ON THIS DAY

May 8, 2019

MAY 8, 1935 Sir KingSley Wood, Postmastergeneral, stated in Parliament yesterday that he had set up a committee to consider broadcasting services in this country. He said the question of excluding all politics from BBC programmes would doubtless be among the subjects to be considered. MAY 8, 1979 Manuel, the bemused waiter from TV’s Fawlty Towers, has been accused of giving the show racist overtones. The trouble came at the Montreux television festival, where the show is the BBC’s official entry in the golden rose contest. as one Swiss sad: ‘Funny foreigners may be a joke to the english. But not to us. Manuel is a character in dubious taste.’

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ViCKy MCClure, 36. The Bafta-winning star (right) of the hit BBC show line of duty was hand-picked by Madonna to appear in her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom. as a child, she successfully auditioned for the royal Ballet but missed out after being diagnosed with ‘weak ankles’, and could not take up a place at the top london stage school italia Conti because her parents could not afford the fees. Sir daVid aTTenBorougH, 93, has had many species named after him, including the attenborosaurus, a long-necked reptile. When chat show host Jonathan ross asked the naturalist what the standout points were from his long career ‘as a naturist’, Sir david shot back: ‘i’m not going to go into what stands out if i’m a naturist.’ Sir david has topped polls on the nation’s favourite voice, most popular person and most trusted public figure.

BORN ON THIS DAY

Sid JaMeS (1913-1976). The ladies’ hairdresserturned-actor (right), who was born Solomon Cohen in South africa, starred in 19 Carry on films. When he suffered a fatal heart attack on stage at the empire Theatre in Sunderland, his co-star, olga lowe, thought it was a gag. Sonny liSTon (1932-1970). The american boxer became world heavyweight champion in 1962. liston, who was one of 25 children, learnt to box in prison while serving time for armed robbery.

ON MAY 8… IN 1945,

Ve day was celebrated after Winston Churchill announced the end of the war with germany in a message broadcast from 10 downing Street.

IN 2006,

the rolling Stones had to postpone their european tour as guitarist Keith richards underwent brain surgery after falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji.

WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Glunge (2016)

a) To kiss someone in a forward manner B) Fashion combining glamour and grunge C) To dive straight into other peoples’ conversation (Answer below)

PHRASE EXPLAINED

Bank on someone: Meaning to rely on someone; it comes from medieval Venice where currency traders conducted business from their banca (italian for bench). They were so universally trusted that merchants borrowed, exchanged and even left their money with them when they went abroad.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. Malcolm Muggeridge, British journalist (1903-1990) i Tried to buy some camouflage trousers yesterday… But I couldn’t find any. Guess The Definition answer: B