ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE ApRIL 8, 1989
THe Queen is going to Russia. As early as a year from now, she could be in Moscow for what will be the most significant state visit of her reign. It will finally heal the 72- year- old wounds of the Bolshevik revolution, which led to Czar Nicholas II — cousin of the Queen’s grandfather — and his family being executed.
ApRIL 8, 2020
DoMINIC RAAB last night said Boris Johnson would ‘pull through’ after his condition in intensive care stabilised. The Foreign Secretary gave a cautiously optimistic update, saying the PM, who has Covid, was in good spirits and breathing without assistance after treatment at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
MICHeLLe DoNeLAN, 40. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology holds the record for shortest-serving Cabinet member in British history. She resigned as education Secretary in 2022 after just 35 hours — breaking a 239-year-old record of four days. evAN DAvIS, 62. The host of Radio 4’s PM and The Bottom Line has fronted 21 series of Dragons’ Den and used to present Newsnight and the Today programme. Davis — who earns up to £284,999 — was named by GQ magazine in 2014 as the worstdressed man in Britain.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANDReW IRvINe (1902-1924). The Birkenhead-born mountaineer vanished with George Mallory while attempting to be the first to conquer Mount everest. Unlike Mallory, his body has never been found; nor has their camera, which could have proved they reached the summit. DAMe vIvIeNNe WeSTWooD ( 1941
2022). The designer and ‘undisputed Queen of British fashion’ started out as a primary school teacher. In 1989 she posed as Mrs Thatcher for the cover of Tatler, wearing a suit the real PM had commissioned from Aquascutum but later cancelled.
ON APRIL 8…
IN 1918, Movie stars Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks drew a huge crowd on New York’s streets while drumming up support for U.S. war bonds.
IN 2001, emma Bunton was No. 1 with What Took You So Long?.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Toecover (coined 1948)
A) To darn socks. B) An excuse or evasion. C) An inexpensive and useless present. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
To grasp the nettle: meaning to boldly tackle a difficulty. The point of the phrase is that nettles cause no pain when handled firmly.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.
Richard Carlson, U.S. author (1961-2006)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY is dark spelt with a K instead of a C? Because you can’t C in the dark. Guess the definition answer: C. Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD