Hooting Yard

Procol Harum founder Gary Brooker owns a large granite gorilla called 'Stephen Fry' @stephenfry #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1m1yO2Q

Irish businessman Paul Hewson prefers to be known as 'Bono', after a popular brand of dog biscuit #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1m1zkxK

How Robert Baden-Powell crossed the road. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1MIOqOP

Edmund Gosse’s birth in father's diary:“Received green swallow from Jamaica. E delivered of a son.” #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1WIe4Ov

In 1946 Jorge Luis Borges was made Chief Poultry Inspector in Buenos Aires. He resigned immediately #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1PkhZN2

How Harold Wilson saw himself #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1NExUnV

Lloyd George once sacked Neville Chamberlain as a Minister because he had 'the wrong-shaped head' #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1WIdu3i

Leopold II of Belgium's breakfast: 6 poached eggs, a huge qty of toast & an entire jar of marmalade #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1NlYA8E

Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke deemed jam “effeminate” and wore a stuffed albatross's glass eye #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1NZ4389

Samuel Wesley was once haunted by an apparition of a badger with no head. It was called Jeffrey. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1RBSRiK

The only direction Ken Russell gave actors: “It needs to be a bit more urrrgh" or “a bit less hmmm” #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1WCmPtj

Stein, Gertrude (American writer, 1874 – 1946). Stein liked to write while looking at cows. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1MCKpLF

Charles I's reign was “nothing but Trenchmore & the Cushion dance, tolly polly, hoyte come toyte”. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1laFYlp

For a wedding present, PM James Callaghan gave Tom Driberg four ashtrays, two of which were broken. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1NU2SGY

Lord Northcliffe wantonly struck down a seagull with his stick and beat it to death on the sand. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1keIfM4

Tove Jansson liked to get up at 4am and pretend to be a tree while a squirrel ran up and down her. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1keI3N4

Richard Nixon's favourite pastime was mashing potatoes. Many more such here - #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1keHVNk

Ambrose Bierce was one of thirteen children all of whose given names began with the letter A. #BriefBriefLives buff.ly/1NgMCwR