ON THIS DAY
January 13, 2022
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JANUARY 13, 1972
CONCORDE flew by royal command yesterday. Prince Philip piloted the supersonic airliner ten miles above the Bay of Biscay at 1,340mph — twice the speed of sound. His 90 minutes and 1,150 miles aboard represented the final seal of approval for the £885million Anglo-French project.
JANUARY 13, 2005
Prince Harry was forced to issue a grovelling apology last night for going to a party dressed as a nazi soldier, complete with a swastika armband. It came after the outfit was condemned as insensitive and tasteless by Holocaust survivors. Harry, 20, was a guest at a fancy dress event thrown by olympic show jumper Richard Meade. The Prince said in a statement: ‘It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ORLANDO BLOOM, 45. The actor from Kent starred in the Lord of The Rings and Pirates of The Caribbean franchises. He says he breakfasts on ‘green powders that I mix with brain octane oil, a collagen powder for my hair and nails, and some protein. It’s all quite LA, really.’ LIAM HEMSWORTH, 32. The Australian, famous for soap opera neighbours and the Hunger Games films, said his actor brother Chris inspired him to lose 15lb before filming the latter by saying in a text: ‘It’s called The Hunger Games, not The Eating Games!’ He married U.S. pop star Miley Cyrus in 2018 but they split after eight months.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ROBERT STACK (1919-2003). The American won an Emmy for playing Prohibition enforcer Eliot ness in 1950s TV series The Untouchables. He starred in dozens of films and hit the headlines for giving Deanna Durbin her first screen kiss. His mentor, Hollywood icon Clark Gable, once told him: ‘If you ever become a thing called a celebrity and you use that to push people around, I’m gonna kick you.’ KAY FRANCIS (1905-1968). The ‘forgotten’ U.S. star of more than 60 films, including Trouble In Paradise, was the highest-paid Hollywood actress of 1936. She was ‘partial to long, slinky, lowcut gowns by night and lavishly furred suits by day’. Having no living relatives, she left her fortune to a guide dog charity.
ON JANUARY 13…
IN 1968, U.S. country star Johnny Cash performed for inmates at Folsom State Prison in California. The live recording became a multi-million selling album. IN 1989, the BBC broadcast the first series of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie’s sketch show A Bit of Fry & Laurie.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Munificent (c 1570)
A) A city enclosed by defensive walls. B) Displaying great generosity. C) Prosperous. Answer below. PHRASE EXPLAINED To step into the breach — meaning to take the place of someone who is suddenly unable to perform a task or job. A ‘breach’ is a military term for a gap in fortifications caused by large guns or explosives
QUOTE FOR TODAY
OPERA is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings. Ed Gardner, American comedian (1901-1963)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT cheese can you disguise a small horse with? Mascarpone. Guess The Definition answer: B.