June 5th

Cheers! As today is the Feast Day of the patron saint of brewers, St.  Boniface. He was an Anglo-Saxon Christian Missionary who brought Christianity to the Lands of the Franks in the eighth century. He is also patron saint of Germany.

1493 Justus Jonas, the German champion of name alliteration was born in Junkers to Johann and Juliette Jonas , just joiners by trade.

1625  English composer, virginalist, (Ooo-er!), and organist Orlando Gibbons died in Oxford, allegedly from the plague aged 41yo. He was the first ape to master the stops and pipes of the organ and became the finest composer in England at the time, his "Scooby-ye door, I doth want to be as unto you" and "Do ye that Funky Gibbon Madrigal" being amongst his best known tunes.

1723 Scottish Economist and ex £20 banknote dweller Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

1850 US Marshall, gunfighter and Bon Jovi lyricist, Pat Garrett was born in Cusseta, Alabama. On July 14, 1881, Garrett discovered the whereabouts of his former friend William Bonney alias Billy the Kid, at around midnight he visited the home he was staying at secreting himself in a bedroom, The Kid got up as he was hungry, entered the room and not recognising Garrett in the dark asked, 'Who's there?', Garrett answered by shooting him twice, the second shot missing but the first catching the outlaw just above the heart, a moment later he dropped down dead. Some say that the killing of Billy the Kid was a betrayal and a cold blooded murder whilst others insist the 'killing' was faked by Pat Garrett to allow his friend to escape the law and live out his days in peace.

1883 On a good day,( arguably), for economists, John Maynard Keynes was born in Cambridge.

1885 American actor William Boyd was born in Belmont County, Ohio. Best known for his portrayal of "Hopalong Cassidy" in at least 66 films along with his white horse Topper.

1944 More than 1,000 bombers drop over 5,000 tons of bombs upon German defences along the Normandy coast as part of  preparations for 'D-Day'.

1956 Elvis Presley introduces his single "Hound Dog" on the Milton Berle 
Show scandalising millions of viewers with his hip movements.

1981 Reality TV star, and, at one point, the fourth most worst Briton in Channel Four's " 100 Worst Britons" chart,, ( God help the first three...odds on Maggie Thatcher was one!), was born in Bermondsey, London.

1993 Part of the Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough falls into the sea following a landslide.

1993 American singer Conway Twitty died from an abdominal aortic aneurysm in Springfield, Missouri aged 59yo.

1999 American singer Mel Torme, known as "The Velvet Fog", died following a stroke in Los Angeles aged 73yo.

2004 Former US President Ronald Reagan died in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California aged 93yo. He was the 40th President from 1981- 89, surviving an assassination attempt in 1981, just sixty-nine days into his presidency.
He suffered from Alzheimer's disease for the last ten years of his life before succumbing to it on this date.

2009 In Hermosillo in Mexico, a fire in a Day Centre kills at least 40 people. The disaster could have been so much greater had the Trumpton Fire Brigade not been in Mexico for a 'Chilli Eating Contest', (Barney McGrew being the present All England Champion). the visiting firemen under th eir leader Captain Flack saved many lives and to this day the cry, "Viva El Trumptiones!" can be heard throughout the region.

2012 Science Fiction great Ray Bradbury died aged 91yo in Los Angeles after a long illness. Amongst his great works were "The Martian Chronicles", " Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Fahrenheit 451" and " Here There Be Tygers".

 

Sports News: England boss Roy Hodgson was happy after his sides latest World Cup warm up match, " Of course I'm weally delighted, the boys played well enough and one more goal would have seen us win the game. The Ecuadowians are a fast, tough team and with all those Valencias it was weally confusing at times. As for Wayne we were weally pleased, he came through with no botox problems and even in that humidity his hair was weally good. As for Italy? Well I weally love Venice and Wome. So woll on June 25th and I can get out there!"