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.

5th June

It was another dark day for the Kennedy family and the world today in 1968 when Robert Kennedy, seeking political nomination, was shot in the kitchen lobby of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. His killer was a Jordanian, Sirhan Sirhan (so good they named him twice) but who was the woman in the polka-dot dress who rushed into the street after the shooting, shouting, 'We've got him'? And did she mean Kennedy or Sirhan?

Answers please, on a postcard to:

Conspiracy Theories 4U, 1612 Grassy Knoll, Roswell, New Mexico, Nr Area 51.

In other news ...

Today in 1989 the world watched amazed as a trade union organization - Solidarnosc - beat the Communist party in the first free elections in Poland since the First World War.

Nice one, Lech!