ON THIS DAY

FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE

UNdEr the headline Cinderella’s Wedding, the Soviet-licensed Berlin newspaper Berliner Zeitung published a sarcastic article about Princess Elizabeth’s austerity wedding. A vigorous protest has been made by the British Military Governor, Marshal of the rAF Sir Sholto douglas. OCTOBER 31, 1960 THE Transport Minister, Ernest Marples, has suffered a setback in his plans to curb drink-driving. One of his pet projects, the i ntroduction of a Swedish- style breathalyser to give drivers alcohol tests, is to be dropped. [The roadside breathalyser was finally introduced in 1967.]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

LIZZy yArNOLd, 29. The British skeleton racer f rom Kent won every major title in her sport in the space of just 407 days, i ncluding gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 (right). yarnold has vowed to continue in her sport, i n which racers reach speeds of up to 90mph, despite being diagnosed with an inner ear problem that causes dizzy spells. STEPHEN rEA, 71. The Belfast-born actor has starred in films including The Crying Game, for which he was Oscarnominated, and V For Vendetta. He was married for 20 years to dolours Price, a former IrA bomber and hunger striker who was given a life sentence for the 1973 bombing of the Old Bailey. They married and had two children after she was freed on humanitarian grounds in 1981.

BORN ON THIS DAY

ETHEL WATErS (1896-1977). The U.S. jazz and blues singer was born and died in poverty. As the child of a teenage rape victim, she stole food to stay alive. ‘No one raised me,’ she said. ‘I just ran wild.’ Her hits included dinah and Stormy Weather. She was acknowledged as an influence by Billie Holiday, though Waters was not a fan of Billie, saying: ‘She sings as though her shoes are too tight.’ HELMUT NEWTON (19202004). The Berlin- born Jewish refugee, who worked for Vogue and Playboy, has been described as the ‘most powerful and copied fashion photographer of the 20th century’. For one shoot, Newton ( r i ght) dressed his wife as Adolf Hitler, with Jerry Hall as Eva Braun. He once said: ‘I’m very attracted by bad taste. I love vulgarity. ’

ON OCTOBER 31…

IN 2011: The UN estimated the world population had reached seven billion, with danica Camacho, a baby in the Philippines, chosen to mark the milestone.

WORD WIZARDRY

GUESS THE DEFINITION Bait (coined in the Tudor-Stuart era) A) A small cavity in a rock. B) To stop at an inn to feed the horses. C) A large playing marble. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED

Cat o’ nine tails: A multi-tailed whip used for punishment; from the superstition that a flogging by a ‘trinity of trinities’ would be more sacred and more effective.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans. Ronald Reagan, former U.S. president and big fan of jelly beans (1911-2004)

JOKE OF THE DAY

dId you hear about the salad race? The lettuce was a head and the tomato was trying to ketchup. Guess The Definition answer: B. Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD