ON THIS DAY
March 3, 2023
MARCH 3, 1942
THE spotlight in the War Courts yesterday switched to housewife racketeers. Sentencing a woman to two months’ gaol, Mr Mullins, the South-Western magistrate, said: ‘Anyone who draws rations for a person who is not living with them and uses the rations personally will go to prison. It is a form of unpatriotic gluttony.’
MARCH 3, 1986
BRITAIN’S best-known madame held court in London yesterday to talk about the new film of her life. Cynthia Payne, Madame Cyn, likes the comedy Personal Services — with Julie Walters playing her — and happily discussed the ‘sex for Luncheon Vouchers’ parties she held until she was jailed six years ago. Cynthia, 52, said: ‘I will always be a brothel keeper at heart.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BRIAN COX, 55. The TV presenter is often confused with the Scottish actor of the same name. Last year, they were at the same hotel and the receptionist told the scientist he’d have to check in under a different name because the booking system could not handle two reservations from different Brian Coxes.
FATIMA WHITBREAD,
62. The London- born former world record holder and double olympic medallist was named BBC
Sports Personality of the
Year in 1987. She was abandoned at three months old and spent much of her childhood in and out of children’s homes before being adopted by athletics coach Margaret Whitbread. She said: ‘My childhood gave me an inner strength.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
STEVE WILHITE (1948-2022). In 1987, the U.S. computer scientist developed the Graphics Interchange Format (or GIF) that is still used by millions to share viral animations and video clips online. He died last year after contracting Covid. JAMES DooHAn (19202005). The Canadian actor played Scottish chief engineer on the USS Enterprise, Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott in Star Trek — inspiring the catchphrase ‘Beam me up, Scotty’. He lost a finger in a friendly fire incident on the first day of the D-Day landings while a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment.
On March 3 . . .
IN 1984, ‘one hit wonder’ nena were at UK no 1 with 99 Red Balloons — originally a hit in German, as 99 Luftballons.
IN 2005, U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly a plane nonstop around the world solo without refuelling. Fossett died in a plane crash two years later.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Drollic (1743)
A) Sad, depressing. B) Amusing. C) Pertaining to a puppet show.
Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Let the genie out of the bottle: meaning to let loose an unpredictable course of events; a ‘genie’ was a spirit in Arabian tales that could be kind or devious.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
The law is a sort of hocus-pocus science
Charles Macklin, Irish playwright (c.1690-1797)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY did the man take a pencil to bed? He wanted to draw the curtains. Guess The Definition answer: C