November 29, 2021 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE NOVEMBER 29, 1968
TWO things she once said should stand as the epitaph for Enid Blyton, who died at 68 in a nursing home yesterday.
The first was: ‘I shall never forgive myself if my books gave a single child a single nightmare.’ She was a phenomenon among writers, turning out more than 350 books for children. The second thing she said: ‘As far as my books are concerned, I would ban critics over 12 years old.’
NOVEMBER 29, 1999
CLIFF RICHARD was celebrating last night as it was confirmed he had reached the top of the charts for the 14th time — with a song which has received hardly any airplay. The Millennium Prayer came top in BBC Radio 1’s singles chart.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JOEL COEN, 67. With his brother Ethan, the Academy Award-winning film director made The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Coen describes their debut Blood Simple as ‘pretty damn bad’, but it was during its making that he met his wife, Frances Mcdormand.
DIANE LADD, 86. The U.S. actress starred in Chinatown and Primary Colors and earned three supporting actress Oscar nominations. For 1991’s Rambling Rose, Ladd and Laura dern became the first mother and daughter to receive acting nominations for the same film.
BORN ON THIS DAY
JACKIE STALLONE (1921-2020). The American fitness guru, the mother of actor Sylvester, claimed to be Princess diana’s favourite astrologer and once advised the duchess of York to marry a rich sheikh. ‘There are all these men dressed alike, all very rich and with no underwear,’ she said. ‘Perfect for a single girl.’
CHADWICK BOSEMAN (1976-2020). The U.S. actor played the lead role in Black Panther. He attended a theatre programme at Oxford University thanks to funding from a secret benefactor — Oscar winner denzel Washington. When they met at the Black Panther premiere, Washington said: ‘That’s why I’m here — you owe me money!’ After his death from colon cancer, he received a posthumous Oscar nomination, for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
ON NOVEMBER 29 . . .
IN 1877, Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of his tin-foil phonograph by
shouting ‘Mary had a little lamb’ into a tube. IN 1981, U.S. actress natalie Wood drowned in the Pacific Ocean.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Patten (c 14th century)
A) A priest’s mistress.
B) A wooden shoe.
C) A nurse. answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED To be at bay: meaning to be beset by a danger from which there is no escape; from the Old French word ‘abbay’ or ‘abai’ meaning ‘barking’, and comes from the sport of hunting in which a ‘bay’ refers to the ‘baying’ of the hounds.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
There’s nothing we read of in torture’s inventions, like a well-meaning dunce with the best of intentions. James Russell Lowell, U.S. poet (1819-1891)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY should you wear glasses when doing maths? It helps with division. Guess the Definition answer: B.