10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 6 January:
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| Richard II |
- 6 January 1367 was the date of birth of King Richard II, last of the Plantagenet kings of England, son of Edward, the Black Prince. Richard was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He’s known for his pivotal role in resolving the Peasant's Revolt of 1381, and his misdemeanours as King, which led to his forced resignation and civil war. He is also credited with inventing the handkerchief.
- Also born on this date, in 1412, was Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, national heroine of France and Catholic Saint. A peasant girl born in Eastern France, Joan led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, claiming divine guidance, and was indirectly responsible for the coronation of King Charles VII. She was captured by the English, tried by an ecclesiastical court and burned at the stake when she was 19.
- This date in 1066 saw the coronation of Harold II as King of England, succeeding Edward the Confessor. He reigned for ten months before he was killed in the Battle of Hastings.
- In 1998, NASA sent an unmanned probe to look for evidence of frozen Water on the Moon, and found some later that year. Extreme measures to take when you’ve run out of ice!
- In 1839, West Ireland was buffeted by what came to be known as The Big Wind. Just before this, it had been snowing, and the weather was reported to be eerily calm. It was literally the calm before the storm. The wind reached 150 mph; huge waves crashed ashore. Sea fish were found miles inland. The tower of Carlow Cathedral was blown off and many houses and barns lost their roofs. Thousands of people were left homeless, but because the storm happened at night, only 300 people died. However, it was common practice then to hide your life’s savings in the thatch of the roof, so a lot of people lost all their Money. The avian population weren’t so lucky – so many birds were killed that there was no birdsong that spring.
- In 1998 two Ginger Tamworth boars escaped from a Malmesbury abattoir, swam to freedom across the River Avon and went on the run for eight days before they were re-captured. The fact they’d caught the public imagination, gaining the nicknames Butch and Sundance, saved their lives. The two Pigs were bought by the Daily Mail newspaper rather than being made into pork chops.
- 6 January 1854 is the date of birth of the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, at the farmstead of Mycroft, near Sigerside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. According to his fan club, he died on his 85th birthday, in 1930.
- In 1907 Maria Montessori opened her first Montessori school in Rome.
- In 1912 New Mexico became the 47th US state.
- In 1969 Governor of Georgia and future president Jimmy Carter saw an Unidentified Flying Object in Leary, GA. His fellow Lions Club members also saw it. Ten years later, however, Carter claimed he’d been attacked by a rabbit.
NEW!!
The Power of Love
Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic ordering and the significance of chance encounters. She believes there's a spiritual explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.
A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.
Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.
When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.
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