he refused to sign a non- communist oath. He made Ol’ Man River his signature song and played Othello in the West End opposite Peggy Ashcroft.
ON APRIL 9…
IN 1983, David Bowie went to no 1 with Let’s Dance. IN 2005, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in a private civil wedding at Windsor’s Guildhall.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: wend (1780s)
A) To proceed on one’s way, often leisurely B) To dig up weeds with a hoe C) The strong tendon in an animal’s neck
( Answer below)
PHRASE EXPLAINED Litmus test —
refers to an action that confirms an experiment or investigation; alludes to litmus paper, which in a chemical test for acidity turns red and for alkalinity turns blue.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
PRIDe is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts, not to hurt others George Eliot, English novelist (1819-1880)
JOKE OF THE DAY
DID you hear about the man who fell into an upholstery machine? Don’t worry, he is now fully recovered. GUeSS The Definition answer: A.