August 5, 2021 ON THIS
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
AUGUST 5, 1930
MORE like a giant battleship than a London building, the new wonder home of the BBC — Broadcasting House in Portland Place — is already beginning to tower above its tallest neighbours. And, like the hold of a ship, it has basements descending nearly 50 ft below the ground.
AUGUST 5, 1966
THE Beatles’ manager, Brian epstein, flew to New York last night for a close look at a ‘Ban The Beatles’ campaign, which is sweeping the U.S. one week before the group’s American tour. Radio DJs began burning Fab Four records after John Lennon was quoted as saying: ‘We [The Beatles] are more popular than Jesus now.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
WANDA VENTHAM, 86. The actress (right) from Brighton starred in two Carry On films and played Cassandra Trotter’s mother Pamela in Only Fools And Horses. In real life, she is the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch and had to turn down the chance to work at the Royal Shakespeare Company because she was pregnant with Benedict’s half-sister Tracy. ADRIAN FISHER, 70. The world’s leading designer of mazes has created more than 700 of them in 36 countries and has set the record for the world’s largest cornfield maze six times. In 1988 he got lost while leading Princess Alexandra around his yew tree maze at Leeds Castle in Kent.
BORN ON THIS DAY
MARTIN LAMBIE-NAIRN (1945-2020). The London-born graphic designer was behind BBC1’s globe hot-air balloon, BBC2’s series of animated 2s, ITN’s title sequence for News At Ten and Channel 4’s animated blocks. He also redesigned the BBC logo, oversaw a Blue Peter competition to create the official emblem for the Queen’s diamond jubilee and was co-creator of puppet satire Spitting Image. CARLA LANE (1928-2016). The ‘most successful woman writer in British television comedy’ (right) created sitcoms Butterflies, Bread and The Liver Birds. When she sent the script for the pilot of the latter to the BBC’s head of comedy, Michael Mills, he wrote back: ‘Six more. By yesterday. Love, Michael.’ The former nurse won her first award when a school poem was published in the Liverpool echo when she was just seven.
ON AUGUST 5…
IN 1100, William the Conqueror’s son was crowned Henry I in Westminster Abbey. IN 2000, 19-year-old singer Craig David notched up his second No.1 single in the space of four months, with 7 Days.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Ormolu (c1760) A) Golden alloy of copper and zinc. B) Ornamental holder for salt, cutlery or napkins. C) An uncut precious stone or jewel.
Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Sing for your supper: Meaning to do some unaccustomed work to pay for your keep. It has its roots in the wandering minstrel, whose special skill was telling stories and singing ballads.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I don’t have ulcers. I give them Harry Cohn, U.S. film executive (1891-1958)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you call a mugshot taken by a prisoner? A cellfie. Guess The Definition answer: A.