4 January: Bagpipes

In the song Twelve Days of Christmas, today is represented by 11 pipers piping. So here are ten facts about bagpipes.

1. Bagpipes weren’t invented in Scotland. Nobody knows where they originated. According to The Oxford History of Music, a sculpture featuring bagpipes was found on a Hittite slab at Euyuk in Anatolia, dated to 1000 BC.

2. They were played in Ancient Egypt and Rome. There’s evidence that the Emperor Nero played an instrument very similar to bagpipes. It’s possible he played bagpipes, rather than a fiddle, as Rome burned. It was through the Romans that bagpipes arrived in Scotland. The Scottish people added an extra pipe to create the instrument we know today.

3. Early bagpipes were made from the entire skin of an animal, usually a Sheep, with the pipes placed where the legs and neck would be. These days, bagpipes are usually made with artificial fabric such as Goretex.

4. In Gaelic, 'bagpipe' translates into P'iob mho'r, literally meaning 'big pipe'.

5. In the 1400s they were used during battles, to signal to troops or possibly scare off the enemy. Bagpipes are the only musical instrument in history known to have been used as a weapon of war. That came to an end in 1915 when they were banned during battles in the first world war, after 3,000 pipers were killed going over the top of the trenches.

6. They have been banned twice in Scotland, once in 1560 and then in 1746. Possessing a set of bagpipes in those days could get you in serious trouble. At the battle of Culloden, a Scottish Jacobite piper called James Reid was captured and hung by British authorities for being in possession of the instrument.

7. Queen Elizabeth II was a big fan of bagpipes and would be woken each morning by her personal piper who would play outside her window. Prince Philip, however, hated the instrument.

8. Bagpipes have been played in space. In 2015, astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren played Amazing Grace on bagpipes on board the International Space Station in tribute to late research scientist Victor Hurst.

9. The 10th of March is International Bagpipe Day.

10. There are more pipe bands in the US than there are in Scotland.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

3 January: Sergio Leone

Born on this date in 1929 was Sergio Leone, Italian film director, producer and screenwriter associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was born in Rome, and was the son of a director (Roberto Roberti, A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone) and an actress (Bice Valerian).

2. He went to university to study law, but dropped out in favour of a career in the film industry.

3. The first film he worked on was Bicycle Thieves in 1948, as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica. In 1959, director Mario Bonnard fell ill during the production of The Last Days of Pompeii and Leone was asked to step in and complete the film.

4. From 1964 he frequently worked with composer Ennio Morricone. The two were classmates at school.

5. He would ask Morricone to compose the music before filming started, so the Music could be played to the actors to help enhance their performance.

6. Leone couldn’t speak English and always relied on a translator when talking to American actors. He was, however, fluent in French and if an actor could speak French they could communicate in that language.

7. He almost directed Flash Gordon (1980), being a fan of the comic strip, but turned it down because the script wasn’t faithful to the comic. He was also in the running to direct The Godfather but turned that down as well because he was already working on a gangster story.

8. His favourite actor was Henry Fonda. Fonda was offered a role in every one of Leone's early Westerns. They worked together finally in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Fonda would later say this was his favourite role.

9. His final film was Once Upon a Time in America (1984).

10. He died at the age of 60 from a heart attack.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

2 January: Science Fiction

Today is National Science Fiction Day. Here are 10 quotes about the genre:

1. Science fiction is no more written for scientists that ghost stories are written for ghosts. Brian Aldiss

2. Science fiction encourages us to explore... all the futures, good and bad, that the human mind can envision. Marion Zimmer Bradley

3. Everything's science fiction until someone makes it science fact. Marie Lu Warcross

4. Science fiction is something that could happen – but usually you wouldn't want it to. Fantasy is something that couldn't happen – though often you only wish that it could. Arthur C. Clarke

5. If you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others. Philip K. Dick

6. Here's a quick rule of thumb" Don't annoy science fiction writers. These are people who destroy entire planets before lunch. Think of what they'll do to you. John Scalzi

7. Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century. J. G. Ballard

8. Joy is the essential and final ingredient of science fiction, the joy of discovery of newness. Philip K. Dick

9. Science fiction frees you to go anyplace and examine anything. Octavia E. Butler

10. Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle science fiction. Gene Wolfe

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book