ON THIS DAY
June 18, 2020
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JUNE 18, 1963
TOMMY STEELE was banned from driving for a year yesterday for driving his car at 90mph on the Great West Road at Hammersmith flyover. Steele appeared at West London in his real name of Thomas Hicks on a summons for driving at a dangerous speed. Steele said when stopped: ‘I was only being flash.’
JUNE 18, 1980
HELP was close at hand when TV personality Katie Boyle’s dog looked like drowning in the Thames. A stranger answered her frantic screams — and promptly stripped naked before plunging into the water to rescue the animal.
Then, without a stitch on but acting like a perfect gentleman, Bill Gardiner handed the bedraggled West Highland terrier back to her owner. Katie, though distraught, was equal to the situation.
‘I gave him my headscarf to use as a loincloth,’ she said yesterday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, 68. The Italian actress (right) and model is the daughter of oscar-winning actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini. She was married to director Martin Scorsese from 1979 to 1982. She made her name in David Lynch’s psychological horror Blue Velvet in 1986.
SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY, 78. The former Beatle has written 32 U.S. No 1 hits and 28 UK chart-toppers. McCartney and wife Linda, who died in 1998, were known for their humble lifestyle — but he once had pizzas flown from New york on Concorde. And the wire fences and 65ft observation tower at his Sussex estate led to it being nicknamed ‘Paulditz’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
RUSSELL ASH (1946-2010). The writer and publisher was dubbed the ‘human Google’ and ‘Britain’s leading list-maker’ thanks to his compendium, The Top 10 of Everything. The annual included a list of the top ten most successful films starring cats (topped by Garfield).
PAUL EDDINGTON (19271995). The actor (right) became a household name as Jerry Leadbetter in The Good Life and Jim Hacker in yes Minister and yes Prime Minister. He died from a rare form of skin cancer. He once said he would like his epitaph to be: ‘He did very little harm.’
ON JUNE 18…
IN 1948, Columbia Records unveiled the long-playing record, or LP. IN 2007, comedian Bernard Manning died, aged 76. An obituary he had written himself was published in the Mail two days later.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Laches (c 14th century) )
A) The traces left by a stag B) A legal term for negligence C) White clouds Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED: The full Monty —
meaning everything, the whole thing, the whole lot. It derives either from the phrase the ‘full Montague Burton’ — a complete three-piece suit — or from the full Monty being ‘the full English breakfast’ enjoyed by Field Marshal ‘Monty’ Montgomery.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
W. Somerset Maugham, English novelist (1874-1965)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you get if you cross an artist with a policeman? A brush with the law.
Guess the Definition answer: B.