ON THIS DAY
January 26, 2018
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JANUARY 26, 1948 AS LONDON rises to go to work this morning a convoy of plain vans will slip quietly from St James’s Palace to begin a 25-mile journey under heavy police escort. Inside will be wedding gifts of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh heading to their home, Windlesham Moor, Surrey. The Princess has spent hours selecting from the thousands of gifts those she wants in her home. Eight staff are constantly at work unpacking gifts which arrive daily. JANUARY 26, 1965 BIG BEN will be silenced for more than 14 hours on Saturday as the Queen leads the world’s homage to Sir Winston Churchill. The 13-ton bell, which heralded all his wartime speeches, will strike at 9.45am as a naval gun-carriage bearing Sir Winston leaves Westminster Hall. Never before has Big Ben been silenced for a Commoner.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ANDREW RIDGELEY, 55. The Surrey-born singer was one half of Wham!, alongside schoolfriend George Michael (both pictured). At the height of his fame, he was mocked by the satirical puppet show Spitting Image as a pair of dancing buttocks. ELLEN DEGENERES, 60. The U.S. comedian, actress and talk-show host has been called ‘the new Oprah’ and has almost twice as many Twitter followers as Winfrey. In 1997, while starring in her own sitcom, she came out as gay to Time magazine and on Oprah. When she hosted the Emmys after 9/11, she said: ‘What would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?’
BORN ON THIS DAY
JACQUELINE DU PRÉ (1945-1987). The Oxford-born musician (right) was one of the finest cellists of the 20th century. Her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim, when asked what it was like to accompany his wife, replied: ‘It doesn’t dawn on her sometimes that we mortals have difficulties in following her.’ She died aged just 42 after a long battle with MS. PAUL NEWMAN (1925-2008). The U.S. star of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. He was married to actress Joanne Woodward and, when asked if he was ever tempted by any of his leading ladies, said: ‘Why go out for a hamburger when you can have steak at home?’
ON JANUARY 26…
IN 1926, John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of his invention, the television, in a London attic.
IN 1998, Bill Clinton declared: ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman’, as he denied having had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Ullage (1297)
A) The surface of a wet field. B) Measuring by the eye. C) The amount of liquid by which a container falls short of being full. Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
At sixes and sevens: To be in a state of confusion or disarray. Comes from the rivalry between craftmen’s guilds. In London, the Merchant Taylors and the Skinners disputed who was sixth and who was seventh in order of precedence. The Lord Mayor ruled they take turns.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
A bANk is a place that will lend you money if you can prove you don’t need it. Bob Hope, comedian (1903-2003)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT’S an acorn? In a nutshell, an oak tree. Guess The Definition answer: C.