May 11, 2021 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE MAY 11, 1940
MR WINSTON CHuRCHILL is Britain’s new war Prime Minister. He took office last night after Mr Chamberlain had handed his resignation to the King; until early this morning he was forming his War Cabinet of Conservative, Labour and Liberal members.
MAY 11, 1981
BBC coverage of the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer will make television history by being fronted by a woman. The 500 million viewers watching the Beeb’s worldwide live transmission will be guided through the pomp and ceremony by 36-year-old Angela Rippon.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
LAeTITIA CASTA, 43. The French model-turnedactress, a former Victoria’s Secret Angel, played Brigitte Bardot in the 2010 film Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. In 1999, she became the ‘face of France’ when she was chosen as the model for the bust of Marianne, pictured, the symbol of the French Republic that stands outside town halls across the country. VALeNTINO GARAVANI, 89. The Italian fashion designer is best known as just Valentino. His style was defined by a visit to the opera as a teenager when he was inspired by a performer in a red velvet gown. Jackie Kennedy commissioned the black mourning dresses she wore in the year following JFK’s assassination from Valentino — as well as the wedding dress in which she married Aristotle Onassis.
BORN ON THIS DAY
IRVING BeRLIN (1888-1989). The Russianborn American composer and lyricist wrote 1,500 songs and the scores for 18 films in his 101 years, including Cheek To Cheek and Puttin’ On The Ritz. But he never learned to read or write music. He insisted there were only six tunes in the world, and when anyone praised one of his melodies, he replied: ‘I like it, too. I’ve used it lots of times.’ Berlin created the anthems White Christmas and easter Parade. NATASHA RICHARDSON (1963-2009). The Londonborn, Tony Award-winning actress, pictured, starred in The Parent Trap and Maid In Manhattan. She was the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and wife of Liam Neeson. One critic compared her husky voice to ‘a caress of honey and iron filings’. She died, aged 45, following a skiing accident in Canada.
ON MAY 11…
IN 1963, The Beatles were enjoying their first No 1 on the official uK singles chart, From Me To You. IN 1981, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats opened in the West end.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Doggerel (1300s)
A) Loosely styled verse, often for comic effect. B) Wild, unmanageable, perverse. C) Gradually, bit by bit. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Up to the hilt:
Meaning completely or to the very limit; it alludes to the penetration of the full length of the sword into a body right up to the handle or ‘hilt’.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
If You want a friend in Washington, get a dog. Harry S. Truman, 33rd U.S. President (1884-1972)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW do you clean a chicken? With an egg wash. Guess The Definition answer: A.