On January 4, 1900, a child was born in Philadelphia. His name was Bond. James Bond. He would not grow up to be a globe-trotting  playboy spy like the other James Bond you’ve probably heard of. Instead, he became an ornithologist, and lived a fairly quiet, normal life—until someone borrowed his name.  

Bond lived in New Hampshire and England while growing up.  After graduating from Cambridge, Bond returned to the U.S. to work as a banker, but his childhood interests in science and natural history spurred him to quit soon after and join an expedition to the Amazon to collect biological specimens for Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences.

After that, and with no formal training in the field, he started working as an ornithologist at the Academy. Working at the museum, he became an authority on the bird species of the Caribbean, and his 1936 book, Birds of the West Indies, was considered the definitive guide to the region’s birds at the time. 

That was the book which catapulted Bond, or at least his name, to international fame.

In 1961, Bond was reading a London newspaper’s review of the latest edition of his book and found eyebrow-raising references to handguns and other elements of a life that sounded very unlike his. He and his wife Mary quickly learned that another James Bond was the hero of a series of novels by Ian Fleming, which were popular in the U.K. Mary wrote to Fleming to jokingly chastise him for stealing her husband’s name for his “rascal” character. 

Fleming replied to explain himself: He was a birdwatcher and when he was living in Jamaica beginning work on his first spy novel, Birds of the West Indies was one of his bird “bibles.” He wanted his main character to have an ordinary name, and when he was trying to drum one up, he remembered the author of the book he turned to so often. “It struck me that this name, brief, unromantic and yet very masculine, was just what I needed and so James Bond II was born,” he wrote to Mary. (He later called “James Bond” the “dullest name I’ve ever heard.”)

He told her that he understood if they were angry at the theft of Bond’s name, and suggested a trade. “In return I can only offer your James Bond unlimited use of the name Ian Fleming for any purpose he may think fit,” he wrote. “Perhaps one day he will discover some particularly horrible species of bird which he would like to christen in an insulting fashion.” 

He also invited the Bonds to his home in Jamaica, which they took him up on a few years later. During the Bonds’ visit, Fleming gave James a copy of his latest novel, You Only Live Twice, inscribed with the message “To the real James Bond from the thief of his identity.”

For the next few decades, until his death at the age of 89, Bond’s famous namesake caused him a few minor annoyances. Once, he was supposedly stopped at the airport because officials thought his passport was a fake, and the occasional bank teller would likewise think the same of his checks and refuse to cash them. Young women would often prank call the Bond house late at night asking to speak to 007.

Fill in the gaps after reading the text and see how much you remember.

In his childhood James Bond was interested in ________________ (1) but his first job was in a ________________ (2). Later, he travelled to the Amazon in order to ________________ (3). He became a real expert of ________________ (4). His name became famous because he wrote a book ________________ (5). His name was borrowed by Ian Fleming for his spy novels because he wanted a name that was ________________ (6) and Fleming knew James Bond’s name because he was also ________________ (7). In exchange for the theft of his name, Fleming offered Boyd that he could ________________ (8) for any purpose and he also ________________ (9) and gave him ________________ (10). James Bond had problems because of his name at ________________ (11), in ________________ (12) and when young women ________________ (13).

1. science and natural history

2. bank

3. collect biological specimens

4. the bird species of the Caribbean

5. about birds in 1936

6. brief, unromantic and masculine

7. a birdwatcher

8. also use his name

9. invited the Bonds to his home in Jamaica

10. a copy of his latest novel

11. airports

12. banks

13. phoned him at night

A great-great grandmother who is the oldest barmaid in the world will soon celebrate her 100th birthday – but has no plans to retire. Dolly Saville still works three days a week at The Red Lion Hotel in Wendover, Bucks, where she has been pulling pints for an incredible 74 years since 1940. The pensioner started working at the bar when she was just 26 and King George VI was on the throne, Winston Churchill was Prime Minister and Britain was in the grip of World War Two.

Over the last seven decades she has served scores of famous faces, including actor Pierce Brosnan, former Prime Minister Ted Heath, footballer Stanley Matthews, wartime singer Vera Lynn, ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Until six years ago when she was 94 she was still working at least six hours a day, six days a week and has only ever had two weeks sick leave.She has now reduced her work to three shifts a week, but still spends hours on her feet clearing tables, polishing glasses and serving customers. The pensioner, who has three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter, has pulled and poured a staggering two million pints in the bar, which has been named Dolly’s in her honour.

"I love my work and I love the people, it keeps me going and it’s better than sitting around," said Dolly, whose two children are long retired. I never thought I would be here this long, but I’ve loved every minute of it. My family keeps asking if I want to stop, but I have no plans to retire. My boss is lovely and if he asked me to work an extra shift I would say yes as he has been so kind to me."

Dolly was born in Eton, Berkshire, and moved to Wendover at the age of three. She left school at 14 and went into service as a house maid. She married in her late teens and her daughter Anne was born soon after, followed by her son Roland. When war broke out several years later, her husband joined the RAF and Dolly had to get a job to support the family. She had never done bar work before but was offered a job in the hotel by the landlord who spotted her walking past one day with her children.

When Dolly first started the 16th Century hotel had three bars, a public bar, a saloon bar and a cocktail bar, and she would work in all three. Her children, who were three and five at the time, would be left to play in the staff room or the beautiful hotel gardens. Even after the hotel, which has historical links with Oliver Cromwell and Robert Louis Stevenson, was closed five years ago for six months refurbishment Dolly refused to give up work. Instead she went to the nearby King and Queen pub in Wendover. Dolly is now famous for being such a long-serving bar maid and is missed by the regulars if she is not around. Over the years she has also served many celebrities.

"I served Pierce Brosnan when he had lunch at the hotel while he was filming one of the Bond films," she said.

Dolly now works three lunch times a week. Martin Howard, manager of the hotel, said: "Dolly is an amazing person and the life and soul of the staff parties. She is still young at heart and the staff love her." Robery Hynes, deputy manager, added: "She is amazing and the customers absolutely love her. She has told me she doesn’t want to leave until the day she dies. The younger members of staff aspire to be like her and think she’d brilliant. I think the job keeps her going and gives her something to look forward to. We get regulars who come in especially to see Dolly and in the run up to her birthday they’ve been travelling from further afield to see her."

Hideko Arima, from Japan, was formerly the world’s oldest bar maid. She worked at her tiny bar, Gilbey Ai in Tokyo’s Ginza district for 52 years until she was 101. She died in 2003.