ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 8, 1940 No MoRe sugar will be available for homemade marmalade after tomorrow, the Ministry of Food announced last night. ‘The scheme, which we introduced two months ago, has had a great response,’ an official said. hundreds of housewives who had never made marmalade before have taken the opportunity of extra rations to do so. MARCH 8, 1999 DIReCToR Stanley Kubrick, whose films included 2001: A Space odyssey and A Clockwork orange, died yesterday aged 70 at the mansion near St Albans, hertfordshire, he shared with his third wife Christiane. only last week Kubrick sent the print of his last film, eyes Wide Shut, off to hollywood, whose verdict — on what would be his swansong movie — was ‘utterly brilliant’.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ANN PACKeR, 79. The sprinter from oxfordshire (right) won olympic gold at the 1964 Games in Tokyo in the 800m — an event in which she had never previously competed. She almost missed the race; after six days of continuous competition she was so tired, she had said she might skip the final to go shopping. LoRD (DoUGLAS) hURD, 91. The etoneducated Foreign Secretary under Margaret Thatcher and John Major followed in the steps of his father and grandfather, who were also Tory MPs. hurd said his career was impeded by the perception that he was a toff: ‘The voice is a problem ... it’s got a tang which annoys some people.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
LyNN ReDGRAve ( 1943- 2010). The actress from London was nominated for two oscars, for Georgy Girl and Gods And Monsters, and starred on Tv in Desperate housewives. She was the daughter of Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson and sister of actors vanessa and Corin. her father wrote dismissively in his diary that ‘this strange, shy pudding of a child thought she was going to be an actress’. LoRD (JoNAThAN) SACKS (1948-2020). The Chief Rabbi of the United hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth once befriended then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey at an Arsenal match at which his team was badly beaten. A newspaper concluded that if the two faith leaders could not bring about a win for Arsenal, it must ‘finally prove that God does not exist’. Sacks replied: ‘What it proves is that God exists. It’s just that he supports Manchester United.’
ON MARCH 8…
IN 1914, International Women’s Day was held for the first time, with a London march in support of women’s suffrage. IN 1986, Diana Ross (right) had her second solo No 1 with Chain Reaction.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Pomatum (c1560) A) A tomato orchard. B) Scented conditioner for skin and hair. C) The noise of a thunderclap. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
To get the bit between the teeth: Meaning to throw off all restraint in achieving one’s objective. From horse riding, when once the horse gets ‘the bit between the teeth’ the rider can no longer control it.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Predictions can be very difficult, especially about the future. Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (1885-1962)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WhAT did Charles Dickens keep in his spice rack? The best of thymes, the worst of thymes. Guess The Definition answer: B.