ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 20, 1953 WINTHROP Aldrich, America’s new Ambassador, said in London last night: ‘I have been greatly impressed since my arrival with the universal atmosphere of determination and confidence which I have found here in Britain.’
MARCH 20, 2003 THE war on Iraq began with a direct attack on Saddam Hussein early today. Cruise missiles were fired at an air base south of Baghdad after intelligence reports suggested Saddam and other leaders were there.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
HOLLY HUNTER, 62. The Oscar-winning American actress (right), the youngest of seven children, has starred in The Piano and Thirteen. She said she has missed out on many roles because, at 5ft 2in, she is ‘too small and too short’. She is deaf in her left ear, having contracted mumps aged nine. She bought Julia Roberts’ apartment in new york at a knockdown price: ‘There was no way I could make the asking price. She sold it to me anyway. It was a true act of generosity that I will never forget.’
DAME VERA Lynn, 103. The ‘Forces’ Sweetheart’ from East London, who had hits with The White Cliffs of Dover and A nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, risked her own safety to tour the Middle East and Asia during World War II. She wants We’ll Meet Again played at her funeral.
BORN ON THIS DAY
JERRY REED (1937-2008). The u.S. country singer-songwriter was a sidekick to both Burt Reynolds (his co-star in the Smokey And The Bandit films who called Reed ‘the most natural actor I’ve ever worked with’) and Elvis Presley (he played guitar alongside The King in the studio). nicknamed Guitar Man, after one of his biggest hits, Reed got his first record contract at 18.
HENRIK IBSEN (18281906). The poet and playwright (right), dubbed ‘norway’s Shakespeare’, is best known for ‘middleclass tragedies’ A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler.
He was very unhappy with his appearance and had a small mirror glued inside his hat so he could check how he looked.
ON MARCH 20…
IN 1970, David Bowie married Angie Barnett at Beckenham Register Office in London. IN 2015, a solar eclipse, equinox and a ‘supermoon’ all occurred on the same day.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Flagitious (C 14TH CENTURY)
A) Furious. B) Combustible. C) Criminal or villainous Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Pride comes before the fall — meaning an arrogant person will get his or her comeuppance; it comes from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible — the original expression is ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall’; these days it needn’t have a religious connotation but just acts as a warning against arrogance.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.
Nat King Cole, American singer and jazz pianist (1919-1965)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT kind of fur do you get from a werewolf?
As fur away as possible.
Guess The Definition answer: C