April 12, 2022 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE APRIL 12, 1961
ADOLf EICHMANN went back to his perpetually lit cell at the end of the first day of his trial in Jerusalem tonight. And the three German-born Jewish judges had still not decided whether the court has a right to try him. The 54-year-old Nazi SS leader is accused of the murder of millions of Jews.
APRIL 12, 1985
WHAM! are to be the first British pop group to have records on sale in China, the world’s biggest potential market with 450million people aged between 12 and 35. Two cassettes will be released to capitalise on the pop duo’s current sellout tour. Last night they played in Canton following their packed concert in Peking.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ANDy GARCíA, 66. The Cuban-born actor starred in The Untouchables, The Godfather Part III and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. He said he wasn’t nervous singing in the Mamma Mia! sequel because he was hand-picked for the part by co-star Cher. His baseball coach when he was at school was Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke.
SAOIRSE RONAN, 28. The New york-born Irish star of Brooklyn and Mary Queen Of Scots secured four Oscar nominations by the age of 25 (her first at 13 for Atonement). To help people pronounce her name, she often introduces herself as: ‘Saoirse, like inertia.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
IDA POLLOCK (1908-2013). The Mills & Boon author from Cornwall wrote more than 120 books under pseudonyms including Pamela Kent, Joan Allen, Anita Charles, Averil Ives and Marguerite Bell. Of her formula, she said: ‘young men lack the maturity to take control, so an older man is essential to provide the reassurance the heroine needs.’ She had an affair with the husband of children’s author Enid Blyton and later married him.
OLIvER POSTGATE (1925-2008). The Londonborn animator created Bagpuss and The Clangers. The latter pink creatures were voiced by Postgate with whistles that were supposed to be almost indecipherable. But he was reprimanded after a BBC executive realised he had given a Clanger the line: ‘Oh sod it, the bloody thing’s stuck again.’
ON APRIL 12…
IN 1975, Josephine Baker, U.S.-born entertainer and french Resistance agent, died aged 68. IN 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia became the first shuttle to reach space.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Spool (c. 1300) A) A reel for winding yarn. B) To beat up batter for pudding. C) To prepare an eel for the table. Answer below. PHRASE EXPLAINED On the broo: Meaning to be in receipt of social welfare or benefits. It’s chiefly heard in Scotland and ‘broo’ is slang for ‘bureau’, a term for the Labour Exchange.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome Mr Woodhouse in Emma, by Jane Austen, English novelist (1775-1817)
JOKE OF THE DAY
I TOOK the shell off my racing snail, thinking it would make him run faster. If anything, it made him more sluggish. GuEss The Definition answer: A.