ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 30, 1940 ONLY a tenth of London’s children had been registered under the evacuation scheme yesterday — and the deadline is today. The parents of 20,000 children have said that they wish to keep their children in London, no matter what. The rest have taken no notice of the forms sent out. ‘It is most embarrassing for us,’ an official said. MARCH 30, 1967 BRITISH policemen are gentlemen... and if you have any doubts consider the West Midlands force. They do not ask a lady her age. And that’s orders. At the magistrates’ court at Bilston, Staffordshire, the chairman asked why only an approximate age for women was given in court. A police spokesman said: ‘Many women don’t like to say how old they are.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CELINE DION, 49. The Canadian singer, right, — who had hits with My Heart Will Go On and Think Twice — was one of 14 children, at one point sleeping in a drawer. She was managed by rene Angelil, who remortgaged his house to fund her first album and whom she later married. INGVAR KAMPRAD, 91. The thrifty billionaire founder of Swedish furniture firm Ikea buys his clothes at flea markets and once said he gets his hair cut while visiting developing countries to save money.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANNA SEWELL (18201878), right. The norfolkborn author is loved around the world for the children’s novel Black Beauty. She injured her ankles aged 14 and relied on travelling by horse for the rest of her life. The book played a key part in the successful campaign to abolish the check-rein, a strap which stopped a horse from lowering its head. FRANCISCO de GOYA (1746-1828). The Spanish painter and printmaker started out working for the royal tapestry factory before being appointed painter to the royal household — and adding the aristocratic ‘de’ to his name.
ON MARCH 30...
IN 1856, the Crimean War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
IN 1979, Airey neave, close aide to Margaret Thatcher, was killed by an Irish national Liberation Army car bomb in the House of Commons car park. IN 2002, the Queen Mother died in her sleep at the age of 101. WORD WIZARDRY NEW TERM OF THE DAY ICYMI (acronym): In case you missed it
Supernaculum (coined 1592) A) The point at which one’s prime is past. B) Wine so fine it is drunk to the last drop, referring to the custom of turning over a drained glass and letting the last drop fall on to the thumbnail. C) The answer to a problem. Answer below
Dog in a manger — a churlish type who will not use what is wanted by another nor let the other have use of it; from the fable of a dog that fixed his place in a manger and would not allow an ox near the hay.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
IF THEY don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. Shirley Chisholm, first black woman elected to US Congress (1924-2005)
JOKE OF THE DAY
I GOT some vinegar in my ear... Now I’ve got pickled hearing! Guess The Definition answer: B