ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MAY 14, 1940 QUEEN WILHELMINA of the Netherlands arrived in London last night — a refugee. She stepped from a special train at Liverpool Street Station with a Service gas-mask slung across her shoulder. She looked tired and travel-stained. The King, in the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, was the first to greet her. [Queen Wilhelmina established a government-in-exile in Britain.] MAY 14, 1970 THIS could be the last look we’ll get at The Beatles as The Beatles. It’s a scene from their film, Let It Be, which opened in 225 American cinemas last night and opens in London next week. The film, mostly shot a year ago, shows the one-time Liverpool moptops bearded, long-haired and sad-faced.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CATE BLANCHETT, 51. The double Oscar-winning Australian star (right) is the only actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for the same role, playing Elizabeth I in 1998’s Elizabeth and 2007’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Her husband kept the prosthetic ears she wore as elf queen Galadriel in The Lord Of The Rings. ‘To be honest, I basically did it so that I could have the pointed ears,’ she said.
TIM ROTH, 59. The London-born actor has starred in Reservoir Dogs and Planet Of The Apes. His father was a journalist who changed his name from Smith to Roth as a gesture of solidarity with Holocaust victims. He says there were daily riots at his Lambeth school: ‘I used to get beaten up every day. I didn’t know how to fight.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
JACK BRUCE (1943-2014). The bass player and singer from Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, made his name with Cream, alongside Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. Bruce and Baker had a fraught relationship. During one performance, Baker threw a stick at a snare drum, which hit Bruce on the head. ‘So I grabbed my double bass and demolished him and his kit,’ Bruce later recalled.
HENRY McGEE (19292006). The London-born comic played the straight man to Charlie Drake and Benny Hill, acting as the latter’s announcer, with the introduction: ‘Yes! It’s The Benny Hill Show!’ He was also known for the Sugar Puffs ad (above) in which the Honey Monster would say, ‘Tell ’em about the honey, Mummy’, to which McGee would reply grumpily, ‘I’m not your mummy.’
ON MAY 14…
IN 1796, English doctor Edward Jenner inoculated eight-year-old James Phipps with cowpox with the aim of vaccinating him against smallpox. He succeeded.
IN 1962, Bucknell’s House first aired on the BBC, with DIY expert Barry Bucknell showing how to modernise an old home.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Furbelow (early 18th century)
A) A gathered strip or pleated border on clothing. B) The large paunch in a pig. C) The soft hair of a rabbit. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Variety is the spice of life: Meaning diversity brings excitement to life; coined in 1875 by William Cowper in his poem The Task.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
Vince Lombardi, American football coach (1913-1970)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT is a fake stone called in Ireland?
A shamrock.
Guess The Definition answer: A