ON THIS DAY
July 10, 2017
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JULY 10, 1947 THE King’s consent to the betrothal of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was announced in the Court Circular last night. The wedding ceremony, like many state occasions, may be robbed of much of its colour because of a lack of Court uniforms and robes [due to rationing]. JULY 10, 1969 SINGER Marianne Faithfull (pictured, with Mick Jagger) is critically ill after a drugs overdose. Miss Faithfull, 22, has been in a coma for 36 hours. She arrived here in Sydney on Tuesday with Mick Jagger to begin a film about the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. [Jagger was the first person she saw after waking up six days later. Her first words to him were: ‘Wild horses couldn’t drag me away’, which inspired the Stones’ song Wild Horses.]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
FIONA SHAW, 59. The Irish star and director has been described as ‘the greatest theatre actress of her generation’. She’s also starred in the Harry Potter films, playing Harry’s Aunt Petunia Dursley. She loves any new journey, she says, and relishes the experience of getting lost. ‘I’m not afraid of chaos and I love not knowing where I’m going.’ NEIL TENNANT, 63. One half of Pet Shop Boys, the singer-songwriter from North Shields had a strict Catholic upbringing at an all-boys grammar school, which inspired the songs It’s A Sin and This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave. Evidently, he was a bit of a rebel. His English teacher wrote on his report: ‘Neil attends when he chooses and writes what he wishes.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
HARVEY BALL (1921-2001). The American artist behind the now-ubiquitous smiley face spent just ten minutes on the design. He was paid 45 dollars and did not copyright his creation. After his death, his son Charlie said: ‘He left this world with no apologies and no regrets, happy to have this as his legacy.’
ON JULY 10...
IN 1940, the Battle of Britain began when the Luftwaffe attacked targets in the Channel and South-East England.
IN 1946, it was reported that hyperinflation in Hungary meant prices were doubling every 11 hours. IN 1991, Boris Yeltsin took office as the first elected president of Russia.
WORD WIZARDRY
NEW WORD OF THE DAY BYOD (acronym for bring your own devices): Describes a situation such as a job where an employee is expected to bring their own equipment, for example a laptop. GUESS THE DEFINITION Canthus (coined 1646) A) A tree bare of leaves or twigs. B) The most projecting part of the midline of the chin. C) The angle between the eyelids at the corner of the eye. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED Stone’s throw: Referring to the short distance a stone can be thrown, from an early English version of the Bible where, in the Gospel According to Luke, there is the line: ‘And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.’
QUOTE FOR TODAY
HALF our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we’ve rushed through life trying to save. Will Rogers, American actor and newspaper columnist (1879-1935)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HAVE you heard about the new broom that just came out? It is sweeping the nation. Guess The Definition answer: C