ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
April 2, 1945 A BATCH of 398 war prisoners — freed by the Russians — who arrived in the Clyde from Odessa on Saturday have donated £105 to the Red Cross. The spontaneous collection, given from the ten shillings weekly pay the men were allowed on board, was made in gratitude for the food parcels which, they said, had kept them alive. April 2, 1969 THE old halfpenny coins will not be issued to bank customers after July 1 — a month before they stop being legal tender. The Decimal Currency Board is asking retailers to cut halfpennies out of prices, but this should not mean an increase to the nearest penny. A large loaf of bread has already gone up in price and a small loaf down.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KEREn WOODWARD, 57. The singer-songwriter (right) is one third of Bananarama, who hold the Guinness World Record for being the girl band with the most chart entries in history. The band formed after Woodward and another member shared a flat above the Sex Pistols’ old rehearsal room. Last year, she separated from her husband of 25 years, Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley. DOUGLAS PERKInS, 75. The Welsh-born billionaire optometrist co-founded Specsavers with his wife Mary in 1984. The couple, now worth £1.6billion, started the business from a table tennis table in their spare room. Famous for its slogan ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’, in 2016 they trademarked ‘should’ve’ and ‘shouldve’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
MARvIn GAyE (1939-1984). The U.S. soul singer, songwriter and producer, who once dreamt of becoming ‘the black Frank Sinatra’, had hits with I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Sexual Healing. He was shot dead by his church minister father during an argument at their home. His father said he feared Gaye (above) was going to hurt him and was put on probation. SUE TOWnSEnD (1946-2014). The author from Leicester was the best-selling novelist of the Eighties thanks to The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole. She could not read until eight, failed her 11-plus and left school at 15. She was later fired from her job in a clothes shop when she was caught reading Oscar Wilde in the changing rooms.
ON APRIL 2...
IN 1912, the Titanic departed Belfast for its first sea trials. IN 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered in Washington DC.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Lyth-coop (1681) A) Auction sale of the contents of a house. B) Hen house. C) A pedlar. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
The sword of Damocles — Damocles was a courtier in 4th century Sicily who made the mistake of praising the king’s fortune. The king laid on a banquet which Damocles enjoyed until he saw a sword hanging by a single hair above his head, placed to typify the uncertainty of life.