ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MaRCH 15, 1972
THERE were emotional scenes yesterday when the world of showbusiness paid tribute to the career of Vera Lynn, the Forces’ Sweetheart. Miss Lynn — 55 this month — sang We’ll Meet Again and Yours.
MaRCH 15, 1984
IN AN interview today Mrs Thatcher revealed once again the softer side to her nature. Weeks after her son Mark took Texan heiress Karen Fortson to meet his mother, she has spoken of a hitherto secret desire. She said: ‘I’d love to be a granny. My children are 30 and unmarried. I want some grandchildren.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
MIKE LOVE, 80. The American singer-songwriter is a founding member of the Beach Boys. He said it took him ‘five minutes’ to write the lyrics to Good Vibrations. He was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and performed at a fundraiser that charged £2,600 a ticket.
LYNDA LA PLANTE, 78. The actress, screenwriter and novelist from Liverpool penned 25 bestsellers and wrote 1980s ITV series Widows (turned into a film by Steve McQueen) and Prime Suspect (starring Helen Mirren). She says her mum was such a big sports fan that, when she told her she had a show on TV, the reply came: ‘Well, if it clashes with the football, I’m not watching.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
ZARAH LEANDER (1907-1981). The Swedish actress and singer, dubbed the ‘Diva of the Third Reich’, was Germany’s biggest wartime film star. She was born Sara but changed it in case there were suggestions that she was Jewish. Ironically, she became a gay icon and German drag performers still dress like her and sing her songs on stage.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG (1933-2020). The second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court became a cult hero nicknamed Notorious R.B.G. (a spin on rapper Notorious B.I.G.). She was the subject of an opera and fans were tattooed with her face. Her husband, Marty, whom she met at 17, banned her from the kitchen. Bader Ginsburg, said: ‘I became a lawyer because Marty supported my choice unreservedly.’
ON MARCH 15…
IN 1932, the first radio broadcast was made from Broadcasting House — a performance by Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra. IN 2011, the Syrian conflict began, when pro-democracy protesters called for president Bashar al-Assad’s removal.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Sloop (c1625)
A) To walk with a heavy step. B) A small, one-masted ship of war. C) To pour out the contents of a bucket. answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Sitting duck:
Meaning someone who is vulnerable to being attacked from their enemies; it comes from the early days of hunting ducks and the notion that it is easy to shoot a duck which is sitting still.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have. Andre Agassi, U.S. tennis star
JOKE OF THE DAY
MY WIFE thinks I’m a fool for building my own car out of macaroni. She won’t be laughing when I drive pasta!
Guess The Definition answer: B. Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD