May 30th

Feast day of St. Joan of Arc, patron saint of soldiers and France. Joan was a peasant girl who led the French against the English in 1430, she was later captured and burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431.

1536 King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his previous two wives.

1593 Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist, poet and alleged spy, was stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer in Deptford, he was 29yo.

1723 English explorer Sit Walter Greenwood set sail for the New World in thick fog. Running aground a few hours later he believed they had found a quick route to the West Indies when in actual fact he had 'found' the Isle of Man. For the next week Greenwood and his crew 'explored' the island, they were amazed at the islander's knowledge of the English language and dress, after six weeks stay they bade farewell to their new friends taking away gifts of Manx Kippers and tail less cats.
Once again the swift journey home convinced them that they had found some kind of vortex channel to the West Indies, an incorrect thought that stayed with him until his dying day.

1744 English poet Alexander Pope died aged 56yo. He suffered from Pott's disease which deformed his body and stunted his growth,( he stood only 4ft 6in tall in adulthood).Most famous for his poem The Rape of the Lock, a mock epic first published in 1712.

1896 American director and screenwriter Howard Hawks, known for his Westerns such as Red River, Rio Bravo,The Outlaw,etc.,as well as the Oscar nominated Sergeant York in 1941.

1908 Bugs Bunny is born! American voice actor and singer Mel Blanc was born in San Francisco.

1912 American pilot and inventor WilburnWright died from typhoid tevervaged 45yo.

1942 1,000 British bombers launch a 90 minute attack upon Cologne, Germany.

1949 Former England test cricketer and present Sky commentator, Bob Willis, is born in Sunderland.

1953 Irish actor Colm Meaney, best known as Chief O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is born in Dublin, at present he is second only to Michael Dorn in appearances in Star Trek episodes.

1953 American actor and singer, Dooley Wilson, died aged 67yo. Best remembered as the piano player and singer "Sam" in Casablanca.

1960 Dr. Zhivago author Boris Pasternak died from lung cancer in Russia aged 70yo.

1961 English actor and comedian Harry Enfield is born in Horsham, West Sussex.

1967 Hollywood Great, Claude Rains, died from an abdominal haemmorhage aged 77yo. Coincidentally Rains died upon the same date as his Casablanca co-star, Dooley Wilson. (See above).

1980 England and Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard is born in Whiston, Merseyside.

Political News: Police today announced they were actively searching for the Prime Minister. Little has been seen or heard from David Camoron since the Tory party's dismal showing in the local and European elections.
The Met police after searching 30 Millbank, Tory HQ,and only finding bad news buried, are to begin searching the grounds of the London Mayor's residence after rumours of a long standing vendetta surfaced, the mayor having been heard to say that " Bank Holiday Monday is a good time to bury bad Prime Ministers!"
Detectives warned the public not to approach the PM if they see him as he is dangerously likely to turn purple and call them plebs!
Locals named two suspects arrested and released on police bail as a Theresa May and Michael Gove, police enquiries are continuing.