ON THIS DAY
AUGUST 18, 1930 THe number of recent convictions for bigamy arising out of Gretna Green ‘marriages’ has increased the demand for their abolition. Dumfries Sheriff-Substitute reid said: ‘Whatever romance Gretna may once have had is now departed. It’s been entirely commercialised. even the sanctity of marriage has been made a mockery.’ AUGUST 18, 1959 THe Prince of Wales will almost certainly go to eton in September 1961, but he will have to sit the entrance examination. Prince Charles will have to fag, and his duties will include boot-cleaning and getting his ‘master’s’ tea. (In fact, he went to his father’s old school, Gordonstoun).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CHrISTIAN SLATer, 48. The American star of robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves once described himself as ‘a walking hormone’. He has been arrested for drinkdriving, assault and trying to board a plane with a gun in his luggage, but says he has swapped drink and drugs for walking his dogs round the block. SIr JOHN SCArLeTT, 69. The retired senior intelligence officer, who’s fluent in russian and french, was head of MI6 from 2004 to 2009, and prior to that chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). Thrust into the public gaze after the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly during the Iraq War, Scarlett gave evidence at the Hutton Inquiry, when it became clear he had worked closely with Alastair Campbell on the controversial ‘September Dossier’ about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
BORN ON THIS DAY
SHeLLeY WINTerS (19222006). The American actress, who starred in Lolita, won two Oscars, for A Patch Of Blue and The Diary Of Anne frank (she donated her statuette to the Anne frank House in Amsterdam). Winters, who shared an apartment with Marilyn Monroe, once said: ‘I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful... but if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic and tasteful.’ rONNIe CArrOLL (1934-2015). The Northern Irish singer is the only person to have represented the UK in the eurovision Song Contest two years in a row. After retiring from showbiz, he stood in several elections, once trying to enter the Guinness Book Of records by begging people not to vote for him. But 30 voters gave him their support and he said: ‘There’s nothing more demoralising than aiming low and missing.’
ON AUGUST 18…
IN 1868, helium was discovered on the Sun by french astronomer Pierre Janssen as he observed a solar eclipse.
IN 1940, the ‘Hardest Day’ in the Battle of Britain was fought, with about 70 German aircraft shot down and 94 airmen killed.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Waff (coined 1808) A) Just the slightest touch of an illness. B) To speak in a prissy manner. C) A single ear of corn. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
In the nick of time: Meaning only just in time, it refers to tallies marked with nicks or notches; Shakespeare alludes to such marks in romeo And Juliet.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Love’S like the measles — all the worse when it comes late in life Douglas Jerrold, playwright (1803-1857)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT did the horse say after it tripped? ‘Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy-up!’ Guess The Definition answer: A.