ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE DECEMBER 2, 1981
THE painstaking restoration of The Last Supper is revealing breathtaking details unseen for some 500 years. The biggest surprise of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece — painted on a wall in a convent in Milan — is that one of the apostles, St Simon of Canaan, did not originally have a beard.
DECEMBER 2, 1983
THE case of the intruder in the Queen’s bedroom is to lead to a change in the laws on trespass. As a result of Michael Fagan’s appearance at the royal bedside in 1982, trespass in all private homes is to be made a criminal offence.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
PENELOPE TREE, 72. The U.S.-born model — whose father ronald was a Tory MP — was the girlfriend of photographer David Bailey, who credited her with kickstarting the flower-power movement. She had to quit fashion due to scars from late-onset acne. She said: ‘It was very painful, shaming and confronting.’ Last year, she returned to the catwalk for the first time in 40 years, modelling for Fendi. BRENDAN COYLE, 59. The actor from Northamptonshire made his name as Downton Abbey’s unlikely sex symbol, valet Mr Bates (he will star in the second film, out next year). When he auditioned for drama school, he made Judi Dench — who was on the panel — cry with his reading from the play Philadelphia, Here I Come!
BORN ON THIS DAY
GARETH WIGAN (19312010). The London-born Hollywood studio executive — known for his ‘bonecrushing handshake’ — helped bring Alien, Chariots of Fire and Star Wars (right) to the silver screen. The latter’s creator George Lucas said the first time his colleague saw the movie: ‘Gareth was so moved that he cried. As a young filmmaker facing a lot of sceptics, his genuine love of the film meant the world to me.’ JULIE HARRIS (1925-2013). The U.S. actress starred with James Dean in East of Eden, but was best known for her work on Broadway — the New york Times hailed her as ‘unprepossessing anti-diva’ and she won five Tony awards for best actress. She received her first Tony for playing singer Sally Bowles in 1951’s I Am A Camera, the inspiration for the film Cabaret, with one critic calling her ‘an actress of genius’.
ON DECEMBER 2 …
IN 1978, rod Stewart went to No.1 with Da ya Think I’m Sexy?. IN 1999, the UK handed political power to the new Northern Ireland Executive as part of the Good Friday Agreement.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Scantling (1520s) A) of a pale green passing into greyish blue. B) A depression of spirits. C) A slight or lightweight timber beam. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED Carry a millstone around one’s neck: Meaning to be burdened with an overwhelming responsibility; it comes from the Gospel of Matthew, in which it is mentioned as a punishment that causes the offender to be drowned.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind. Somerset Maugham, English novelist (1874-1965)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT did one hat say to another? Wait here, I’ll go on ahead. Guess The Definition answer: C.