ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
SEPTEMBER 2, 1941 More than four children a day are being killed in road accidents. The death rate has doubled since the days of peace. The reason is that during their stay in the country, where they have been evacuated, many children have lost their ‘road sense’. SEPTEMBER 2, 1954 THE average British working man is now earning nearly £10 a week (£250 in today’s money) according to a Ministry of Labour report. More overtime is being worked due to a boom in production.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DEREK FOWLDS, 80. The english actor played Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, and oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat. He also appeared in eight series of The Basil Brush Show. A former apprentice printer, he got the acting bug in an RAF theatre group while doing his national service in Malta. LENNOX LEWIS, 52. The three-time heavyweight world champion from London’s east end defeated Mike Tyson in 2002 in one of the most highly anticipated fights in boxing history. The 6ft 5in gentle giant is an obsessive chess player who used to infuriate trainer emanuel Steward by practising up to four hours a day.
BORN ON THIS DAY
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE (1948-1986). The American teacher won a nationwide competition to be the first private citizen to fly in a space shuttle, but she died along with six crewmates when the Challenger exploded on live TV just over a minute after lift-off. She had planned to give science lessons from space to be broadcast to schoolchildren on TV. BILLY PRESTON (1946-2006). The American musician shot to fame aged 11, when he was cast as W. C. Handy in the film St Louis Blues, starring alongside Nat king Cole and ella Fitzgerald. He played alongside ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and the rolling Stones (pictured with Mick Jagger), and was the only artist The Beatles ever shared a label credit with — on the 1969 No1, Get Back.
ON SEPTEMBER 2...
IN 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out, destroying buildings across nearly 400 acres, including St Paul’s Cathedral.
IN 1987, Donald Trump paid $100,000 to take out a full-page advert in three newspapers criticising the u.S. government and Japan, under the headline: ‘There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.’
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION
Garlic (coined in the 17th century) A) a dirty, wretched slob. B) a scarecrow made of old garments. C) a lively jig. All tarred with the same brush: Meaning people in a group share the same failings, it refers to the methods used by shepherds to mark their sheep; a brush dipped in tar was applied to the wool as a type of branding.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I like to write when I feel spiteful; it’s like having a good sneeze. D. H. Lawrence, English novelist (1885-1930)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHERE does seaweed look for a job? The ‘kelp wanted’ section. Guess the definition answer: C.