June 11th

Feast Day of St. Barnabas the Apostle. He was Cypriot Jew that lived in the first century A.D. , and was martyred by way of stoning around 61A.D. at Salamis, Cyprus. Barnabas is the Patron Saint of  Cyprus, Antioch and is invoked against hailstorms and as a peacemaker.


1184 B.C. Troy is sacked and burned during the Trojan War.


323 B.C. Alexander the Great died in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon. He was just 32yo. It is widely believed that he died from poisoning, though typhoid fever and malaria have also been attributed to his demise.
     

1770 Explorer James Cook's ship "The Endeavour" is badly damaged as she  runs aground upon the Great Barrier Reef, delaying his voyage by more than seven weeks.


1776 English landscape artist John Constable is born in East Bergholt, Suffolk.
  

1805  A fierce fire consumes large portions of Detroit, District of Michigan.It could have been much worse but for the intervention of the holidaying Trumpton Fire Service who saved a number of buildings through their great firefighting expertise. Grateful residents erected a bandstand in their honour.
   

1901 New Zealand annexes the Cook Islands. Today even though the Cook Islanders are all New Zealanders, they are also entitled to be known as Cooks...though not all Cooks are chefs! Or even not all Cooks are women either! Confused? Well you should be by now.


1910 French undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau is born at Saint-Andre-De-Cubzac, Gironde.


1919 Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes becoming the first horse ever to complete the American Triple Crown, namely The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and The Belmont Stakes.


1919 Irish born British actor Richard Todd is delivered in Dublin.


1937 Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell died in Vienna aged 42yo. He had been suffering with rectal cancer for a number of years.


1939 Scottish motor racing World champion Sir Jackie Stewart is born at Milton, West Dunbartonshire. He was World Champion three times, 1969, 1971, 1973.


1949 ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard is born in Frankston, Texas.


1950 English singer/songwriter, Lynsey De Paul is born at Cricklewood, London as Lynsey Monckton Rubin. Although she has never married De Paul has been romantically involved with Ringo Starr, Roy Wood, Chas Chandler, Sean Connery, George Best, Dodi Fayed, Bernie Taupin, Bill Kenwright, Dudley Moore and perhaps most famously James Coburn.


1958 Local News: Bolton woman is frightened to death by friendly frog!


1959 One half of the duo Fry and Laurie, (I will not say which one), Hugh Laurie was born in Oxford. Possibly better known now as the irascible Dr. Gregory House in the eponymous U.S. TV series.


1979 Academy Award winning actor, director and producer John Wayne died in Los Angeles from stomach cancer aged 72yo.



1987 Dianne Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected to Parliament, in doing so they are the very first Black M.P.s to be elected in The U.K.


1988 Jesus is born! No he really was! Jesus Fernandez Collado, goalkeeper for Real Madrid was born in Madrid, and is known simply as Jesus, so bringing into use the phrase, "Jesus Saves!"
    

1999 "He's dead Jim!" DeForest Kelley, best known as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy in Star Trek died from stomach cancer at Woodland Hills, Los Angeles aged 79yo.


2013 Leading racehorse trainer Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil died from cancer at Cambridge. He was 70yo.  He trained four Derby winners, three 2,000 Guineas winners, six 1,000 Guineas winners, no less than eight Oaks winners and four St. Leger winners. Possibly the best horse he, or anyone, might have trained was the great horse Frankel, the 2011, 2,000 Guineas hero, whom Cecil trained throughout his fourteen race unbeaten career, a fitting highlight to end Cecil's career.
     

Weather Forecast: It may be the same today as it was yesterday, if it is not it might well be as the day before or even the one before that! It will be a mainly cloudy day except when it is sunny, mainly dry except when there is rain, which may be torrential, light or none. Temperatures may be high...or perhaps low...or even average for the time of year ranging from 7°C to 28°C. The winds will be very light except when they are breezy or even gale force, ( I promise you there will be no hurricanes!). The outlook for the next few days? Well don't ask me, I mean your guess is as good as mine! If I were you I'd just take a look out of the window!