11 September: DH Lawrence

DH Lawrence was born on this date in 1885. Here are 10 things you might not know about him.

1. The house in which he was born, 8a Victoria Street, Eastwood, is now the D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum.
2. He was the first local pupil to win a County Council scholarship to Nottingham High School in nearby Nottingham.
3. His first novel was The White Peacock, published in 1911. It had taken him five years to write - with three complete re-writes. The draft versions were entitled Laetitia, and the novel was inspired by a painting Lawrence loved, An Idyll, by Maurice Greiffenhagen.
4. His second novel, The Trespasser, was based on the intimate diaries given to him by a colleague at his teaching job, Helen Corke. The diaries were about her unhappy love affair.
5. Lawrence was twice accused of being a spy. The first time was in 1912, after he eloped to Metz with Frieda Weekley, a German born married woman who was six years older than him. The area was a disputed zone between Germany and France, and Lawrence was arrested as a British spy, but Freida's father came to his rescue on that occasion and he was released. Living in Cornwall with Frieda during World War I, the fact he was living with a German woman and spoke out against militarism resulted in him being suspected of being a German spy who was signalling to German submarines off the Cornish coast. Lawrence was forced to leave Cornwall at three days' notice under the terms of the Defence of the Realm Act.
6. Somewhat disenchanted with England after this, he left with Frieda and spent the rest of his life travelling, only returning to England twice for brief visits. He called this his 'savage pilgrimage'. His accounts of his travels led to him being widely acclaimed as a travel writer.
7. Despite his lifelong partnership with Frieda, it was possible he was gay. Lawrence developed a strong and possibly romantic relationship with a Cornish farmer named William Henry Hocking in 1917 which Frieda believed was sexual. He certainly explored the theme of homosexuality in his writing. Some of his letters come close to coming out, with quotes like "I should like to know why nearly every man that approaches greatness tends to homosexuality, whether he admits it or not ..." and "I believe the nearest I've come to perfect love was with a young coal-miner when I was about 16."
8. He bought a ranch in New Mexico - in exchange for the manuscript of his novel, Sons and Lovers.
9. As well as his novels, Lawrence wrote about 800 poems, and was also fond of painting. His paintings were exhibited at the Warren Gallery in Mayfair in 1929, and his paintings were as controversial as his writing. While the exhibition got a favourable reception from critics, thirteen of the twenty-five pictures were confiscated by police and Lawrence could only get them back by promising never to show them in England again.
10. When Lady Chatterley's Lover was published by Penguin in 1960, the publishers were tried under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959. Penguin had to prove that the book was of literary merit in order to avoid prosecution. The prosecution objected to the frequent use of swear words, but probably shot themselves in the foot when the chief prosecutor, Mervyn Griffith-Jones, asked if it were the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read", since most people by then didn't have servants. The prosecution was ridiculed for being out of touch with changing social norms and the verdict, delivered on 2 November 1960, was "not guilty".

10th September: Belize national day

Today is Belize's national day, aka Battle of St George's Caye Day, celebrating the final battle in the Spanish attempt to expel the settlers in 1798. Here are 10 things you might not know about Belize:

1. Belize is the only Central American country whose official language is English, as it was once part of the British Empire known as British Honduras. It is still part of the Commonwealth with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch.
2. The name Belize derives from the Belize river, which in turn derives from a Mayan word, belix (or beliz), meaning "muddy-watered".
3. Its earliest inhabitants were the Maya, and Belize has about 900 Mayan sites. One of them Caracol, was bigger in its heyday than Belize's current largest city, Belize City. Although most of the original Maya in Belize died out, there are still descendants of the Maya living there, who migrated to Belize to escape slavery in other parts of Central America. The tallest building in Belize is actually a Mayan temple: El Caana (“Sky Place”) in Caracol and is 137 feet tall.
4. The highest point in Belize is Doyle's Delight at 1,124 m (3,688 ft). It was previously thought to be Victoria Peak, but recent assessments determined that it is slightly lower at 1120 meters. The name Doyle's Delight was coined by Sharon Matola in 1989. The name is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book The Lost World, which contains the quote "there must be something wild and wonderful in a country such as this, and we're the men to find it out!". Recently there has been an attempt to rename the peak with a more traditional name, "Kaan Witz" which is Maya for "Sky Mountain", but the new name has not caught on.
5. Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world (after Australia's) which is around 386 kilometres (240 mi) long. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to around 500 different species of fish as well as being a magnet for scuba diving tourists. However, marine biologists estimate that only 10% of the barrier reef species have been discovered.
6. The capital is Belmopan. Belize City was the capital until 1961, when it was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Hattie. The capital was moved to Belmopan which has a population of around 12,000, making it the smallest capital city in the world.
7. Belize has the only Jaguar reserve in the world, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife sanctuary.
8. A traditional dish in Belize is Iguana, nicknamed “Bamboo Chicken“, although they are now a protected species so it is illegal to hunt and eat them. Another delicacy is Gibnut, a type of rodent which is considered a delicacy and is said to taste like Rabbit. This dish has been nicknamed "Royal Rat" because the Queen was famously served one during one of her visits to Belize. We are not told whether she liked it!
9. About 4% of the population are Russian Mennonites, who despite the name, speak German. Most of them came from Mexico in the 1950s. In appearance, they are a bit like the Amish - the women wear bonnets and long dresses while the men wear denim overalls and hats. The men may wear traditional suspenders and dark trousers.
10. The National Flower of Belize is the black orchid; the National Tree is the Mahogany tree, the national bird is the keel-billed toucan and the National Animal is the Baird's Tapir, the largest land mammal of the American tropics. It is also known as the mountain cow, although it is actually related to the Horse and the Rhinoceros. It is protected under Belizean law.

9 September: North Korea

North Korea celebrates the anniversary of its formation today. Here are some things you might not know about North Korea.

1. The official name of the country is Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and it came into being on 9 September 1948.
2. The capital and largest city is Pyongyang, which translates as "Flat and peaceful land".
3. Despite being a relatively small nation it has the fourth largest active army in the world (after China, the USA and India) with over 9 million soldiers, or one in every 25 North Korean citizens being an enlisted soldier. The Korean Demilitarized Zone with South Korea is the most heavily fortified border in the world.
4. The highest point in North Korea is Paektu Mountain, a volcanic mountain with an elevation of 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) above sea level.
5. Kim Il-sung is still officially revered as the nation's "Eternal President", even though he died in 1994.
6. The dominant "religion" in North Korea is Juche, or self-reliance. The idea, sometimes referred to as Kimilsungism, is that an individual is "the master of his destiny". While there are people who follow more traditional religions, they are in the minority.
7. Class status is determined by a system called Songbun. The major divisions are core class, wavering class (the majority of people) and hostile class. This is based not just on economic background but the occupations and behaviours of ancestors and living relatives. Core class are largely people descended from those who participated in the resistance against Japanese occupation, and those who were factory workers, labourers or peasants as of 1950. Landlords, merchants, lawyers and Christian ministers and their descendants would be given the lowest status. It is very difficult to improve one's status, but there are plenty of reasons why it can be lowered - lack of political enthusiasm, marrying a lower status person and conviction of a crime (by you or by a family member). It is not unknown for whole families to be sent to prison for as many as three generations for the crime of one black sheep!
8. North Korea is the only place which regularly holds "mass games" which consist of over 100,000 gymnasts, dancers and acrobats in highly synchronised performances, usually with a political theme. The best known event of this type is the Arirang Festival, held during August and September in Pyongyang. "Arirang" refers to a Korean folk story about a young couple who are torn apart by an evil landlord, which is interpreted as representing the division of Korea.
9. There are only 28 approved ways to cut your hair in North Korea. Women are allowed to choose one of 14 styles - only single women are allowed to have long hair. Men's hair must be less than 5cm (2 inches) long, although older men can grow it slightly longer - up to 7cm (3 inches).
10. Marijuana and opium are legal in North Korea, but woe betide anyone caught using meth, as that carries the death penalty. Marijuana grows freely beside railway tracks and some sources suggest this is encouraged because the roots of the plants help support the rails.

8 September: Macedonia Independence Day

Today is Macedonia Independence Day. Here are 10 things you might not know about Macedonia.

1. Macedonia was the only country to gain independence from Yugoslavia peacefully, without any bloodshed.
2. The country's name is believed to mean either "highlanders" or "the tall ones", a description of the people or the country's mountainous terrain. Several sources I found said that Macedonia has 34 mountains and this is the largest number of any country in the world, although to me, that seems like a small number for a world leader - surely the US has more than that - unless they mean the most mountains per person. Mount Korab, at 2,764 m (9,068 ft), is the tallest mountain in Macedonia.
3. Macedonia is landlocked, but has many lakes and ponds, including Lake Ohrid, one of the oldest lakes in the world at around 4 million years old. The lake has 200 endemic species not found anywhere else and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
4. There is an ongoing dispute with Greece about the use of the name Macedonia, which is also the name for a historic region of Northern Greece. The country was therefore known, on its admission to the UN as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". Update: Now known as North Macedonia, since February 2019.
5. There have also been disputes about the design of Macedonia's flag, leading to it having two different flags since 1991. Both designs feature a Yellow sun on a red background. The first flag was was based on a symbol found on ancient tombstones in the town of Vergina. However, Vergina is in Greek Macedonia so Greece claimed the symbol was theirs and were so upset about it being "stolen" that they blocked trade with the Republic of Macedonia and forced the UN headquarters in New York to take down the Macedonian flag. Macedonia changed its flag to its current one from 1995 as a compromise. The flag of Macedonia was voted as the second best flag by the World Almanac’s editors in 2002. (Bhutan’s came first, and Kiribati came third.)
6. Skopje is the capital and largest city. The city is home to the biggest cross in the world, 66m high, on the Vodno Mountain in Skopje. It was built as a memorial of 2,000 years of Christianity in Macedonia and the world. The city was also the birthplace of Mother Teresa.
7. There are three monasteries in Macedonia which claim to have parts of the actual cross Jesus was crucified on buried within their foundations.
8. Macedonia has its own "Stonehenge", in Kokino, 30 km from Kumanovo. It is a megalithic observatory thought to be over 3,800 years old and the fourth oldest ancient observatory in the world, the oldest three being Abu Simbel, Egypt; Stonehenge; and Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
9. Macedonia is the first country in the world to have full access to wireless broadband.
10. Macedonia's poppies yield the best quality opium in the world. The quality of poppy juice is measured in morphine units - Chinese opium contains eight units and is considered to be of high quality, Indian opium contains seven units, and Turkish opium six. Macedonian opium contains 14 morphine units.

September 7: Andorra National Day

The small nation of Andorra came into being on this date in 1278. Here are some things you might not know about Andorra.

1. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 ft) above sea level.
2. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken. Andorra is the only country in the world with Catalan as its official language.
3. Andorra is a parliamentary co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell (Catalonia, Spain), as co-princes. This peculiarity makes the President of France, in his capacity as Prince of Andorra, an elected reigning monarch, although he is not elected by the Andorran people.
4. Tobacco is produced in Andorra.
5. There is no official army in Andorra. They are protected by France and Spain. However, if an emergency did arise, all Andorran men between the ages of 21 and 60 are required by law to serve and defend. The male head of each family in Andorra is required by law to own a gun in case of attack or emergency. Due to its non-strategic location in the Pyrenees and lack of natural resources, Andorra has been without conflict pretty much since Charlemange came through to fight the Moors. Although Andorra declared war on Germany in WWI it never sent anyone into the conflict, so they were forgotten about in the Treaty of Versailles and didn’t officially declare peace with Germany until 1957!
6. Andorra is not part of the European Union although the Euro is the country’s official currency.
7. It takes just two hours to drive from one end of the country to the other as it is only 40kms wide.
8. There is no airport in the country.
9. Andorra receives on average 300 sunny days a year.
10. The Gran Valira river is the largest river in Andorra, flowing through Andorra la Vella and exiting on the Spanish border.

September 6: Swaziland/Eswatini Independence Day

Swaziland Independence day is today. Some things you might not know about Swaziland. 

1. Swaziland is the smallest country in Africa, and in the southern hemisphere. It is 200km from North to South, and 130km across, with an measuring an area of 17,000km², roughly the size of Wales. As it is landlocked, it has no maritime claims.
2. It is one of the few absolute monarchies in the world and the king is Mswati III. The King rules in conjunction with his mother and appoints a prime minister, and some members of parliament, though he still wields executive power. He was born in 1968 and was given the name Makhosetive, meaning “Kings of Nations.” He was crowned king in 1986 at the age of 18, making him the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. He has 15 wives, the most recent being a 19-year-old virgin named Sindi, who he spotted at the annual reed dance ceremony.
3. Umhlanga, or Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi and Zulu cultural event. It is a festival of chastity (if any girl taking part breaks this rule, her family will have to pay a fine - traditionally a Cow) and tribute labour for the Queen Mother - a part of the ceremony involves cutting reeds which are used to mend holes in her fence - and finally the young women dress up in traditional costume and dance.
4. Another annual ritual is Incwala, a kingship ritual, focusing on the king sampling the first harvest. This can only happen when there is a king, and if anyone else holds an Incwala it is seen as an act of high treason. Some high-ranking officials are required to stay away because their presence may be seen as a challenge to the King.
5. Swaziland has two capital cities - Lobamba (royal/legislative) and Mbabane (administrative). Neither is the largest city - this is Mbabane.
6. The lowest point is the Great Usutu River, at 21 metres, and the highest is Emlembe, at 1,862 m.
7. The currency is the Lilangeni, which is pegged to the South African Rand.
8. The official languages are SiSwati and English.
9. The flag consists of two blue stripes top and bottom, and a red stripe in the middle bordered above and below by two narrow Yellow stripes. The emblem in the centre of the red stripe depicts an ox hide combat shield from the traditional Swazi Emasotsha Regiment, as well as their assegais or spears, a Swazi fighting stick and three royal Swazi ornamental tassels called tinjobo, which are made from widow bird and loury feathers.
10. The country's motto is "Siyinqaba" which translates as "We are a fortress", "We are a mystery/riddle" or "We hide ourselves away".

Update: On 19 April 2018, Mswati III announced that the Kingdom of Swaziland had been renamed the Kingdom of Eswatini, to mark the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence. The name Eswatini means "land of the Swazis" in the Swazi language and was partially intended to prevent confusion with Switzerland.

My Books

As well as this blog, I also write fiction and have published two novels (Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan) and a collection of short stories (Jigsaw). If you like ghost stories, crime stories, a bit of romance and anything slightly bizarre you might enjoy them. 

Further details on my books page

5th September: On the Road

On this date in 1957 Jack Kerouac's On the Road was published. It was written on a single scroll of paper made up of sheets of tracing paper taped together and continuously fed through the typewriter so Kerouac wouldn't have to stop writing to change the paper. It took him 20 days to write and he ended up with a 120 foot long scroll. Can't see him having much luck with a literary agent today submitting that.

10 quotes by him, no doubt some are from this book.

1. Maybe that's what life is... a wink of the eye and winking stars.
2. All of life is a foreign country.
3. Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.
4. Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry.
5. There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.
6. Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.
7. What's in store for me in the direction I don't take?
8. Life must be rich and full of loving--it's no good otherwise, no good at all, for anyone.
9. I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.
10. Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.