ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 148 OF 2016
Colman’s of norwich, famous for its mustard, set up the world’s first factory canteen 148 years ago, charging 3d or 4d for a hot meat dinner. JACK klugman played the title role of a forensic pathologist in Quincy, m.E., which ran for 148 episodes during the seventies and Eighties. His character was inspired by the real medical examiner for los angeles County at the time, Thomas T. noguchi, ‘the coroner to the stars’, who performed post-mortems on marilyn monroe, Robert F. kennedy, natalie Wood and John Belushi. THE first wristwatch was created 148 years ago by swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe for Countess koscowicz of Hungary. The innovative idea failed to catch on for men, who continued to use pocket watches until the early 20th century. AFTER 148 years, the u.s. state of Florida only last month changed a law that made living together as a cohabiting couple when unmarried an offence — punishable by a fine and up to 60 days in jail.
THERE ARE 218 DAYS LEFT
THE fastest time for a person to go by foot from John o’ groats to land’s End is 218
hours (nine days, two hours and 26 minutes), set by 38- year- old andrew Rivett, an endurance runner from Wakefield, in 2002. THE isolated alaskan town of Whittier has a population of 218 residents — almost all of whom live in one building, a 14-storey block, which was once part of a military base. AT THE Battle of the nile, fought 218 years ago off the coast of Egypt, admiral nelson’s fleet destroyed or captured 11 of the 13 French battleships that had carried napoleon’s army to Egypt.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DENISE van OUTEN, 42. The actress, singer and Tv presenter ( right), best known for hosting The Big Breakfast and for playing Roxie Hart in the West End version of Chicago. Her first ‘performance’ was at the age of seven — modelling for knitting patterns. JOSEPH FIENNES, 46. The shakespeare in love actor and his brother Ralph have both been in an on-screen relationship with Cate Blanchett: he in the film Elizabeth, and Ralph in oscar and lucinda. Paul Gascoigne, 49. The former newcastle, spurs, lazio, Rangers and England footballer. after the 1990 World Cup, at the height of gazzamania, he reached no 2 in the charts with Fog on The Tyne, a collaborative cover with lindisfarne, that earned him a gold disc.
BORN ON THIS DAY
Cilla Black (1943-2015). The liverpool-born singer and Tv presenter (right). Though Cilla never achieved singing success in the u.s., Elvis Presley had a copy of her second uk no 1 hit, You’re my World, on his jukebox at graceland. Christopher Lee (1922-2015). actor best known for playing Count Dracula in a series of Hammer horror films, scaramanga in James Bond’s The man With The golden gun and the wizard saruman in the lord of The Rings films. He was the only cast member of the lord of The Rings who’d ever met the book’s author, J.R.R. Tolkien.
ON MAY 27...
IN 1964, 11 boys at a comprehensive school in Coventry were sent home for having ‘long and scruffy’ mick Jagger hairstyles.
IN 1995, superman actor Christopher Reeve was thrown from his horse, broke his neck and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He died in 2004 of cardiac arrest.