5 December: Hibiscus

According to old almanacs, today’s plant is the Longstalked hibiscus. Here are 10 facts about hibiscus:

1. It’s a flowering plant which is the largest genus (434 species) in the mallow family. The mallow family includes cacao, cola, Cotton, okra, durian, hollyhock, mallow and the lime or linden tree.

2. They are often grown in gardens for their beautiful, colourful flowers which attract Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds. You’ll need a sunny garden, though. The flowers need about 6 hours of sun a day in order to blossom.

3. Hibiscus is a national symbol of several countries: Haiti, the Solomon Islands, Niue, South Korea and Malaysia. Hibiscus brackenridgei is the state flower of Hawaii. A stylised image of the hibiscus flower was used as a logo of Air Polynésie.

4. In the Hindu religion, Hibiscus is associated with the goddess Kali and often appears in artwork featuring her. The hibiscus is used as an offering to Kali and the god Ganesha.

5. The plants are edible. The flowers have a lemony taste and are rich in Vitamin C. Common uses include chutneys, soups, salads, curries, jams and jellies. Dried hibiscus is a delicacy in Mexico. It can also be made into tea which tastes a bit like Cranberries and it has been suggested that hibiscus tea is good for lowering blood pressure.

6. In the Philippines, children use the plant to make bubbles. The flowers and leaves are crushed until the sticky juices come out, then they stick hollow stalks into the mixture to create bubbles.

7. Other parts of the plant, such as the bark, are used in Paper making and also, in Polynesia, for making rope, and Canoe floats.

8. A hibiscus flower can be used to determine the pH of a liquid. The flower turns dark Pink or Magenta in an acidic solution and Green in an alkaline one.

9. In India and Sri Lanka, it’s known as a Shoe flower, because rubbing the blooms on leather brings back its natural shine.

10. The hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Pacific island women. It’s an easy way to tell if a woman is spoken for or not. If the flower is worn behind the left ear, she’s married or in a relationship, but if worn on the right, it means she’s single.

Christmas is coming! 

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 Amazon and Amazon Kindle

4 December: 338

Today is day 338 of 2025. 10 fun facts about the number 338.

1. London bus route 338 runs from Stratford City Bus Station to London Bridge Bus Station.

2. The sum of its digits is 14.

3. 338 Budrosa is a large Main belt Asteroid discovered by Auguste Charlois in 1892 in Nice.

4. Lapua .388 is a cartridge used by snipers. It can penetrate body armour at a range of 1,000m.

5. The A338 is a major road in southern England, which runs from the junction with the A35 at Poole in Dorset to the junction with the A420 at Besselsleigh in Oxfordshire, a distance of 84 miles (135 km). The A338 figures in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. The point where the road crests the downs before beginning the steep drop into Wantage ('Alfredston') is the spot where young Jude stands one evening and looks out for the first time on Oxford ('Christminster').

6. The year 338 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Polemius.

7. 338Canada is an independently owned media website about politics, polling and electoral projections. It was created and is managed by Philippe J. Fournier, who teaches physics and astrophysics at Cégep de Saint-Laurent, a post-secondary institution in Montreal.

8. The Roman numeral for 338 is CCCXXXVIII.

9. Its divisors are 1, 2, 13, 26, 169, 338.

10. Studio 338 is an electronic music club in London, ranked #19 in the world by DJ Mag.

Christmas is coming! 

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 Amazon and Amazon Kindle

3 December: Joseph Conrad Quotes

Joseph Conrad, a Polish-born English novelist was born on this date in 1857. Many critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in the English language – a fact that is remarkable, as he did not learn to speak English fluently until he was in his twenties. His books include Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, Nostromo and The Secret Agent. 10 quotes:

1. The mind of man is capable of anything – because everything is in it, all the past as well as the future.

2. The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.

3. Being a woman is a terribly difficult trade since it consists principally of dealings with men.

4. My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel – it is, before all, to make you see.

5. Your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.

6. You shall judge a man by his foes as well as by his friends.

7. There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.

8. Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love – and to put its trust in life.

9. The sea has never been friendly to man. At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.

10. To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.

Christmas is coming! 

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 Amazon and Amazon Kindle

2 December: Sinkholes

On this date in 1972 "December Giant" the largest sinkhole in the US collapsed in Alabama. 10 facts about sinkholes:

1. What is a sinkhole? Basically a hole in the ground where surface rock, usually something easily eroded, like limestone, has dissolved over time. Most sinkholes are caused by karst processes, ie the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks.

2. Sinkholes can also be caused by human activity such as abandoned mines collapsing or water main breaks.

3. They can be just several inches across, or they can be vast. The deepest and largest sinkhole in the world is the Xiaoxhai Tiankeng in China which 660m deep, with a volume of 130 million cubic metres.

4. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas are the states where sinkholes are most common. That said, the same survey puts the probability of a major sinkhole occurring in any given year at about 1 in 100.

5. In Florida, you can get insurance against sinkholes happening on your property.

6. Sometimes there is a sudden collapse with virtually no warning, but others form more gradually. It’s possible, if you live in a high risk area, to know the signs to look out for. These include fence posts or trees sagging and leaning; doors and windows not closing properly and rainfall collecting in an area where it didn’t before.

7. If a sinkhole is caught early, it’s possible to inject grout into the hole to rebuild a foundation over the degrading bedrock.

8. Sinkholes are known by other names in some parts of the world. For example, in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico they are known as cenotes. These often expose underground rivers and caves, and were used by the Mayans as places to hide treasure or for human sacrifice. If you visit a cenote, it’s the done thing to ask the protection of the Mayan gods, so there will be no further collapses while you are in there.

9. Ancient sinkholes along coastlines, which flooded as sea levels rose, are known as Blue holes. They are so called because of the deep blue colour of the water. They are like vertical caves and are home to many species of marine animal, but divers need to be extra careful because it is hard to gauge how deep you’re going.

10. Sinkholes don’t just happen on Earth. Some were found on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta space probe.

Christmas is coming! 

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 Amazon and Amazon Kindle