ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JANUARY 10, 1957
BRITAIN’S new Prime Minister, to be chosen today by the Queen, is likely to be Mr r. A. Butler. The only other real claimant is Mr Harold Macmillan. But it is probable the Queen asked Sir Anthony Eden’s advice about a successor during their talk at Buckingham Palace last night. The situation is almost without precedent.
JANUARY 10, 1966
A ROBOT electronic brain at Birmingham University is to control traffic more than 100 miles away in Holborn, one of London’s busiest traffic areas. The experiment will bring nearer the day when city traffic jams are beaten by science.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SIR ROD STEWART, 77. The London-born rock star (pictured), who in 2019 became the oldest male solo artist to top the UK albums chart, has had a long and sometimes fraught friendship with Sir Elton John. One Christmas rod bought Elton a £600 pop-up fridge from Harrods. ‘We swapped presents and he said: “Oh very nice, dear, thank you.” He gave me a rembrandt painting! I’ve never felt so stingy.’ ABBEY CLANCY, 36. The Liverpool-born model won Strictly Come dancing in 2013. When she launched her Mills & Boon novel in 2016, she admitted: ‘I can’t dress it up really. I’m not coming out and saying, “I’m this brand-new author, I wrote it all myself ”. It was ghost written with an amazing girl from Liverpool.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
DAME BARBARA HEPWORTH (1903-1975).
The yorkshire-born sculptor (pictured) was celebrated for introducing holes in her work, some of which can be seen in the downing Street garden (it featured in the photo of Boris Johnson’s lockdown cheese and wine ‘gathering’). She died in a fire at her studio in Cornwall, thought to have been caused by her habit of smoking in bed. JOHNNIE RAY (1927-1990). The U.S. singer-songwriter, nicknamed The Prince of Wails, had UK No1 hits including yes Tonight Josephine. ray was named in Billy Joel’s We didn’t Start the Fire: ‘Harry Truman, doris day, red China, Johnnie ray.’ Tony Bennett said: ‘I consider Johnnie ray to be the father of rock ’n’ roll.’
ON JANUARY 10. . .
IN 1840, royal Mail introduced the Penny Post, a charge of one penny, regardless of distance, for letters of up to half an ounce. In 1985, Sir Clive Sinclair launched his Sinclair C5 electric tricycle. It had a top speed of 15mph.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Mediatise (coined 1820s) A) To settle on (a deal). B) To annex a principality to another state. C) To promote.
answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED One’s heart sinks into one’s boots: infers a feeling of sudden sadness or dismay. It has induced the medical term ‘heartsink’ said of a patient who causes their doctor to feel the same way.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
a lifetime of happiness! no man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth. George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist (1856-1950)
JOKE OF THE DAY
I DON’T trust stairs, they’re always up to something. GUESS The definition answer: B.