The Friday Irregular

Issue #664 - 13th May 2022


Edited by and copyright ©2022 Simon Lamont
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tfir@simonlamont.co.uk

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Unless otherwise indicated dollar values are in US dollars. Currency conversions are at current rates at time of writing and may be rounded.
The Friday Irregular uses Common Era year notation.

CONTENTS



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^ WORD OF THE WEEK

paraskevidekatriaphobia
  n. the irrational fear of Friday the thirteenth

^ ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Friday 13th May   -   Physician and antiquarian Ole Worm born, 1588. Mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiated an end to the War of the Bavarian Succession, 1779. Architect John Nash died, 1832. The Great Comet of 1861 was discovered, 1861. Actress Imogen Boorman born, 1971. Psychologist Joyce Brothers died, 2013.
 
Saturday 14th May   -   Composer Francesco Rasi born, 1574. Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia, died, 1576. James Fort, later Jamestown, Virginia, was established as the first permanent English settlement in North America, 1607. Nurse Mary Seacole died, 1881. The two minute silence was inaugurated in Cape Town, South Africa, 1918. actress Francesca Annis born, 1945. Internet celebrity Tardar Sauce, better known as Grumpy Cat, died, 2019.
 
Sunday 15th May   -   Roman emperor Valentinian II died in mysterious circumstances, 392. Johannes Kepler confirmed his discovery of the third law of planetary motion, 1618. Writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu born, 1689. Poet Emily Dickinson died, 1886. Las Vegas, Nevada, was founded, 1905. Singer-songwriter Mike Oldfield born, 1953. International Conscientious Objectors Day. International Day of Families.
 
Monday 16th May   -   Mary, Queen of Scots, fled to England, 1568. Physician John Bulwer born, 1606. Author and founder of the fairy tale genre Charles Perrault died, 1703. The Triton Fountain in Valetta, Malta, was turned on for the first time, 1959. Actress Melanie Lynskey born, 1977. Puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson died, 1990.
 
Tuesday 17th May   -   Artist Sandro Botticelli died, 1510. The marriage of King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn was annulled, 1536. Physician and vaccination pioneer Edward Jenner born, 1749. Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published, 1900. Racing driver and record breaker Dorothy Levitt died, 1922. Singer-songwriter Enya born, 1961. World Information Society Day. International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
 
Wednesday 18th May   -   An arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe on accusations of heresy was issued, 1593. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia born, 1868. Actress Isabella Glyn died, 1889. Jackie Cochrane became the first woman to break the sound barrier, 1953. Singer-songwriter Toyah Willcox born, 1958. Volcanologist David A. Johnston died in the eruption of Mount St Helens, 1980. International Museum Day.
 
Thursday 19th May   -   Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England and mother of Queen Elizabeth I of England, was executed, 1536. The Long Parliament passed an Act declaring England a Commonwealth, 1649. Philanthropist Johns Hopkins born, 1795. Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday" at a salute to President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in New York City, 1962. Poet Ogden Nash died, 1971. Singer-songwriter Jenny Berggren born, 1972.


^ THE WISDOM OF...

This week, Ogden Nash:
I test my bath before I sit,
And I'm always moved to wonderment
That what chills the finger not a bit
Is so frigid upon the fundament.


^ FILM QUIZ

A selection of quotations from films released in the same year. Answers next issue or from the regular address. Last issue's quotations were from films released in 2021:


^ WEIRD WORLD NEWS

Strange stories from around the world, some of which might be true...

IN BRIEF: America's first public House Intelligence Committee hearing into UFOs in more than 50 years will take place next week. ● Canadian MP Shafqat Ali has apologised after joining a parliamentary session by remote video link from a toilet cubicle. ● A Seattle couple (both accountants) have calculated that it will be cheaper to spend their retirement going from cruise ship to cruise ship as oceanic nomads than living in their house. ● A special election will be held to elect a mayor of Palmhurst, Texas, after Ramiro Rodriguez, Jr was re-elected last week. Rodriguez died on April 5th but under Texas law his name could not be removed from the ballot. ● Great North Air Ambulance have begun trials of personal jetpacks to help paramedics get to emergencies in the Lake District before conventional rescue teams. ● Pupils at Lancaster Royal Grammar School are chortling at Lancashire Council after a nearby bus stop was signed as "Royal Grammer [sic] School". ● The highlight of the BBC's local election coverage last week was newsreader Hugh Edwards after the director unexpectedly cut back to him as he was eating. "I'm going to admit to you that I've just had a little bit of croissant and I'm just finishing it. I'm ashamed to say that but there you go... it's um, twenty to six in the morning" he told viewers.● Walter Orthmann, 100, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the holder of the record for the longest continual employment at the same company. He started working for textile company Reneaux View as a shipping assistant at the age of 14 in 1938 and is still there, now as a sales manager. ● The man who was given a genetically modified pig heart transplant two months ago died last month of a pig virus. ● A shopping bag with a photograph of a lion's face caused panic in Mutiribu village, Kenya, after it got caught under bushes, causing people to think there was a real lion. ● A pair of Indian sisters holding a joint wedding ceremony accidentally married each other's grooms after a power cut plunged the venue into darkness. ● Paul Burt, a reporter for Australia's Channel Seven news has been praised after interrupting a live broadcast at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to jump into the water and rescue a boy he had seen was in trouble. ● Charlie Choak, 75, has retired after 60 years working in his family's bakery in Falmouth, Cornwall. He estimates that he has made more than 15 million pasties in his time there.


^ ENTERTAINMENT

BAFTA TV Awards 2022: Best Leading Actress: Jodie Comer, Help; Best Leading Actor: Sean Bean, Time; Best Drama Series: In My Skin; Best Comedy Entertainment Programme: The Lateish Show With Mo Gilligan; Best Entertainment Performance: Big Zuu, Big Zuu's Big Eats; Best Soap & Continuing Drama: Coronation Street; Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme: Sophie Willan, Alma's Not Normal; Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme: Jamie Demetriou, Stath Lets Flats; Best Factual Series: Uprising; Best Mini-Series: Time; Best Reality & Constructed Factual: Gogglebox; Best Supporting Actress: Cathy Tyson, Help; Best Supporting Actor: Matthew Macfadyen, Succession; Best Scripted Comedy: Motherland; Best Features: Big Zuu's Big Eats; Best Live Event: The Earthshot Prize 2021; Best Short Form Programme: Our Land; Best Single Drama: Together; Best International: The Underground Railroad; Best Current Affairs: Fearless: The Women Against Putin; Best Single Documentary: My Childhood, My Country; Best Daytime: The Chase; Best Sport: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; Best News Coverage: ITV News At Ten: Storming of the Capitol; Best Specialist Factual: The Missing Children; Best Entertainment Programme: Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway; Virgin TV's Must-See Moment: Rose and Giovanni's silent dance to "Symphony", Strictly Come Dancing; BAFTA Fellowship Award: Billy Connolly.


^ OBITUARIES

Comic book artist George Pérez (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman, The New Teen Titans, 67), actor and theme tune singer Dennis Waterman (The Sweeney, Minder, New Tricks, 74), actor Jack Kehler (The Big Lebowski, The Man in the High Castle, Fresno, 75), programmer David Ward (co-founder of Ocean Software in 1983, 75), actor Kenneth Welsh (The Aviator, Twin Peaks, The Day After Tomorrow, 80), actor Robin Parkinson (Button Moon, 'Allo 'Allo, It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, 92).


^ DUMBLEDORE BEAR'S LOTTERY PREDICTOR!

Dumbledore Bear, our in-house psychic predicts that the following numbers will be lucky:
9, 31, 32, 34, 35, 47
[UK National Lottery, number range 1-59]
You can get your very own prediction at http://www.simonlamont.co.uk/tfir/dumbledore.htm.


^ AND FINALLY...

    Little Jennifer rushed inside one afternoon. "Mummy," she panted, "please can I have some money for the man crying down the street?"
    "What crying man?" her mother asked, looking concerned.
    Little Jennifer smiled as only she could. "The one that's crying 'Ice cream! Ice cream!'"


^ ...end of line