31 December: Auld Lang Syne

10 things you never knew about Auld Lang Syne, that song people sing on New Year's Eve.

1. The words to Auld Lang Syne are generally said to have been written by Robert Burns. Or were they? Probably not. Burns claimed to have transcribed the lyrics as he listened to an old man singing them - suggesting the lyrics pre-date Burns. He did claim to be the first person to write the lyrics down, but this isn't the case, either. The song was based on a 15th century poem and first appeared in print in 1724, attributed to a poet named Allen Ramsay, 35 years before Burns was even born.
2. What Robert Burns did do was tinker with the words, editing them to make them stronger. He called this "mending" a song. His original manuscript for Auld Lang Syne is hidden away in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. He wrote the lyrics in Brown ink, using a sharpened feather. Beethoven's attempt to set the words to music is kept in the same museum.
3. The tune we sing today isn't the original one, either. Burns sent his manuscript to two publishers. One of them published it with a Scottish tune which Burns didn't like. We'll never know if Burns would have approved of Sir Alexander Don’s Strathspey, the tune George Thompson gave it, as this didn't happen until three years after Burns died. This is however, the tune most often used today.
4. The association of the song with New Year's Eve started with a Canadian singer called Guy Lombardo who performed a live broadcast from the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on New Year’s Eve for thirty years. As ubiquitous on New Year's Eve as Jools Holland is now. Anyway, Lombardo always included the song and so it became forever linked with the 31st of December.
5. On New Year's Eve, you'll probably find yourself dragged into a circle of people holding hands with crossed arms as they sing. Strictly speaking, according to tradition, you're not supposed to do the crossed hands thing until the last verse which begins with “And there’s a hand my trusty friend.” What's more, as the song ends the circle is supposed to rush inwards to the centre, and turn, so that everyone is facing outwards. Which would be quite an achievement for a drunken New Year's Eve party!
6. What does "Auld Lang Syne" even mean, anyway? The literal translation is “old long since,” which in modern parlance is generally accepted as "for old time's sake". Hence to sing “for the sake of auld lang syne” is wrong. "For the sake of old time's sake" doesn't actually make any sense.
7. New Year's Eve isn't the only time the song is sung. It is sung at a Burns Night supper, at the end of the Last Night of the Proms (here it's sung by the audience rather than the performers, so it doesn't appear on the official programme), at the end of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo, at the close of the Trades Union Congress annual conference, and at the last lowering of the Union Jack as a British colony achieves independence. In Taiwan it is used as a graduation and funeral song.
8. It was the national anthem of the Maldives until 1972.
9. In some parts of the world the same tune is used for different lyrics. The Dutch football song "Wij houden van Oranje" (We love Orange) is sung to the same tune, as is a Japanese song called “Glow of a Firefly” which is about students studying by the light of a firefly. It has therefore become associated with graduation ceremonies there; but it is also played in Japanese departments stores as a signal to customers that the store is about to close.
10. On 30 November 2009, students and staff at the University of Glasgow sang the song in 41 different languages simultaneously.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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 December: Bicarbonate of Soda Day

It's National Bicarbonate of Soda Day. Bicarbonate of soda is also known as Sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. here are some facts about it.

1. The chemical formula for Bicarbonate of Soda is NaHCO3, and its E number is E500.
2. John Dwight and Austin Church, two bakers from New York, established the first factory in the United States to produce baking soda from sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide, in 1846.
3. An old fashioned word for baking soda is Saleratus ("aerated Salt"). Rudyard Kipling mentions it in his novel Captains Courageous - fishermen used it to stop their catch from spoiling.
4. Groucho Marx made jokes about it. In A Night at the Opera, Groucho's character says of the lead tenor: "Signor Lassparri comes from a very famous family. His mother was a well-known bass singer. His father was the first man to stuff Spaghetti with bicarbonate of soda, thus causing and curing indigestion at the same time."
5. Its most common use in cookery is as a leavening agent for Bread and cakes, as an alternative to yeast. Lesser known uses include tenderising meat (meat marinaded in baking soda and water has a slightly altered pH level which keeps the meat tender) and to give vegetables a brighter Green colour.
6. Its uses aren't limited to cookery. It absorbs bad odours, so can be used as an ingredient for deodorant, Toothpaste and is even used by sellers of antique books when their merchandise gets smelly.
7. It's extremely bad for cockroaches. If they eat it, it releases gases in their insides and makes their internal organs burst.
8. Humans, however, can use it for medicinal purposes. It's slightly alkaline and so taking some with Water helps acid indigestion. It's also good for allergic reactions to plants like poison ivy. Turned into a paste and applied to a stubborn splinter, it will soften the skin around it, making it easier to remove.
9. Another use you can put it to is cleaning. Combined with vinegar it can be used to clean glass, plastic, steel and other surfaces. It can also be used to clean Silver. Put a couple of spoonfuls in a basin lined with cooking foil. Put your dirty silver in and pour boiling water over it. Let it soak until the silver is clean again. Should you ever find yourself having to wash cloths contaminated with Uranium, as they did during the Manhattan Project in the 1940s, normal laundry detergent won't get it out, but a 2% solution of sodium bicarbonate will get rid of those pesky uranium stains.
10. Finally, you can make rockets with it to amuse the kids. Find out here how to do it: http://easyscienceforkids.com/making-a-vinegar-and-baking-soda-rocket-facts-for-kids-video/.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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 December: St Thomas Becket

Today is the feast day of St Thomas Becket of Canterbury, venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches. His conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church led to his murder by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. T.S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral, tells his story.

1. St Thomas Becket was born in Cheapside, London, on 21 December, the feast day of St Thomas the Apostle.
   His father was Gilbert Beket, who was a textile merchant and property owner who served as Sheriff of London at one point. It's possible he was also a knight. He was from Normandy, as was his wife, Matilda. She was not, as one legend states, a Saracen princess who met and fell in love with his English father while he was on Crusade or pilgrimage in the Holy Land, followed him home, was baptised and married him.
2. Becket went to school at Merton Priory and then to a grammar school in London, possibly even the one at St Paul's Cathedral. He studied in France for a while too, when he was about 20.
3. He had to give up his studies when his family suffered financial problems. He worked as a clerk, first for a relative, Osbert Huitdeniers, and then for Theobald of Bec, then Archbishop of Canterbury.
4. It was while Thomas was working for Theobold that his interest in the church developed. Theobold must have been impressed by him as he sent him on missions and also to Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law. Thomas became a priest and was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury by Theobald in 1154. It was also on Theobald's recommendation that Thomas became Lord Chancellor to Henry II.
5. That job went well enough at first. Becket made sure all the churches and bishoprics paid their taxes and even fostered the king's son Henry for a while. The younger Henry allegedly said that Becket showed him more fatherly love in a day than his father did for his entire life.
6. When Theobald died, Becket succeeded him as Archbishop of Canterbury. This was when things started to go wrong. Becket now worked to restore the rights of the church and resigned as Lord Chancellor. He and the king argued over such things as whether clergymen should be tried in secular courts. When the king tried to consolidate what he wanted presiding over the assemblies of most of the higher English clergy at Clarendon Palace on 30 January 1164. Becket was the last dissenting voice against the things the king wanted, and he refused to sign the papers. He was summoned to be tried for contempt of royal authority, and ended up storming out of the trial and fleeing to France. Becket stayed in a monastery in France for two years.
7. When the king had his son crowned as heir apparent, he got the the archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, and the Bishop of Salisbury to do it. According to protocol, that was a job reserved for the Archbishop of Canterbury, so Becket was somewhat peeved and had the three bishops excommunicated. King Henry was peeved as well, and it's at this point he is supposed to have said "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" although it is disputed whether those were his actual words. Whatever he said, it was overheard by four knights: Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton, who interpreted it as a command to kill Becket. The four of them showed up at Canterbury Cathedral, leaving their swords outside at first and simply asking Becket to go to Winchester to give an account of his actions. Becket refused, so they went and got their weapons, came back in and killed him. Pope Alexander III canonised him just over two years later.
8. Becket was known to be somewhat grumpy and legends about him reflect this. He's said to have created a well because he didn't like the taste of the water in Otford, Kent. He's also said to have commanded that no Nightingales ever sing in Otford again because one disturbed his prayers with its singing. In Strood, Kent, the people cut off the tail of Becket's Horse, in support of the king. Becket is said to have caused the inhabitants of the town and their descendants to be born with tails.
9. Becket was buried in Canterbury Cathedral under a stone cover to stop people stealing his body. In 1220, Becket's bones were moved to a bejewelled shrine behind the high altar in the Trinity Chapel, where they stayed until Henry VIII had them destroyed in 1538. While Canterbury was already a popular destination for pilgrims, numbers went up significantly after Becket's death. Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is about a company of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
10. St Thomas Becket is patron of Exeter College, Oxford; Portsmouth; Arbroath Abbey; secular clergy. He was also adopted as co-patron saint of London along with St Paul, because of he was born there and his father was a prominent trader. His image appeared alongside St Paul's, on the seals of the city and of the Lord Mayor.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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 December: Iowa Admission Day

Today is Iowa Admission Day. On this day 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the United States of America. Here are a few facts about this state.

1. Iowa is the only US state which has a name beginning with two vowels, and the only one to have two vowels as its state abbreviation (IA).
2. The capital city of Iowa is Des Moines; its nickname is "The Hawkeye State" in honour of the Indian Chief Black Hawk. The state bird is the Eastern Goldfinch, the state flower is the Wild Prairie Rose, The tree is the Bur Oak, the state rock, Geode, and the state fish is the Channel Catfish. There is no state animal, but if they were thinking of instating one, the Pig might be a contender since there are around four times as many pigs as people living there. The pig population of Iowa is bigger than the human population of the entire state of New York. There are a lot of Chickens, too - about 67 million, more than the human population of Texas and California put together.
3. It will come as no surprise then that Iowa is the US's largest producer of pork and Eggs. It also produces a lot of corn, 2.4 billion bushels a year, which is more than the entire country of Mexico produces. It's also a leader in wind power. Iowa has more than 3200 wind turbines and 25% of its Electricity comes from wind power, with plans to make it 40% by 2020. 92% of the state is farmland. Yet, Iowa's population is more urban than rural, with about 61% of the people living in towns and cities. Another thing Iowa produces in abundance is ethanol.
4. The large motorhomes known as Winnebagos are manufactured in Iowa, in a town called Winnebago. Another Iowa invention is sliced Bread. Iowan Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the bread slicer because he was sick of trying to slice bread so that it would fit in his toaster. The first electronic digital computer was built at Iowa State University in 1937.
5. Famous people from Iowa include Herbert Hoover, the 31st US President and the first to be born west of the Mississippi; actors Donna Reed, John Wayne and Ashton Kutcher; Glenn Miller; and Arabella Mansfield of Burlington, who became the first female lawyer in the United States in 1869. Iowa also has a famous native who hasn't even been born yet: Captain James T Kirk of Star Trek will be born in the future in Riverside. Kirk famously says, in one of the films, to a woman who asks him if he's from outer space, "No, I am from Iowa. I only work in outer space."
6. The state was named after the Ioway people, a Native American tribe that once inhabited the area. The original meaning of the name is uncertain, but it could mean "beautiful", which was how the tribe described the land when they first saw it.
7. Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are 100% formed by Water, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, to be exact. Although it is landlocked, Iowa counts an island as part of its territory. The island is called Sabula, which is one mile long and a quarter of a mile wide with a population of around 570 people. It is on the Mississippi River, but it wasn't always an island. It became one in 1939, when the construction of a lock and dam system flooded the lowlands west of the town.
8. Some showbiz facts - the films Field of Dreams and The Bridges of Madison County were both set in Iowa. There were originally 19 covered bridges from the 1800s in the county, but only six remain today, including Holliwell Bridge, the one used in the film. Clear Lake, Iowa, is where "the music died" when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson's plane crashed into a field there in 1959. It's also where Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a Bat. It wasn't his intention to eat a live bat - when a fan threw the unfortunate creature on stage, Ozzy thought it was fake.
9. People often say Iowa is a state people fly over or drive through on the way to somewhere else, but if they cared to stop there is plenty to see there. The house in Grant Wood's famous painting American Gothic is in Eldon, Iowa. He passed through the town, and liked the look of the house, so he sketched it and painted it later. Iowa has more golf courses per capita than any other state in the USA, the highest literacy rate and is considered the safest state to live in. Other things you'll find in Iowa are the only state capitol to feature five domes, a central golden dome surrounded by four smaller domes; the shortest and steepest railroad in the world, the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque which is three feet long; the crookedest street in the world - Snake Alley in Burlington; the largest strawberry and the largest bullhead fish (statues, of course); the largest wooden nickel, 12 feet across, located in a field in Iowa City; The Grotto of the Redemption, a contender for eighth wonder of the world - a religious monument made from minerals, fossils and shells; the Effigy Mounds, large scale Native American sculptures of animals, humans, and religious figures made out of piles of earth and said to be the US's answer to the Nazca Lines; you could drop in at the annual Hobo Festival in Britt, or look for woolly mammoth bones in Mahaska County, where people often stumble upon them by accident.
10. While you're here, bear in mind that kisses must not, by law, last more than five minutes, and if you are a man with a moustache, you're not allowed to kiss a woman in public at all. It's illegal to be in possession of a rotten egg, or let your horse eat a fire hydrant (I'd like to see one try!) If you see a one armed Piano player, give him a large tip, because he is required to perform for free.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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 December: Marlene Deitrich

The actress Marlene Dietrich celebrated her birthday on this date. She was born in 1901.

1. Her name at birth was Marie Magdalene Dietrich, Marlene being the name she adopted herself at the age of 11, a contraction of the two names.
2. If not for a wrist injury as a teenager, she might have been a concert violinist instead of an actress and singer. Her first job was as a Violin player in a cinema, with an orchestra accompanying silent films. She was fired after four weeks. It wasn't clear why, with just one source alleging it was because she was too pretty and her legs were too distracting for cinema-goers.
3. In her early twenties, she was appearing on stage as a chorus girl and in 1923, appeared on film for the first time in The Little Napoleon, playing a bit part.
4. She met her husband, Rudolf Sieber, on a film set that same year. Unlike many Hollywood stars, Dietrich only married once - but once she'd moved to Hollywood, had a string of affairs while maintaining her husband and daughter, first in Germany and later on a ranch in California. Her lovers included Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Wayne and Yul Brynner. Her husband knew about most of them - she'd pass him their letters to read and make scathing remarks about them. It was also believed she had affairs with women, too, dating back to the gay scene in 1920s Berlin. It's alleged she was part of the underground lesbian movement in Hollywood, dubbing it the "sewing circle". There were rumours that in Paris, her relationship with singer Edith Piaf was more than friendship, and even that she had an affair with her biggest film rival, Greta Garbo.
5. Her breakthrough role was that of Lola Lola, a cabaret singer in the 1930 film, Blue Angel. It was in this film that she sang her signature song, Falling in Love Again. The director of that film, Josef von Sternberg, claimed the credit for discovering her. It was he who encouraged her to move to America under contract to Paramount Pictures, who wanted an actress to rival MGM's Greta Garbo. They tempted her with extravagant gifts, like a Green Rolls Royce. Deitrich and von Steinberg made seven films together.
6. She received one academy award nomination, for a film called Morocco in 1930. Her green Rolls Royce appeared in the film, but more memorable was the fact she performed a song dressed in a man's White tie and kissed another woman on screen.
7. Naturally enough, the Nazi Party didn't like the fact a beautiful German woman was so successful in the USA. On a trip to London, Deitrich was approached by them with lucrative offers should she return to Germany and become a star for the Third Reich. Marlene didn't want to know. She turned them down flat and applied for US citizenship in 1937. When she became an American citizen she renounced her German citizenship altogether. She helped set up a fund to help Jews and dissidents escape from Germany, and donated her entire salary from one of her films to the cause. During World War II, she performed for Allied troops in Algeria, Italy, the UK and France, and even visited Germany with Generals James M. Gavin and George S. Patton. She believed this was the decent thing to do. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom in November 1947, and said this was the thing she was most proud of. She was also awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French government.
8. Her songs were used in propaganda broadcasts aimed at demoralising enemy soldiers. She was the only performer who was told her recordings were to be used. She recorded several songs in German for the project, including Lili Marlene, which would become a favourite of soldiers on both sides. Marlene's sister, however, remained in Germany during the war, and lived with her husband and son in Belsen, running a cinema there which was frequented by Nazi officers and officials who oversaw the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. While Marlene used her influence to save her sister and brother-in-law from being prosecuted as Nazi collaborators, she had no more to do with them after that, claiming in her memoirs that she was an only child.
9. Deitrich carried on performing on stage into her 70s, collaborating with, and encouraged by, the composer Burt Bacharach. However, in 1975 she fell off the stage during a show in Sydney, Australia, breaking her thigh. This ended her show business career.
10. In her later years, she became a virtual recluse in Paris, only allowing her closest family and friends to visit. She did agree to take part in a 1982 documentary about her life, but refused to be filmed, only allowing recordings of her voice to be used. She stayed in touch with the outside world through letters and telephone calls - her monthly phone bill was over $3,000. She was calling, among others, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. She died of renal failure at the age of 90.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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 December: Thomas Gray Quotes

Born on Boxing Day 1716, Thomas Gray was a poet whose works include Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.

1. Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
2. Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise.
3. Men will believe anything at all provided they are under no obligation to believe it.
4. As to posterity, I may ask what has it ever done to oblige me?
5. If the best man's faults were written on his forehead, he would draw his hat over his eyes.
6. Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife.
7. Poetry is Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
8. Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms.
9. Commerce changes the fate and genius of nations.
10. Not all that tempts your wandering eyes And heedless hearts, is lawful prize; Nor all that glisters gold.

New!

Secrets and Skies

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

December 25: Humbugs

Humbugs. If you're one of those people who hates Christmas, and are currently sulking in a corner mumbling "Bah, humbug", here are some facts about humbugs so you know exactly what it is you are talking about.

1. What is a humbug? It's a name for a hard boiled, peppermint flavoured sweet available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They are characteristically striped in two different colours.
2. The first written reference to such sweets was in the 1820s, when they were said to be popular in Gloucestershire.
3. Elizabeth Gaskell's 1863 book, Sylvia's Lovers mentions them as a North country delicacy: 'He had provided himself with a paper of humbugs for the child — "humbugs" being the North-country term for certain lumps of toffy, well-flavoured with peppermint.'
4. How are humbugs made? They're made from sugar, glycerine, colouring and flavouring heated to 145 degrees centigrade and then stretched and folded many times with a smaller piece of the mixture in a contrasting colour. Finally, it's rolled into a long cylinder and chopped into segments.
5. If you want to have a go at making your own, there's a recipe here: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/yorkshire-mint-humbugs-425578#activity-feed.
6. A single mint humbug contains about 40 calories.
7. They're not as popular as they used to be. Sales of humbugs and similar boiled mints have been declining since the 2000s. They tend to be more popular with older people. The younger generation avoid sugar and tend to use mints more as breath fresheners, so strong mints and mint flavoured gum are more their thing.
8. The phase "Bah, humbug" related to a dislike of Christmas has little to do with the sweets. Humbug is an old slang word meaning someone or something which is dishonest and prone to deception. A person who is an imposter or a fraud may be called a humbug, as could nonsense or gibberish. A word popular in the 18th century, its origin is unclear. Suggestions include derivations from Norse and Icelandic words meaning "night" or shadow" and supernatural beings. The latter word is also a precursor of bogey, as in "bogey-man". The "hum" part could also have come from an old English word meaning to deceive. Another suggestion is that it originated during the Napoleonic wars when counterfeit coins were minted in Hamburg. However, this one is unlikely since the word appeared in print 50 years before the war started.
9. The name as applied to the sweets could be thanks to a sweet sold in Taunton, Somerset, in the 1870s which was a piece of Toffee with an Almond in the middle. A Victorian edition of Notes and Queries suggested that this was a deception as you thought you were getting toffee but it was hiding a nut.
10. The most famous use of the word "humbug" is of course by Ebenezer in Charles Dickens' famous tale, A Christmas Carol, but it is also used in The Wizard of Oz - the Scarecrow uses the word to describe the Wizard. Nowadays it often appears in comedy as ironic, such as when Blackadder offered humbugs around in a Christmas episode.

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

New!

Secrets and Skies

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

24 December: Eggnog Day

Today is Eggnog day. Here's 10 facts about a popular seasonal drink.

1. Eggnog is a drink made of Milk or cream, beaten Eggs, sugar and more often than not, alcohol of some kind. It's usually topped off with a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg. It's traditionally consumed at Christmas, with Christmas Eve designated as Eggnog Day.
2. No-one really knows the origins of the stuff. One theory is that it evolved from a medieval drink consumed in England, which was made from curdled milk and Rum, but no eggs.
3. Another theory states it was originally a drink popular with the English aristocracy, since the ingredients were expensive and the common people couldn't afford them. However, settlers in the New World had easier access to the ingredients and so it became a popular drink in America. It has never caught on with the Brits in quite the same way as it has in the States.
4. It's traditionally more of a thing in the Southern USA than in the North. Until 1870, celebrating Christmas was forbidden in the northern states, including festive tipples. In the south, they were allowed to celebrate and not only that, the coldest time of year was the best time for keeping the ingredients fresh. In fact, it's such a holiday staple that I came across one story from 1900 where an old gentleman, on being told his house was on fire, would do nothing until he had shared a glass of eggnog with his son.
5. No-one really knows how the drink got its name, either. One theory is that is comes from a type of wooden mug called a "noggin" which drinks like eggnog would be served in. Another is that it comes from "nog", a slang word in Norfolk meaning strong ale. Yet another is that is a contraction of "egg and grog".
6. In 1826, a student party at the US military academy of West Point got out of hand after whisky was smuggled in to make eggnog for a Christmas party. The shenanigans which ensued after the students drank too much carried on until Christmas morning. Some cadets ended up getting court martials. This incident became known as the Eggnog Riot. One of the unruly students was future president of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis.
7. Medical texts from the 19th century recommend eggnog as a remedy for colds and flu, and even malaria. Today it wouldn't be recommended as good for you because it's loaded with calories, fats, cholesterol and sugar. There's also the added danger, if raw eggs are used, of getting salmonella. It's recommended nowadays that pasteurised eggs should be used, and that relying on the booze to kill off any nasty bugs won't work.
8. There are variations in some parts of the world - in Puerto Rico they add coconut milk and call it Coquito. In Cuba it's made with condensed milk and rum and known as Crema de Vie. In Germany, they add white Wine and Tea to the mix.
9. In the book Cold Comfort Farm, they have a drink called a Hell's Angel. The recipe is as follows: 1 egg, 2 ounces of brandy, 1 teaspoon of cream and some ice in a jam jar, shaken. Eggnog in all but name. I even found a contender for the best movie quote about eggnog, which was from A Christmas Vacation, and is, "Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"
10. Eggnog is so popular in America that you can get not only eggnog flavoured Ice cream, but eggnog Toffee, Bubble gum and lip balm as well.

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

New!

Secrets and Skies

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