ON THIS DAY
JUNE 8, 1939 A BRITISH Sovereign, as an honoured guest of the American nation, is tonight entering the territory of the United States, where he will lay a wreath on the tomb of George Washington. The name of George III, so long engraved on American minds by the acid of bitter memories, is being replaced by that of George VI, painted in golden letters of welcome. [It was the first official visit to the U.S. by a British monarch.] JUNE 8, 1965 THE Hawker- Siddeley aircraft firm is prepared to give away a £100,000 computer, now replaced by a new machine, to remove it from its factory at Chadderton, Lancs. The company said: ‘The difficulty is finding someone who wants it as there are only half a dozen men who can work it. We hope a museum will be interested’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KANYE WEST, 45. The U.S. rapper (pictured) has been ranked as the fifth highest-paid entertainer of 2022, with an income of $235 million — thanks to his ranges of Adidas trainers and Gap hoodies. West has had three UK number ones. He and socialite Kim Kardashian divorced this year and share custody of their four children. MICK HUCKNALL, 62. The singersongwriter and Simply red frontman from Manchester said his hit Holding Back The years was only the second song he had ever penned. Hucknall, whose past lovers have reportedly included Catherine ZetaJones and Ulrika Jonsson, said in 2010: ‘Between 1985 and 1987, I would sleep with about three women a day, every day.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
JOAN rIvErS (1933-2014). The Grammy and Emmywinning comedian from New york (pictured) made a career out of insulting celebrities, quipping: ‘Boy George is all England needs — another queen who can’t dress.’ FrANK LLOyD WrIGHT (1867-1959). The U.S. architect behind New york’s Guggenheim museum said nature was his biggest inspiration, insisting it is ‘necessary to learn from trees, flowers, shells’. Wright, who designed more than 1,000 buildings over seven decades, said his mother predicted his future career, decorating his nursery with engravings of cathedrals.
ON JUNE 8…
IN 1949, George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. IN 1967, The Beatles were at No 1 with their eighth consecutive chart-topping studio album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It held the top spot for 23 weeks.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Leat (Old English) A) A mole. B) A hedgehog. C) A trench or ditch that conveys water to a mill wheel.
answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED To go bush: To run wild or leave one’s natural surroundings; from the 19th- century notion of ‘bush’ meaning ‘wooded or uncleared country’.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
adams’ first law of television: The weight of the backside is greater than the force of the intellect. Phillip Adams, Australian film director
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you call an injured kangaroo? Unhoppy. Guess The Definition answer: C.