ON THIS DAY
585BC: A timely total eclipse of the sun decided the Battle of Mesopotamia between Medes (now Iran) and Lydia ( now Turkey). The blackened sky was read as a sign of God’s anger and an immediate truce was called. 1742: The first indoor swimming pool in England opened in London. The entrance fee was one guinea. 1842: The first public library was opened, in Frederick Street, Salford. 1907: The first Isle of Man motorcycle TT race was held. 1934: The first Glyndebourne Festival of opera opened with Mozart’s Figaro. 1951: The first Goon Show was broadcast by the BBC. 1967: Francis Chichester arrived back at Plymouth after sailing round the world single-handed in Gipsy Moth IV. 1972: The Duke of Windsor, the abdicated King Edward VIII, died in Paris aged 77. 1982: Colonel H Jones was killed in action at the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions as commanding officer of 2 Para during the attack in which 17 British and 250 Argentinians died. 1984: Eric Morecambe, of the Morecambe and Wise comedy duo, died in Cheltenham aged 58. 1987: Mathias Rust, a 19-yearold West German, flew his small aircraft through Soviet air space from Helsinki to Moscow, landing in Red Square. BIRTHDAYS: Rudolph Giuliani, former New York mayor, 70; Gladys Knight, singer, 70; Michelle Collins, actress, 52, pictured; Kylie Minogue, singer and actress, 46; Jesse Bradford, actor, 35; Mark Feehily, singer (Westlife), 34; Alexa Davalos, actress, 32; Carey Mulligan, actress, 29. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “America tries very hard to emulate the British pub, but their pubs aren’t pubs. They are impostors” – Actress Emily Blunt. “If I make any oath of allegiance at all it is to the American pancake, not the president” – Writer Will Self, an aficionado of this delicacy. “It falls to those of us staring into the abyss of old age without quite yet plummeting into it to try to save ourselves and those we love from the heart-rending problem of being superfluous to requirements.” – Broadcaster Vanessa Feltz. “I wish I had known when I was young that I was quite attractive” – Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who does not suffer from false
modesty. “Deep inside the skull of everyone lies the brain of a crocodile” – Actor Brian Blessed discussing evolution.
A meeting of the Parliament, to begin at 2pm, will see portfolio questions taken on finance, employment and sustainable growth. A Labour Party debate on the topic of Scotland’s Future will also take place. Central Scotland Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon is then due to then present her motion on the work of the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments and Bobath Scotland.
Events to draw MSPs’ attention to strokes and liver disease will take place in the evening.