ON THIS DAY

FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 29, 1940

AN MP questioned whether the Minister of Pensions knew of the dissatisfaction caused by the fact that a housewife injured in an air-raid receives neither injury allowance nor pension because she was ‘not gainfully employed’. Sir Walter Womersley said: ‘I’ve received representations on this subject and am giving them earnest consideration.’

NOVEMBER 29, 1969

DeMAND for colour TV has exploded beyond manufacturers’ wildest estimates and traders have orders worth £7.5million which they cannot meet. ‘Customers are offering us over the odds for our demonstration models,’ a dealer said. ‘Since BBC1 and ITV switched to colour two weeks ago, everyone wants a colour TV for Christmas.’

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

RyAN GIGGS, 44. The Welsh footballer (right), who made a record 963 appearances for Manchester United, is the most decorated player in english football. But in 2011 his clean-cut image was sullied when it was revealed that Giggs, who was married with two children, had had a fling with reality TV star Imogen Thomas and had been involved with his brother Rhodri’s wife for eight years. He spent £150,000 on a gagging order to stop Imogen selling her story and revealing his name — but was outed on social media and in the Commons by MP John Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to name him. DoN CHeADle, 53. The U.S. actor was nominated for an oscar for his lead role in Hotel Rwanda. He also played a Cockney bomb expert, Basher Tarr, in ocean’s eleven and its sequels and says he gets stick for his terrible accent — and attempts at rhyming slang — every time he comes to Britain. ‘one guy cut across two lanes of traffic to cuss me out for that part,’ he said.

BORN ON THIS DAY

eMMA MoRANo (18992017). The Italian (right) was thought to be the last surviving person born in the 1800s until her death in April, aged 117. She lived through more than 90 Italian governments and said her long life was partly thanks to her diet of raw eggs, raw minced meat and biscuits.

ON NOVEMBER 29...

IN 1781, luke Collingwood, captain of British slave ship Zong, threw more than 120 slaves overboard to claim insurance, pretending they’d died through lack of water. each slave was worth £30 (£3,000 today). No criminal charges were brought against Collingwood. IN 1975, British racing driver Graham Hill was killed, aged 46, in a plane crash.

WORD WIZARDRY

GUESS THE DEFINITION Shoyle (coined in Tudor-Stuart era) A) To wallow in mud. B) To lean outwards on the foot in walking. C) The second swarm of bees in the same season. Answer below

PHRASE EXPLAINED

Take a rain check: Meaning one may accept an offer at a later date. Comes from the ‘rain cheque’ receipt given at a baseball game that could be used again if it was rained off.