May 20, 2022 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MAY 20, 1940 ‘EvEryTHING for the State’ is the interpretation being placed on a statement by Mr Churchill last night in his first broadcast as Prime Minister. He said: ‘The interests of property and the hours of labour are nothing compared to the struggle for life and honour, for life and freedom, to which we have vowed ourselves.’ Further demands are expected of all classes in wartime.
MAY 20, 1993 PrINCE CHArLES is more confident on royal tours as he is no longer in Diana’s shadow, after their failed marriage. The focus is on content rather than style, an aide said during the Prince’s tour of Poland. ‘Unlike the old days . . . when he was very much on handshaking tours.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CHrIS FrOOME, 37. The Kenyan-born British cyclist, ‘one of stage racing cycling’s all-time greats’, has won the Tour de France four times, plus the Giro d’Italia. In 2017, he was the first rider since 1978 to achieve the Tour de France and La vuelta double in the same year. Asked who would play him in a film, he said: ‘Matt Damon, but he would need to lose a little weight.’
CHEr, 76. The Grammywinning singer and Oscarwinning actress (born Cherilyn Sarkisian in California) has had four UK Number Ones. She says her voice is better than ever — ‘and I’ve worked my whole life to keep my strength in my body. There are 20-yearold girls who can’t do what I do.’ She married rock star Gregg Allman just four days after divorcing Sonny Bono, with whom she sang I Got you Babe.
BORN ON THIS DAY
MArGEry ALLINGHAM (1904-1966). The London-born ‘Queen of Crime’ sold her first story aged eight. Allingham made her name with her detective Albert Campion, who appeared in 19 novels and 20 short stories. She thought of the mystery novel as a box with four sides: ‘A killing, a mystery, an enquiry and a conclusion with an element of satisfaction in it.’
JOE COCKEr (1944-2014). The soul singer from Sheffield had his biggest hit with a cover of the Beatles’ With A Little Help From My Friends. He also sang Up Where We Belong, the Oscar-winning theme from the film An Officer And A Gentleman. ray Charles, when asked who were the greatest living blues singers, said: ‘Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Joe Cocker.’
ON MAY 20 . . .
IN 1506, Italian explorer Christopher
Columbus died, aged 54. IN 1940, the first inmates arrived at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Mattock (c900)
A) Wool from a dead sheep. B) Instrument for digging and loosening soil. C) Brush to remove cobwebs. Answer below. PHRASE EXPLAINED To batten down the hatches: Means to prepare for a difficulty or crisis; it was originally a nautical phrase meaning to secure a ship’s hatches before storms.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died.
Sir Peter Ustinov, English actor (1921-2004)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW did Bob Marley like his sandwiches? With jam in. Guess The Definition answer: B