June 6th

Of course today is the 70th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings, D-Day.
The targeted 50mile stretch of Normandy coastline was divided into five sectors, namely Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beach,  Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks.
The Allies failed to achieve all of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five bridgeheads were not connected until 12 June. However, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day were around 1,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 12,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area host many visitors each year.

1436 Regiomontanus, German mathematician and astronomer is born in Unfinden now part of Konigsberg,Germany.

1752 A devastating fire destroys one third of Moscow including 18,000 homes. Luckily the Trumpton Fire Service were in Russia on a vodka tasting tour and the expertise of Captain Flack and his men saved the remaining two-thirds earning the honour and respect of the Moscovites for the Trumpton Brigade and their bravery. To this day the cry of ," Tpoekpathoe ypa Trumpton!" is often heard in the City.

1868 Antarctic explorer and Boys Own hero, Robert Falcon Scott was born in Plymouth, Devon.

1889 The Great Seattle Fire destroyed all of down town Seattle. It could have been much worse had the Trumpton Fire Brigade not been attending the annual International 'Moose Hunt'. To this day songs are sung hailing the bravery and expertise of Captain Flack and his men.

1909 French troops capture Abeche, and install a puppet sultan in the Quaddai Empire. Sultan Andy Pandy with his advisers Teddy and Looby-Loo remained in power for 26 yrs, ruling from the "Large Toy Basket Palace " in Abeche.

1930 England Cricketing Legend Frank Tyson was born in Farnworth, near Bolton. In his Test career he took 76 wickets in 17 Tests at an average of 18.56. His fast bowling style earning him the nickname of " Typhoon Tyson". After retiring he emigrated to Australia in 1960 becoming a well respected journalist and commentator.

1932 English actress Billie Whitelaw is born in Coventry, she made her film debut in Sleeping Tiger in 1954 and has appeared in over 40 films, most recently coming out of retirement to play the role of Joyce Cooper in Simon Pegg's "Hot Fuzz", (2007).

1947 Could today be a "Blind Date"? Politician David Blunkett is born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

1956 Tennis Legend Bjorn Borg is Bjorn in Sweden on this date. He won six French Championships, Five Wimbledon Singles Championships and four US Open titles, his only Achilles heel being his inability to play convincingly in Australia, only ever reaching the third round once.

1957 Rotund, former England cricket captain, Michael William Batting is born in Kingsbury, London. Batting is probably best remembered, rightly or wrongly, for his 1987 altercation with Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana in Faisalabad. He was accused of adjusting the field illegally, i.e. after the bowler had started running in, and warned. In fact, Gatting had been signalling to the long leg fielder to stop walking in, and the move was legal as it was not in the batsman's eyeline. Rana shouted 'stop, stop' and signalled dead ball, however, infuriating Gatting. Tempers were already frayed following a string of umpiring decisions that had gone against England, and the England team were unhappy that Rana was wearing a Pakistan sweater under his jacket. An argument ensued, during the course of which Rana accused Gatting of breaking the rules and Gatting shouted 'We made the rules'. He had to be dragged away by Bill Athey. Rana refused to resume the match the following morning until Gatting delivered a handwritten apology, which he did under protest – eventually, the match was drawn due to bad light. The England hierarchy supported him, flying officials out to mediate with the board and deal with press relations. The Pakistan board supported Rana, naming him umpire for the deciding Test, from which position they only backed down when it was clear the England team would not play if Rana officiated, naming two other umpires. Indeed, the TCCB subsequently paid all players in the England party a £1000 'hardship' bonus for the tour. Gatting  reflected later that 'it wasn't a very proud moment of my career.'He also admitted that, whatever the official reason given, it was the real reason why he lost the England captaincy the following summer.However, it went a long way towards establishing the principle of the superiority of the umpire over the players, which had not always been the case previously, and Rana said he did it 'for umpires everywhere'. Gatting was sacked as England captain the following summer over an alleged encounter with a barmaid.

1963 English actor/ producer Jason Isaacs was born in Liverpool. Best known for his role as Lucius Malfoy, the " Death Eater" in the Harry Potter film series, Isaacs has acted in over forty films as well as roles on the stage and TV, including the 2012 NBC semi-series "Awake", which was too complex an idea for American viewers, actors and writers, as its dual universe scenario disappeared up its own backside after 13 episodes.

1968 Robert Francis Kennedy died, aged 42yo, in Los Angeles after being shot the day before. He had addressed his supporters shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in a ballroom at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Leaving the ballroom, he went through the hotel kitchen after being told it was a shortcut despite being advised to avoid the kitchen by his bodyguard, FBI agent Bill Barry. In a crowded kitchen passageway, Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, opened fire with a .22-caliber revolver. Kennedy was hit three times and five other people also were wounded.
His body was returned to New York City, where it lay in repose at Saint Patrick's Cathedral from approximately 10:00 p.m. until 10:00 a.m. on June 8. A high requiem mass attended by members of the extended Kennedy family, President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson, and members of the Johnson Cabinet was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 10:00 a.m. on June 8. Bobby's brother Ted said the following:

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not'.

1974 American singer/songwriter Uncle Kracker is born Matthew Schafer in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Best known for his hit singles, " Follow Me", "Drift Away", " Smile" and alongside Kevin Chesney, "When the Sun Goes Down".

1983 English petty thug,murderer and police killer Dale Cregan was born(?), today in Tameside.

1984 The videogame "Tetris" is released by Alexi Pajitnov for the Elektronica 60.

1985 The grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard is opened in Embu, Brazil. The exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Dr Josef Mengeles, the Auschwitz " Angel of Death". Mengele is thought to have drowned while out swimming in 1979.

1987 Scottish actor Fulton Mackay, best  known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s sitcom Porridge, died from stomach cancer aged 64yo.

1987 Seamus O'Toole, famed Irish cyclist was born today in Tipperary. Best remembered for taking a wrong turn and completing the Tour De France in reverse, his mistake earning him the classic Purple Jersey and title of Francis De La Tour Winner 2012. Unabashed Seamus said later, " I thought it was a little strange that all these other cyclists were going the opposite way, I just thought they were in another race! Plus the mountain stages were great fun going down hill. Next year? Yes I'll be back!" . Unfortunately he hasn't been as he got lost in the Giro d'Italia in 2013 and hasn't been seen since.

1994 Scottish actor Mark McManus, best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running ITV television series Taggart for eleven years, died from an alcohol-related illness aged 59yo in Glasgow.

1999 Anne Haddy best known for her soap role as matriarch Helen Daniels in the long-running Australian soap opera, Neighbours, died aged 68yo.

2005 Anna Maria Louisa Italiano, known professionally as Anne Bancroft, died, age 73, of uterine cancer. Her death surprised many, even some of her friends. She was intensely private and had not released details of her illness.
Her best-known role, possibly, was as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967), for which she received a third Academy Award nomination. In the film, she played an unhappily married woman who seduces a family friend, the much-younger recent college graduate played by Dustin Hoffman. In the movie, Hoffman's character later dates and falls in love with her daughter. Bancroft was ambivalent about her appearance in The Graduate; she stated in several interviews that the role overshadowed all of her other work. Despite her character becoming an archetype of the "older woman" role, Bancroft was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman.

But above all else June 6th is always one thing

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!"

June 4th

Feast Day of Santa Saturnina, a legendary Christian virgin martyr. Born to a noble family in Germany, she vowed to be celibate aged 12yo, aged 20 her parents tried to marry her off to a great Saxon Lord. She fled from Germany into France pursued by the Lord. When he caught her hiding amongst some shepherds at Arras, he tried to rape her and when she resisted, decapitated her. 
A short while later the Saxon Lord mysteriously drowned in a fountain,then Saturn in a miraculously carried her own severed head to the Church of St. Remi in the next village, Sains-Les-Marquion, where she was buried. She is the patron saint of farmers and wine merchants.

1913 Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison runs out in front of the King's horse, Anmer, in the Derby at Epsom Downs. She was trampled, never regained consciousness and died a few days later. Her gravestone bears the inscription, "Deeds Not Words",  the Womens Social and Political Union's slogan. 

1924 Marshall Sam McCloud, actor Dennis Weaver, was born in Joplin, Missouri.

1927 English character actor and TV Great Geoffrey Palmer was born in London.

1948 Grand National winning jockey and cancer survivor Bob Champion was born in Guisborough, Redcar. He rode into legend when in 1981 he won the National on Aldaniti, a horse returning after a career threatening injury. Their fairytale victory was later the subject of the feature film," Champions" with Bob portrayed by John Hurt.

1956 Former BDO Champion, Martin "Wolfie" Adams was born in Sutton, London. He has won the BDO World Championship on three occasions, though a high profile and acrimonious divorce from his long time partner and wife, Sharon, has affected his play.

1960 Actor/Comedian and TV Quizmaster, Bradley Walsh was born in Watford.

1964 Actor Sean Pertwee, son of Dr Who star Jon Pertwee, was born in London. He has starred in more than 40 films and was recently seen as Inspector Lestrade in "Elementary".

1967 The Stockport Air Disaster took place. A British Midland aircraft crashed into a small open area in the middle of Stockport, killing 72 of the 84 on board.

1989 The Tiananmen Square protests are ended by violence in Beijing by the People's Liberation Army.

1997 Guitarist Ronnie Lane died from pneumonia whilst in the final stages of multiple sclerosis. He was 51yo.

Police News: The search for Madeleine McCann continues. Today British police began digging on the beach at Praia da Luz, they made four sandcastles and a row of sand-pies.

Political Updates: The Coalition denied today that it had run out of new policy ideas amid rumours that the Queen would be reading Eric Charles " The Very Hungry Caterpillar" at tomorrow's State Opening of Parliament.
all together now..."In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf. Sunday morning the warm sun came up and- Pop!- out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar...

June 3rd

Feast Day of Saint Clothilde, Queen of All The Franks. She is patron saint of Queens, brides, widows, those in exile, the lame and ill tempered husbands!

1675 The Great Fire of Northampton occurred in 1675 in the town of Northampton in Northamptonshire, England. The blaze was caused by sparks from an open fire in St. Mary’s Street near Northampton castle, and devastated the town centre, destroying about 700 buildings [out of 850] including All Saints church, in six hours. Three quarters of the town was destroyed, 11 people died and about 700 families were made homeless. Many people escaped the fire as the Trumpton Fire Brigade were guests at a local wedding ceremony and their expertise was much praised by the locals.

1875 French composer Georges Bizet died from a heart attack in Paris aged just 36yo. His best known work being the opera "Carmen".

1888  The poem "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer is first published.

"The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;

The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,

And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,

A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

...

 

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;

He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;

He signalled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;

But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;

But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,

And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;

He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out."

1918 English actor and producer Patrick Cargill was born in Bexhill-On-Sea.

1924 Bohemian novelist Franz Kafka died from starvation. He was suffering from laryngenal tuberculosis that left it impossible for him to swallow food and at the time there was no way known to feed him, his throat simply closed to the point where no nourishment could be taken. He was 40yo. Amongst his most notable works were :-

"Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis")

Der Process (The Trial)

"Das Urteil" ("The Judgment")

Das Schloss (The Castle)

Betrachtung (Contemplation)

Ein Hungerkünstler (A Hunger Artist).

1925 American actor Tony Curtis is born in Manhattan as Bernard Schwartz.

1937 The Duke of Windsor married Wallis Simpson in France.

1966 Pakistan and Lancashire cricketer Wasim Akram is born in Lahore.

2001 Mexican/American actor and painter, Anthony Quinn passed away He died aged 86 in Boston, Massachusetts from pneumonia and respiratory failure while suffering from throat cancer.
By the early 1980s, his artwork had caught the eyes of various gallery owners and was exhibited internationally, in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Mexico City. His work is now represented in both public and private collections throughout the world.

2009 American actor/director David Carradine was found dead in his room at the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, near Sukhumvit Road, in central Bangkok, Thailand. reported evidence suggested that his death was the result of autoerotic asphyxiation. Two autopsies were conducted and concluded that the death was not a suicide. The cause of death became widely accepted as "accidental asphyxiation"

2009 Rue McClanahan was an American actress, died at the age of 76, at New York–Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered a brain haemorrhage. Best known for her role on television as Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls (1985–92), for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1987.

Jimmy Saville and others: Commenting on news that the ex DJ, Mrs Thatcher loving paedophile had sexually abused victims as young as 2yo , former minister, Eggwina Curry stated, " No of course we had no idea what he was like! If Margaret had known she would have had him locked up, what? Ah yes we did give him the keys to Broadmoor...but he was a great union basher and we wanted the nasty troublemakers out, no I'm sure we did the right thing...well with hindsight , obviously it was very wrong as we gave him carte blanche to abuse any vulnerable person he wanted to...but we weren't aware of that. Rumours? Well of course there are always rumours, especially about good working class Tory supporters, I mean there was a rumour going round that I was shagging John Major...oh dear?"

 

June 2nd

Feast Day of St. Elmo, patron saint of sailors, colic in children, intestinal ailments and diseases and Muppets, (also known as St Erasmus).

1740 The Marquis de Sade, was born in Paris as Donation Alphonse Francois de Sade. He was an author and poet, considered to be a controversial figure through his erotic writings and life style, he was incarcerated in prisons and later asylums for 32yrs of his life.

1835 P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.

1857 Composer Edward Elgar was born in Lower Broadheath, Worcester.

1938 American actor Ron Ely was born in Hereford Texas, his height of 6' 4" plus his athletic build made him a natural to play the lead role of Tarzan in NBC's eponymous TV series. He played the role in 57 episodes between 1966-1968. After this he played Doc Savage: Man of Bronze, (1975). 

1953 American golfer, Craig Stadler, nicknamed ' The Walrus' was born in 
San Diego, California.

1957 Republic of Ireland international, ex Liverpool player and Football Pundit Mark Lawrenson was born in Penwortham, Lancashire.

1958 American wrestling legend Lex Luger is born in Buffalo, New York as Lawrence Wendell Pfhol. 

 

1965 The Australian Cricketing twins Mark and Steve Waugh were born today in Canterbury, New South Wales.

1979 Ellery Queen, (1975-76), actor Jim Hutton died from liver cancer aged 45yo. His son is Timothy Hutton, (Ordinary People, (1980) and Leverage, (2008-2012).

1990 Hollywood star and Musical great, Sir Rex Harrison died aged 82yo in New York City from pancreatic cancer.

1998 Sylvester Ritter, better known as 'The Junkyard Dog', (JYD), died in an automobile accident near Forest, Mississippi. It is believed that he fell asleep at the wheel, he was just 45yo. Best remembered for his entering the ring wearing a collar and trademark chain to Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust'.

2008 American iconic guitarist Bo Diddley died of heart failure aged 79yo.

2008 American actor, director and producer Mel Ferrer, died aged 90yo in Santa Barbara, California. Best known for the film Lili, (1953), and being Mr. Audrey Hepburn from 1954-68!

Medical News: Doctors and scientists yesterday warned that the outbreaks of Pig-Pox was spreading like wild fire, the illness typified by violent snorting and the turning up of the nose is said to be ten times more virulent than chickenpox. Doctors say they are working exclusively on finding a vaccine against the disease but government cuts in research funding are making things difficult. Whilst Pig-Pox has never proved to be fatal it can be extremely debilitating, especially in the young, teenagers, thirty somethings, middle-aged and old.
Dr.Mansoor, a Pig-Pox specialist said, " It is imperative you catch the illness quickly, if there is an irrational fear of bacon sandwiches or bangers and mash, then alarm bells should start ringing. If these symptoms are allied to a voracious thirst and wanting of truffles, you should phone your G.P. immediately. Keep the patient cool and hydrated, do not allow them to visit the toilet alone! We all know what a pig is happiest in...so do not take chances!"
A coalition spokesman, Eric Pickles said, " No way are cuts to blame, cuts are good...four legs are good, two legs are bad! Oink,oink,oink," when asked if Mr. Pickles was infected a spokesman said, "No, he always acted like that, probably have his nose in the trough by now!"