20th November

Sir Anthony Blunt, Surveyor of the Queen's paintings, was stripped of his knighthood today in 1979 when it emerged that he was the 'fourth man' spying for the Russians along with Philby, Burgess and Maclean. And I was reminded of other notables whose titles had been removed over the years: -

• Screaming Lord Sutch
• all of Lord Rockingham's Eleven
• Duke John Wayne
• Sirhan Sirhan

In other news ...
Casimir Funk died today in 1967. Never heard of him? He was apparently the chappie who coined the word 'vitamin'. What a waste. With a fantastic name like his we could have had phrases like 'The disease is caused by a casimir deficiency' and 'Funk B12'. It's too late now.

18th August

Robert Redford, born today in 1937, tells the best put-down story about himself of any Hollywood icon. He was driving around LA one day at the height of his fame when he saw a crowd of people waving at him and calling. He thought he'd give them a treat, so he pulled over and wound down his window, at which point and excited you woman said breathlessly, 'Robert Redford, you asshole!'

In other news ...
And talking of assholes, Temujin died today in 1227. Better known as Genghis Khan (the Great Lord) he brought terror and destruction to millions from his native Mongolia to the Black Sea. Adolf Hitler was recently voted the most evil man of all time - by people who'd never heard of Genghis Khan!

And by the way, if you ever want to see probably the worst film ever made starring a Hollywood A-lister, watch The Conqueror starring John Wayne as Temujin. Oh dear!