2nd December: Red Telephone Boxes

On this date in 1926, Red telephone boxes first came into operation in Britain. Here are ten facts about them:

1. Red telephone boxes are a familiar sight not only in Britain but also in Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar.
2. The man responsible for the design was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, an architect who also worked on Liverpool Cathedral, Cambridge University Library, Waterloo Bridge and Battersea Power Station.
3. His design wasn't the first one to be used. The original design was slightly different. It was Grey and red and made from concrete. This design was called a K1 (Kiosk 1). Very few of these are left but there is one in Trinity Market in Kingston-upon-Hull, which is still in use.
4. Scott's design was the K2, the result of a competition held in 1924 to come up with a design of telephone box that would be acceptable to the London Boroughs, who hadn't taken to the K1 and resisted any efforts to have them installed in London's streets. Wooden prototypes of the entries were put into public service at under-cover sites around London. Only one of these is known to survive, in the left entrance arch to the Royal Academy.
5. The K2 kiosks didn't look exactly as Scott envisaged them. He thought they should be made of mild steel and painted silver with a "greeny-blue" interior, but the Post Office decided that they should be red (because they'd be easier to spot) and made from cast Iron. For a long time it was only in London that this style of phone box was installed. Everywhere else still had the K1 design.
6. That changed with the introduction of a similar model called the K6 in 1936 which was smaller and cheaper to manufacture. It was designed to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V, so was known as the "Jubilee" kiosk.
7. The paint colour used most widely today is known as "currant red" and is defined by a British Standard, BS381C-Red539. This colour was first used in 1968 on the K8 model. Previous models were a slightly darker red.
8. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1982 was the beginning of the end for red phone boxes. BT wanted to get rid of them in favour of open sided designs that wheelchair users could use, and which were cheaper to clean and maintain. They also wanted to paint any remaining ones Yellow, to reflect BT's new corporate colours. There was a public outcry, questions in Parliament and a Daily Mail campaign against what they dubbed "The Yellow Peril". BT were adamant that few people used the red boxes and they didn't meet customer needs anymore. Increased ownership of mobile phones has decreased demand for public phones, too. In 1980 there were 73,000 red phone boxes in the UK - now only 11,000 remain.
9. Some survive because they have been put to other uses, such as tiny Libraries or art galleries. One has been turned into a defibrillator station, and another a public shower. From October 2014, several of London's disused K6 telephone boxes were painted Green and converted to free mobile phone chargers named Solarboxes. Many were sold off and bought by individuals to do whatever they like with. A few have been turned into art installations - in Kingston upon Thames, for example, a number of old K6 boxes have been used to form a work of art resembling a row of fallen dominoes.
10. The traditional red phone box may be disappearing, but you can still experience what it's like to stand in one in the virtual world, thanks to this website: https://www.360cities.net/image/red-phone-box#-541.02,-12.03,70.0

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

1st December: Dr Pepper

Although the exact date is unknown, the US Patent Office acknowledges December 1, 1885 as the first day of the American soft drink Dr Pepper. So here are 10 facts about Dr Pepper.

1. Patented in 1885, Dr Pepper pre-dates Coca Cola by a year and is therefore the oldest soft drink brand in the USA.
2. Dr Pepper was created in the early 1880s by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton, who worked as a pharmacist in a department store in Waco, Texas, serving customers with soft drinks as a sideline. He wanted to create a drink which reproduced for the taste buds the smell of the area around the soda fountain and pharmacy.
3. Customers loved the new drink which became unofficially known as "a Waco". Alderton wasn't interested in manufacturing soft drinks full-time - his main interest still lay in pharmacy, so he sold the recipe to his boss, department store owner WB Morrison. It was Morrison who came up with the name Dr Pepper.
4. We don't know how Morrison came up with the name but there are plenty of rumours. It may have been chosen because at that time, healthful drinks were popular and including a medical reference would help it sell. It has also been suggested that Morrison actually knew a Dr. Pepper who lived near him in Christianburg Virginia. His name may have been used because he gave Morrison his first job or gave him permission to marry his daughter. There's no evidence for either theory but a census from the time shows they lived close to each other, and Morrison was then working as a pharmacy clerk.
5. The recipe for Dr Pepper is a closely guarded secret. It is said it's so secret that the recipe has been divided into two halves which are kept in safety deposit boxes in two different Dallas banks. The company denies the rumour that one ingredient is prune juice.
6. In 2009, an old ledger book showed up at a Texas antique store. The letterheads suggested the book came from the store where Dr Pepper was first made. The book was full of recipes, including one for "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters". The company denied that this was the Dr Pepper recipe - they said it was for a digestive aid. The book failed to sell at auction.
7. "Dr Pepper Time", according to one promotion, is at 10, 2 and 4 o'clock.
8. There is a Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas, which opened in 1991, in the building which was once the first dedicated Dr Pepper bottling plant. Dr Pepper was bottled there until the 1960s. The museum exhibits include a working old-fashioned soda fountain, and a gift store of Dr Pepper memorabilia.
9. The place which consumes the most Dr Pepper is the Roanoke Valley area of Virginia. It is less than 100 miles from where Morrison and the original Dr. Pepper were neighbours. The first Fr Pepper factory was opened there in 1936 and so the city had declared itself to be the "Dr Pepper Capital of the World". There is also an official Dr Pepper day, on October 24.
10. A standard sized can of Dr Pepper contains 150 calories. It contains carbohydrate in the form of sugar (or high fructose corn syrup, which is mostly what is used in the US these days, although other countries still use sugar due to regulations restricting the use of corn syrup) and sodium. It contains no fat or cholesterol, though.

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

30 November: Jonathan Swift

Born on this date in 1667 was Jonathan Swift, the satirist who wrote Gulliver's Travels. Here are ten quotes:

1. Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.
2. May you live all the days of your life.
3. When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
4. We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.
5. Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old.
6. A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.
7. Promises and pie crusts are made to be broken.
8. There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.
9. Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.
10. I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

29 November: CS Lewis

Born on this date in 1898 was C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis, best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian works, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

1. Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, on 29 November 1898. His friends and family called him Jack, a nickname which arose from when, at the age of four, he lost his pet dog, Jacksie, and announced that Jacksie was now his name. For a time, he'd answer to nothing else, although in due course it got shortened to Jack.
2. Even as a child, Lewis was making up fantasy worlds full of anthropomorphic animals, possibly inspired by the Beatrix Potter stories. With his brother, Warren, he invented a world called Boxen, a world in a box inhabited and run by animals. One of these animals was King Bunny, which was echoed later when the room in which he used to meet with fellow authors as an adult was called the Rabbit Room.
3. He's known for being a Christian writer, but for a while as a young man, he totally rejected his religious upbringing and became an atheist, interested in mythology and the occult. Being drafted to fight in the first world war while still a student and witnessing all the horror turned him against God even more. However, thanks to the works of George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton, and his friendship with JRR Tolkien, he returned to Christianity.
4. During his army training, Lewis shared a room with another cadet, Edward Courtnay Francis "Paddy" Moore. The two men made a pact that if either of them was killed in the war, the other would take care of their family. Paddy was killed in action in 1918 and Lewis kept his promise, moving in with Paddy's mother and caring for her until she died. It has even been speculated that Lewis and Jane Moore were lovers, even though she was 45 years older than him. There is evidence to support the arguments for and against, so we'll never know.
5. Friendships seemed most important to Lewis. His friendship with Tolkien is the best known. They shared an eccentric sense of humour - they once went to a party dressed as Polar Bears. It wasn’t a fancy-dress party. The protagonist in Lewis's Space Trilogy novels, Elwin Ransom, was based on Tolkien. When they first met, however, Lewis wrote of Tolkien in his diary: ‘No harm in him, only needs a smack or so.’
6. As a writer, Lewis was a perfectionist and often wrote and re-wrote his works, especially his early poems. He took criticism from his friends very seriously - he destroyed the first draft of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when his friends criticised it, and rewrote it from scratch.
7. He never used a Typewriter and never learned to type. All his work was written longhand. While the fact he only had one joint in his thumbs would have made typing difficult, that wasn't the only reason he chose not to type. Typing, he said, “interfered with the creative process in that the incessant clacking of the typewriter keys dulled the writer’s appreciation of the rhythms and cadences of the English language.”
8. At first, his marriage to Joy Davidman, the American writer with whom he had corresponded, was a marriage of convenience. She came to England with her two sons to escape an abusive marriage. The two were great friends and so Lewis agreed to a civil marriage so she could stay in the UK. However, the relationship went further than that, and after Joy was diagnosed with bone cancer, they wanted a proper Christian marriage. A friend, the Rev. Peter Bide, performed the ceremony at her bedside in the Churchill Hospital on 21 March 1957. Joy's cancer went into remission and they lived together for another three years before the cancer returned and she died. Lewis wrote a book about his experience of grief, A Grief Observed, but published it under a pseudonym, N. W. Clerk, because the subject matter was so personal. It fooled many of his friends, who actually recommended the book to him to help him deal with his grief.
9. Lewis tried to join up again when the second world war broke out but his application, at the age of 40, was rejected. The recruiting office suggested he might use his talent as a writer to write columns for the Ministry of Information in the press, but her refused, as he didn't want to write lies to deceive people. He also turned down a CBE and gave away the royalties from all his Christian books. By the time he got the tax bill, he would already have given the money away.
10. He died on the same day as Aldous Huxley, but neither got much coverage in the papers because there was another famous death that day - the Assassination of John F Kennedy.

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

28 November: Honey

The French Revolutionary Calendar celebrates Honey today. Here are a few fascinating facts about honey.

1. Honey is the only human food made by insects.
2. People have been eating honey for over 8,000 years. We know this thanks to a Mesolithic cave painting in Valencia, Spain, in which people are depicted collecting honey by climbing up ropes to a wild bee hive and collecting the honey in gourds.
3. You probably know that honey is the only food which never, ever goes off. In fact, honey found in Ancient Egyptian tombs is still edible. What you may not know is why. It's down to the chemical composition of honey - slightly acidic, and low in moisture. It is low in moisture because the bees go to great efforts to draw the excess moisture out by flapping their wings. Bees also have a special enzyme in their stomachs to break the nectar down into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which prevents the growth of Bacteria and other organisms in the honey.
4. Thanks to this property, objects immersed in honey can be preserved for centuries. It was used in Ancient Egypt for embalming the dead. Honey has also been used as a natural remedy for wounds and burns - because bacteria can't grow in it, it helps guard against infection, something scientists are looking at more seriously now so many bugs are becoming immune to antibiotics.
5. Honey contains everything needed to sustain life. It has amino acids, sugar, even a little Water, so if you're ever lost in a desert, look for a beehive. It's also something worth stockpiling in your secret nuclear bunker. Honey provides 64 calories in a serving of one tablespoon.
6. In 2014, 1.5 million tonnes of honey were produced worldwide. China is the top honey producing country, accounting for 31% of the world's supply. Turkey, United States, Ukraine, and Russia are the runners up and produce 22% between them.
7. Not all honey tastes or looks the same. It varies according to the type of flowers the bees collected the nectar from. For example, linden honey is delicate and woody, buckwheat honey is strong and spicy, and eucalyptus honey has a subtle menthol flavour. As a general rule, lighter coloured honeys are mild in flavour while darker coloured honeys are usually more intense. In parts of the USA there is even honey which is Purple in colour, and scientists haven't yet figured out why.
8. Some species of wasp produce honey, too, such as the Mexican honey wasp, whose honey is a delicacy in Mexico. You need to be careful with wasp honey, though, as like the wasp itself, it can have a sting in the tail. Some wasp honey is made from poisonous plants and is therefore toxic.
9. The word honey comes from a Hebrew word meaning to enchant. It is mentioned in both the Bible and the Qur'an. In Jewish tradition, honey symbolises the new year, Rosh Hashanah. Apple slices are dipped in honey and eaten at that time to bring a sweet new year.
10. A honey bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey over the course of its life. There are a lot of bees in a hive, though, so a typical beehive produces between 30 to 100 pounds of honey a year. To produce a single pound of honey, bees must collect nectar from about two million flowers and fly over 55,000 miles. This amounts to a lifetime’s worth of work for around 800 bees. Two tablespoons of honey would be enough to fuel a bee’s flight around the world.  

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

27 November: Lancashire Day

Today is Lancashire Day. Here are ten facts about the British county of Lancashire.

1. Lancashire is a young county, relatively speaking. It wasn't mentioned in the 1086 Doomsday survey because it wasn't created until 1182.
2. It's population of around 1,460,893 live in an area of 3,075 sq km. 80% of the county is classed as rural although it is home to Britain's largest town - Bolton, with a population of 260,000. You'll also find England's smallest town here - Bashall Town, near Clitheroe.
3. The geographical centre of the British Isles is in Lancashire. It's Dunsop Bridge in the Ribble Valley.
4. The county has pioneered many forms of transport in the UK, if not the world. The UK's first airport was Squires Gate, now Blackpool International Airport. Blackpool's tram system was the first permanent electric street tramway in the world. The Preston Bypass opened in 1958 and was Britain's first motorway. It is now part of the M6. The world’s first intercity railway, built by George Stephenson opened in 1830 between Liverpool and Manchester. It was the first railway to have double tracks, signals and a timetable, and the first to rely on steam power. It pioneered transport on water, too - the Bridgewater canal was considered the first proper canal in Britain, dating back to 1759. Finally, Europe's largest Bus station is in Preston.
5. The emblem of Lancashire is the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster. Lancaster is the historic capital, but the administrative centre is Preston.
6. Famous people from Lancashire include: George Formby, Jimmy Clitheroe, Eric Morecambe, boxer Amir Khan, cricketer Andrew Flintoff, Anne Robinson, Cherie Blair, Dame Thora Hird, Eric Sykes, Ian McKellan, Lynda La Plante, Phillip Schofield, Paddy McGuinness, Ricky Tomlinson, Victoria Wood, Zoe Ball, Professor Brian Cox, and Mystic Meg.
7. Lancashire has Britain’s shortest river, the Brun which runs through Burnley, and the longest canal, The Leeds Liverpool Canal, flows through it. There is also a forest the size of New York City - Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Beauty which covers 802 square km.
8. It's where the 18th century industrial revolution started - in the mill towns of Blackburn and Burnley.
9. Pendle Hill is famous for the Pendle Witches, twelve people living in the area who were accused of witchcraft and murder in the 16th century. Their trial at Lancaster Assizes became one of the most famous witchcraft trials in England. Pendle Hill is also where George Fox is believed to have had a vision in 1640, inspiring him to start the Quaker movement.
10. An unlikely seeming popular drink in Burnley is Benedictine and hot water. In fact, one in every three bottles of Benedictine in the UK is sold in Lancashire, and Burnley Miners’ Social Club sells more Benedictine than any other hostelry in Britain. This is because local boys ended up stationed at Fecamp, where Benedictine is made, and they developed a taste for it.

Other English Counties

Buckinghamshire 
Northamptonshire
Oxfordshire
Somerset 
Sussex  
Yorkshire 

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

26 November: Route 66

on 26 November 1926 US Route 66, one of the most famous roads in America, was established. Here are ten facts about Route 66.

1. It doesn't officially exist anymore. It was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 and has been replaced by the Interstate highway system.
2. That said, parts of the original road have been preserved as a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66", while some sections have become State Route 66 in the states it passed through - often a route into the towns the Interstate bypassed. Other parts of it were abandoned completely or became private roads, meaning it is no longer possible to drive all the way along the original road uninterrupted.
3. Route 66 was 2,451 mi (3,945 km) long and connected Chicago and Los Angeles. The western terminus was at the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, California. The eastern Terminus was at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
4. It passed through the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Well-known cities on the route include Santa Monica, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis and Chicago.
5. Despite being established in 1926, it wasn't completely paved until 1938. This wasn't unusual for American roads at that time - there were portions of all of them which were gravel or graded dirt. There was a campaign group called the U.S. Highway 66 Association, based in Tulsa, which promoted end to end paving. Its publicity events included the "Bunion Derby," a footrace from Los Angeles to New York City in 1928, The Los Angeles to Chicago section was naturally on Route 66. Their efforts paid off in 1938 when 66 became the first highway to be completely paved.
6. It was almost named Route 60. However, there was a lot of controversy about this as Kentucky wanted to use the number for another road. 62 was briefly considered, but in the end, 66 was chosen because it would be easy to remember and easy to say. The planners and engineers also knew that 66 was a master number in numerology representing pleasure and success.
7. The route was well used, partly because much of it was flat, so it was good for trucks. It was also the road taken by farming families escaping the "dust bowl" in the 1930s and migrating to more prosperous and fertile lands in California. Towns along the route prospered despite the depression thanks to all this traffic. Setting up family businesses like service stations, restaurants and the like for the passing trade was lucrative for many.
8. Although most of it was flat there were some dangerous sections - enough for parts of it to be nicknamed "Bloody 66". Over time, the road was realigned to cut out most of the dangerous bends, but there was little that could be done to the section through the Black Mountains outside Oatman, Arizona, which was steep with hairpin bends. This remained part of the route until 1953 and is still used today as the Oatman Highway. In the early days, some travellers were so nervous about this stretch of the route that they would hire local people to navigate it for them.
9. The song, (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 was written in 1946 by Bobby Troup. He and his wife had packed up to move to California where Bobby wanted to work as a songwriter in Hollywood. The idea for the song came to him during the drive, which took in Highway 40 as well as 66. His original idea was to write a song about Highway 40, but his wife came up with the Get your Kicks on Route 66 idea and they spent the ten day journey writing the song. It has been recorded by many artists, including Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Them, Asleep at the Wheel, and Depeche Mode.
10. While the UK doesn't have such iconic roads, there have been a couple of attempts to adapt the song for the UK. Cantabile - The London Quartet perform an Anglicised version of the song, about the A66 in the north of England; and Billy Bragg recorded another version called A13 (Trunk Road to the Sea), replacing the US cities with towns in Essex and using the line "Go motoring, on the A-thirteen".

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

25 November: The Ashes

The Ashes 2017 is happening now in Australia. Here are ten things you never knew about the Ashes.

1. The Ashes is a series of test matches in Cricket between England and Australia, held every two to four years.
2. England have been playing friendly matches against Australia since 1877. It was in 1882, however that Australia managed to beat them. This resulted in a newspaper report of the match, in which a journalist called Reginald Shirley Brooks wrote a mock obituary to English cricket. "In affectionate remembrance of English cricket" he wrote, "which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia". England’s captain Ivo Bligh pledged to regain the ashes; the English media therefore dubbed the next tour the quest to regain the Ashes.
3. Although winning teams often hold aloft a terracotta urn the actual trophy they get to keep is a Waterford Crystal trophy shaped like an urn.
4. The original terracotta urn is kept on permanent display at the MCC Museum at Lord's. It is the symbolic representation of the ashes - it is about 6 inches (150 mm) tall and weighs about 125 grams. It may have originally been a perfume jar. Nobody knows what is actually inside, but most people believe it's the ashes of a wooden bail. Some say it's the ashes of a cricket ball. Nobody knows for sure. There's a verse written on it - for what the verse says, see the end of this post.
5. The urn has a love story attached to it as well as a story about cricket. When England won a test series in Australia the urn was presented to Ivo Bligh by a group of women in Melbourne. One of them was called Florence Murphy, and Ivo was smitten with her. He extended his stay in Australia in order to woo her, and five weeks later, they were engaged. The couple kept it on the mantelpiece of their home until Bligh died. His widow then donated it to the Marylebone Cricket Club.
6. The two countries take it in turns to hold the series, which usually consists of five matches played at different grounds. In Australia these are currently the Gabba in Brisbane, Adelaide Oval, the WACA in Perth, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Sydney Cricket Ground. When Australia are hosting the series takes place in our winter. Traditionally, there will be a test in Melbourne on Boxing Day one in Sydney at New Year. In Britain they choose from Old Trafford in Manchester, The Oval, Lord's, Trent Bridge at West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, and the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.
7. To win the Ashes, a team must win the series outright. If it's a draw, the previous winners retain the Ashes. There have been 69 series at time of writing with Australia and England winning 32 each, the other five being draws. Although in terms of numbers of matches won the teams are pretty equal, in terms of the amount of time the Ashes have been held, Australia is in the lead with 78.5 years, compared to England's 53.5 years.
8. There is also a Women's Ashes, which has been played since 1934. In this contest, Australia has won seven series, England five, and there have been seven draws.
9. Sir Donald Bradman holds the records for the most runs in Ashes history (5028), highest batting average (89.78), most hundreds (19), most fifties (31), most runs in a series (974), and the highest wicket partnership (451). The biggest win was in 1938 when England declared 903/7, and the lowest score was 36, Australia's score in 1902.
10. The Ashes feature in Douglas Adams's novel Life, the Universe and Everything. The urn is stolen by alien robots, as the burnt stump inside is part of a key needed to unlock the "Wikkit Gate" and release an imprisoned world called Krikkit.

The verse on the urn

When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;

Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;

The Welkin will ring loud,

The great crowd will feel proud,

Seeing Barlow and Bates with the urn, the urn,

And the rest coming home with the urn.

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

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24th November: Billy Connolly Quotes

Billy Connolly, was born on this date in 1942. Here are some words of wisdom from him.

1. Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on.
2. Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit.
3. There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.
4. Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!
5. Life is a waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time and you'll have the time of your life.
6. I don't know why I should have to learn Algebra... I'm never likely to go there.
7. The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever being one.
8. There's no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes.
9. Never trust people who've only got one book.
10. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why would you keep looking after you've found it?

New!

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

November 23: Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, a national holiday which is celebrated on the third Thursday of November each year. November 22 is the earliest date Thanksgiving can fall and the latest date is November 28.

1. The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 when the Pilgrims gathered to give thanks that they'd survived their first year in the New World. It was intended to be a fast, not a feast - they were religious people who believed in fasting and prayer, but the local Wampanoag Indians had other ideas. They showed up with food and the resulting celebrations lasted three days.
2. It was another 200 years before it became a national holiday, and that was thanks to a woman called Sarah Josepha Hale. She believed so strongly that Thanksgiving should be a national holiday that she campaigned for it for seventeen years. Abraham Lincoln agreed with her and declared it a holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale's other claim to fame is that she wrote the song Mary Had a Little Lamb.
3. It's even worse for Turkeys than Christmas. In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. That's 46 million turkeys and 535 million pounds of meat. It's the top day in the USA for eating turkey. In 1953, however, too many turkeys got the chop and there were 260 tons left over. A salesman came up with the idea of packing it into trays with vegetables. This was the start of the TV dinner.
4. Since 1947 there has always been one turkey which has a lucky escape. President Truman started a tradition in which the President pardons a turkey and that turkey won't get eaten. These turkeys are given names, like May, Flower, or Courage. Courage was pardoned by Barack Obama and went on to star as Grand Marshal of the Disneyland Thanksgiving Day parade.
5. According to historians, they didn't have any turkey at the first Thanksgiving. They would have eaten Venison, ducks, Geese, Oysters, Lobster, Eel and fish. They would have eaten Pumpkins and Cranberries but not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce. They would have used spoons and knives to eat the meal since forks only arrived in the colonies ten years later.
6. Parades are a regular feature of the day, the most famous being the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade which began in 1924 with 400 Macy's employees marching in New York City. About 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on television. It features large balloons, although in the first parade they had live animals from Central Park Zoo instead. This isn't the oldest parade though. Gimbels department store in Philadelphia staged one in 1920.
7. Not everyone thinks it's such a great thing that the Pilgrims survived. Native Americans hold their own celebrations. On the island of Alcatraz, “Unthanksgiving Day” has been held since 1975 and commemorates the survival of Native Americans after the arrival and settlement of Europeans. Cole’s Hill in Plymouth is the site of another Native American event - a National Day of Mourning. It honours the Native American ancestors who died at the hands of the white settlers and those who still struggle to survive even today.
8. Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day in the US. The American Automobile Association estimated that 42.2 million Americans travelled 50 miles or more over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2010.
9. The song Jingle Bells was originally written as a Thanksgiving song.
10. The average American will consume about 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day - 3,000 during the main meal and 1,500 in snacks. This is despite the fact a lot of people will be nursing some diabolical hangovers, since the night before Thanksgiving is the biggest drinking night of the year. Yes, even bigger than St Patrick's Day or New Year's Eve.

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