ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
APRIL 8, 1940 THE Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret spent several hours during the weekend gathering daffodils in the royal gardens at Windsor. They will be sent to sick and wounded sailors, soldiers and airmen. APRIL 8, 1953 THE London cabbie belongs to a dying race, according to a Parliamentary report yesterday on the London taxicab service. There is a danger that the familiar, discreet and agile cab may disappear. In 1950, the number of new cabs licensed was 960. Last year, only 132 new cabs were licensed.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DA M E VIVIENNE Westwood, 78. When she received her obe from the Queen in 1992, the Cheshire-born fashion designer (right) wore a dress and no underwear. And when she was made a dame by Prince Charles in 2006, she wore a pair of silver horns but no knickers, saying: ‘ Don’t ask. It’s the same answer. I don’t wear them with dresses. When I’m wearing trousers I might — my husband’s silk boxers.’ ROBIN WRIGHT, 53. The golden globewinning U.S. actress — ex-wife of Sean Penn — is best known for playing Kevin Spacey’s wife, Claire Underwood, in TV’s political thriller House of Cards. She took the solo lead role for the show’s final run last year after Spacey faced sex assault allegations, which he denies, and his character was killed off. ‘Claire has qualities both from the man and the woman, and that’s why she’s original and inspirational,’ she says.
BORN ON THIS DAY
KOFI ANNAN (1938-2018). The ghanaian- born diplomat (right) won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as secretary general of the United Nations between 1997 and 2006. He was dubbed ‘ the world’s emissary to the dark side’ because of the time he spent negotiating with dictators and warlords. Annan appointed celebrities including Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone and Luciano Pavarotti as UN Ambassadors for Peace, once saying: ‘The world is not ours to keep. We hold it in trust for future generations.’ TONY BANKS (1943-2006). The Belfastborn politician was Minister of Sports under Labour before taking a seat in the House of Lords as Baron Stratford of Stratford. He was known for his sharp put-downs, calling William Hague ‘a foetus’ and Kenneth Clarke ‘a pot-bellied old soak’, while saying of John Major: ‘If he became a funeral director, people would stop dying.’
ON APRIL 8…
IN 1977, English rock band The Clash released their self-titled debut album. IN 1986, film star Clint Eastwood was voted mayor of Carmel, California, where he lived. IN 2013, Margaret Thatcher died aged 87 at The Ritz hotel in London.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Tourbillon (1700) A) Whirlwind. B) Form of club foot. C) Drop of mucus on the nose. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
Throw in the towel — to admit defeat. From prize-fighting where a fighter’s seconds threw a sponge in the ring to concede defeat for him; the sponge changed to a towel.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
TACT is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-1865)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT is a horse’s favourite sport? Stable tennis. Guess The Definition answer: A. Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD