ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JULY 6, 1945
THE Board of Trade has announced that all utility bedroom furniture is soon to be made of mahogany. From today, shops can no longer take orders for oak wardrobes, dressing-chests or tall-boys as there is not enough oak after war needs are met.
JULY 6, 2012
THE search for the ‘God particle’ is over. Some 48 years after the existence of the Higgs boson — the particle that holds the universe together and gives it substance — was predicted, scientists at CERN, the Swiss home of the Large Hadron Collider, announced they had found it. Newcastleborn Professor Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of the particle that bears his name, was present and wiped away a tear.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
GERALDINE JAMES, 72. The Berkshire- born actress (pictured) starred in TV’s The Jewel In The
Crown, the Calendar Girls film and, on stage, with dustin Hoffman, in The Merchant Of Venice. She says she is rarely recognised, but adds: ‘After [ITV’s] Band Of Gold, I got a bit sick of taxi drivers saying, “You’re that prostitute off the telly. Are you available?” These days, people don’t have a clue who I am, which is much nicer.’ GEOFFREY RUSH, 71. The Australian won Baftas for Shakespeare In Love, The King’s Speech and Shine (for which he also won an Oscar). Rush said he was considered ‘a bit sissy’ in Australia for studying the arts: ‘You had to be into sport and, sad to say, I’m a traitor to my country because I don’t have a sporting bone in my body.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
RICHARD BECKINSALE (1947-1979). The actor from Nottinghamshire made his name in the BBC’s Porridge and ITV’s Rising damp. Beckinsale, who trained as a bus company upholsterer, made his TV debut in Coronation Street. The father of Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale died of a heart attack, aged 31.
FRIDA KAHLO ( 19071954). The Mexican painter made her name with selfportraits. Salma Hayek, who played Kahlo in 2002 film Frida, said disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein tried to eliminate the artist’s famous ‘unibrow’ and limp, and asked her to ‘sex up’ her performance. Last year, a Kahlo painting sold for $34.9 million — the most expensive Latin American artwork ever auctioned.
ON JULY 6...
IN 1941, the BBC first broadcast London Calling Europe — English language radio propaganda for occupied countries.
IN 1971, u.S. jazz trumpeter, singer and band leader Louis Armstrong died, aged 69.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Sennachie (coined 1530s)
A) Scarecrow.
B) A depression of spirits.
C) Professional storyteller of genealogy, history and legend. answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED Day of reckoning:
When past mistakes must be paid for. It alludes to the day of Judgment, when Christians believe humans will answer to God for their sins.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I make myself laugh at everything, for fear of having to weep at it. Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French dramatist (1732-1799)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY did the sun move away from the stars? It wanted space.
Guess The Definition answer: C.