ON THIS DAY
MARCh 12, 1947
WEAPon training, by which juvenile court offenders sent to approved schools learn how to load and fire rifles, may soon be abolished, following revelations at the murder trial of four boys at Stafford Assizes yesterday. Shots from one of the rifles issued to the school killed an assistant master, Mr Peter Fieldhouse.
MARCh 12, 1970
MEn, would you be more careful if it were you that got pregnant?
the question is asked by a shock poster which should soon be on the walls of 1,000 local authority clinics. the poster shows a worried-looking pregnant man and its aim is to shock men into taking more responsibility over contraception and not leave it to wives or girlfriends.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
lESlEy MAnvillE, 63. the actress (right), stars in BBC sitcom Mum and was nominated for an oscar last year for her role in Phantom thread. She was twice named Sussex’s under-18 champion soprano and nearly ended up in racy dance troupe hot gossip. She has said she will never have cosmetic surgery, adding: ‘having a proper face is crucial or else how could i do my job? i watch graham norton and these movie stars come on and nothing moves!’ DAviD MEllor, 70. the former tory heritage minister’s political career was destroyed by an affair with actress Antonia de Sancha in 1992. it helped undermine Prime Minister John Major who had launched a ‘Back to Basics’ campaign about decency. in 2014, Mellor was recorded verbally abusing a taxi driver after visiting Buckingham Palace with his partner, who had been awarded a CBE.
BORN ON THIS DAY
vASlAv niJinSKy ( 1889- 1950). the russian ballet virtuoso dubbed ‘the greatest male dancer of all time’ began dancing at three and joined the imperial School of Ballet in St Petersburg at nine. Anna Pavlova refused to partner with him because he was as popular with audiences as she was. googiE WithErS (19172011). the British actress (right), born in Karachi in what is now Pakistan, was christened georgette lizette, but given her nickname, meaning ‘dove’, by her indian nanny. her career got off to an ominous start when she passed measles on to half the panto cast at a london theatre.
ON MARCH 12...
IN 1969, Paul McCartney married u.S. photographer linda Eastman at Marylebone register office. IN 1994, the Church of England ordained its first women priests. IN 1999, violinist lord (yehudi) Menuhin died, aged 82.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Avozilla (2013) A) A very large avocado. B) A plastic horn from the South Africa olympics. C) A crooked lawyer. Answer below. PHRASE EXPLAINED
Skew-whiff: Meaning crooked or askew, from 18th- century Scotland. ‘ Skew’ is almost certainly from askew, while ‘whiff’ is the same as the word meaning a puff of air, implying the subject matter has been blown off course.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
ToMoRRoW hopes we have learned something from yesterday. John Wayne (1907-1979)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WhY are writers always so cold? Because of all the drafts. guess The definition answer: A