31st May: Republic Day, South Africa

Republic day is celebrated today in South Africa. Here are some things you may not know about the home of Nelson Mandela:

1. It has three capital cities. Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). None of these three is the largest city - that is Johannesburg.
2. It was the first country in Africa to host the FIFA World Cup, in 2010, and is the only country in the world to have hosted the Football, cricket and rugby world cups.
3. South Africa is home to several record-breaking features - the deepest mine, a Gold mine, the Western Deep Levels Mine 11,749 feet deep; the largest theme resort hotel in the world, The Palace of the Lost City resort hotel; the oldest Meteor scar in the world, the Vredefort Dome (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); the largest red brick building in the Southern Hemisphere (Pietermaritzburg's city hall); and the highest commercial bungi jump in the world (710 feet).
4. South Africa is home to the world's smallest succulent plants (less than 0.39 inches) and the largest (the baobab tree).
5. Table Mountain, in Cape Town, is probably one of the oldest mountains in the world. It is rich in plant life, with over 1,500 species of plants growing there - more than the entire United Kingdom. It's also believed to be one of the world's twelve energy centres, radiating magnetic, electric or spiritual energy.
6. It also has the only street in the world to have had two Nobel Prize winners living on it. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.
7. The oldest remains of modern humans were found in Klasies River Cave in the Eastern Cape. They are well over 100,000 years old. It's not just people that might have originated here, but life itself - in eastern South Africa, scientists have found traces of blue-green algae dating back 3,500 million years - some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth.
8. It's a good place for booze, with the oldest Wine industry outside Europe and the longest wine route in the world. If Beer is your tipple, never fear, for South Africa is home to the largest brewing company in the world by volume, SABMiller. 50% of the beer they make is exported to China.
9. South Africa is the only country in the world that has voluntarily abandoned its nuclear weapons programme.
10. 90% of all the platinum metals on earth and around 41% of the world’s Gold comes from South Africa. It is also the country where the largest ever diamond, The Cullinan Diamond, found in 1905. It weighed 3,106.75 carats uncut, and it was cut into no less than 106 diamonds including the Great Star of Africa, weighing 530.2 carats, the Lesser Star of Africa, 317.40 carats. Where are they now? They are part of the British Crown jewels.

30th May: Feast Day of Joan of Arc

Today is the feast day of St Joan of Arc. A young girl who leaves home to go and join in a war. Is she really so different from the jihadi brides of today? You decide.

1. Joan of Arc was the daughter of a farmer who was also a village official.
2. She was 13 when she had her first vision - of Saints Michael, Catherine and Margaret, who told her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation. Joan related that they looked so beautiful that they made her cry.
3. She was sixteen when she went to the nearby town of Vaucouleurs to try and get permission to visit the French court. She was dismissed by the garrison commander, Robert de Baudricourt, but she tried again a few months later, and this time, some of his men agreed to help her.
4. Travelling through the country, she disguised herself as a male soldier, a sensible precaution recommended by her escort. However, this became one of the major charges against her at her trial. "Cross-dressing" was a serious crime in those days. She also wore men's clothing while in prison. Although at first she wore a dress to help her case, after an attempted rape by an English Lord, she reverted to male clothing again.
5. Joan claimed that she had never actually killed anyone in battle - her role was to carry a banner to encourage the troops. Neither was she given direct command of an army, although the noblemen who were in command would listen to her advice because they believed it came from God. Whether or not you believe that, history has shown that the armies tended to be successful when Joan was around.
6. During her time in prison, Joan tried to escape by jumping out of a 70 foot tower, but she was re-captured and moved to another prison.
7. Despite being an illiterate peasant, the wisdom of her answers during her trial had the court astonished. For example, asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she answered: 'If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.' If she had answered yes to this question, then she would have been guilty of heresy, for church doctrine stated that no-one could be sure of God's grace. If she had answered no, then she would have confessed her own guilt. It was a trap, and she dealt with it perfectly.
8. Not that it did her any good. She was still found guilty and sentenced to be burned to death at the stake. In fact, she was burned three times - once to kill her and twice more to stop people taking bits of her body as relics. Her ashes were eventually thrown in the river Seine.
9. She was tried twice. After the war was over, Pope Callixtus III authorised a re-trial at the request of Inquisitor-General Jean Bréhal and Joan's mother Isabelle Romée. They believed the first trial was illegal for a number of reasons, and had been political rather than religious, an excuse to get rid of Joan. One of the objections was that, although cross-dressing was a crime, the church would allow a woman to dress as a man in order to protect herself against rape, so in Joan's case, it would have been permissible. This second trial found her innocent.
10. Joan of Arc is the patron of France, martyrs, people ridiculed for their piety, prisoners, soldiers, women who have served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), and Women's Army Corps.

29th May: Nepal Republic Day

Today is Nepal Republic Day. Here are 10 things you didn't know about Nepal:

1. The highest point in Nepal is also the highest point in the entire world - Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). The locals call it Sagarmatha ("Goddess of the Sky". It's a good earner for Nepal, which makes $3.3 million a year from climbing fees alone.
2. There are two theories as to where the name of the country came from. One is that it derived from the Newar people, the indigenous people of Kathmandu valley; the other is that a Hindu sage named "Ne" once lived in the valley of Kathmandu in prehistoric times and the place was protected ("pala" in Pali) by him.
3. Possibly the most famous person to come from Nepal is a prince named Siddhartha Gautam, who renounced his position to lead an ascetic life and came to be known as the Buddha ("the awakened one" or "the enlightened one"). Most of the population of Nepal are Hindus. though.
4. The national flower of Nepal is the Rhododendron. The national animal is the Cow - sacred in the Hindu religion.
5. The Nepalese flag is the only national flag in the world not to be rectangular in shape. It is shaped like two triangles on top of each other. The Nepalese constitution gives geometric instructions on how to produce the correct shape. The red colour represents aggression, and/or the national flower. The blue stands for peace. The curved moon on the flag represents the peaceful and calm nature of the Nepalese people, while the sun represents the aggressiveness of their warriors.
6. Talking of warriors, the Gurkhas are soldiers from Nepal. They serve in armies all over the world, and are known for their bravery. The former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, said "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha." Their traditional weapon is the Khukuri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife.
7. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city.
8. It's possibly not the best place for a road trip. Over a third of the population have a two hour walk before they reach their nearest reliable road. About 60% of the road network is impassable during the rainy season.
9. It's good for World Heritage sites. It has the densest concentration of them in the world, including seven in the Kathmandu Valley alone.
10. A popular sport in Nepal is polo - only using Elephants instead of Horses. The World Elephant Polo Championships are held in Nepal.

May 28: Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was born this date in 1908. 10 quotes from him:

1. Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes,' otherwise you'll lead a very dull life.
2. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action.
3. You only live twice: once when you're born. And once when you look death in the face.
4. The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success
5. A woman can put up with almost anything; anything but indifference.
6. Perhaps they will put on my tombstone. 'This Man Died from Living Too Much'.
7. History is moving pretty quickly these days, and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts.
8. Worry is a dividend paid to disaster before it is due.
9. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make bored.
10. Once a King, always a King. But once a Knight is enough!

27th May: The Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco first opened on this date in 1937. Here are 10 things you may not know about the Golden Gate Bridge:

1. It's a much loved landmark now, but the proposal to built a bridge in that location met with stiff opposition at first. It took ten years to persuade some parties that there should be a bridge there. The US Department of War was afraid it would interfere with ship traffic, and that sabotage of the bridge would block entry to the harbour completely. Another opposing voice was the Southern Pacific Railroad. They feared loss of profits, because they ran the existing ferry service. They even filed a lawsuit against it. San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats - its lack of a permanent link with communities around the bay meant the city's growth rate was below the national average.
2. The official name for the colour of the bridge is international Orange. It could have looked very different: the US Navy wanted it to be painted with Black with Yellow stripes to ensure visibility by passing ships.
3. The head engineer was Joseph Strauss. One of his innovations was the use of safety nets below where men were working during construction. Of the eleven men killed during construction, ten died because the platform they were working on fell into the net, but was too heavy for the net to hold.
4. Nineteen others were saved by the net. While some of them were recovering together in hospital, they formed an exclusive club called the "Half Way To Hell Club."
5. The opening celebrations lasted a whole week, and included 200,000 people crossing either on foot or on roller skates; a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last being a line of beauty queens who asked Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass; an official song, There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate; President Roosevelt pushing a button in Washington DC. signalling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge; parties and at one point, a riot.
6. The Golden Gate Bridge's clearance above high water averages 220 feet (67m). Its towers, at 746 feet (227m) above the water, were the world's tallest on a suspension bridge until 1998. It was also the world's longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at 4,200 feet (1,300m) until 1964.
7. Its height above the water has made it a popular site for committing suicide, in fact, it's the second most popular bridge in the world to commit suicide from (the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is the most popular). Only 5% of people who jump survive the impact with the water below, and most of those die of drowning or hypothermia - so it's quite effective.
8. It's estimated that 110,000 vehicles pass over the bridge every day. There is a toll for southbound traffic. Northbound vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists cross for free. There are six lanes of traffic and two walkways for cyclists and pedestrians. Traffic configuration changes several times a day according to traffic flow. Off peak, it's three lanes each way, but in the morning four lanes run into the city and in the afternoons four lanes run out. In January 2015, a moveable barrier was installed which cost $30.3 million, almost as much as it cost to build the bridge itself ($37 million).
9. The bridge has only been closed due to bad weather three times in its history. It also closed while it was being retro-fitted with better Earthquake-proofing.
10. Joseph Strauss was a poet as well as an engineer. When the bridge was completed, he wrote a poem called The Mighty Task is Done, which is now on the bridge. The first verse is below.

At last the mighty task is done;

Resplendent in the western sun

The Bridge looms mountain high;

Its titan piers grip ocean floor,

Its great steel arms link shore with shore,

Its towers pierce the sky.

26 May: John Wayne quotes

On John Wayne's birthday, some of his words of wisdom.

1. All battles are fought by scared men who’d rather be some place else.
2. Don’t say it’s a fine morning or I’ll shoot ya.
3. Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.
4. Life is hard; it's harder if you're stupid.
5. If you've got them by the balls their hearts and minds will soon follow.
6. Courage is being scared to death…and saddling up anyway.
7. Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much.
8. You can take everything a man has as long as you leave him his dignity.
9. Don’t pick a fight, but if you find yourself in one I suggest you make damn sure you win.
10. When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it.

25th May: National Day of Argentina

Today is the National Day of Argentina. 10 things you might not know about Argentina:

1. The name "Argentina" comes from the Latin argentum "Silver", because of the mythical Sierra de la Plata ("Silver Mountains") a mythical source of silver in the interior of South America.
2. Famous people from Argentina include Eva Peron (Evita), Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Marxist revolutionary, and Pope Francis. Ladislao Biró, the inventor of the Ballpoint pen was Hungarian, but moved to Argentina in 1943.
3. Argentina has a special holiday to celebrate friendship. Dia del Amigo, or Friend's Day, was founded in the 1970s and is an important event on the calendar. While they don't get the day off work, it is an official holiday and friends get together in the evening to celebrate their friendships. It's such a big thing that in 2005, mobile networks went down with the sheer numbers of calls and hotels and restaurants get completely booked out.
4. It was home to some of the biggest Dinosaurs yet found - Argentinosaurus, discovered in the country and named after it, is believed to have been 38 meters (125 ft) in length and weighed over 75,000 kilograms (160,000 lbs). There was an even bigger dinosaur, similar to a T Rex, which preyed on it - Giganotosaurus.
5. Argentina was the first country to use fingerprinting as the primary form of identification in criminal records, after Francisca Rojas, a 27 year old mother from the Province of Buenos Aires, became the first person ever to be convicted using fingerprint evidence, in 1892.
6. Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, is regarded as the world's southernmost city, close to Tierra del Fuego National Park - the southernmost national park in the world, and the legendary "Lighthouse at the End of the World" made famous by Jules Verne.
7. Both the highest and lowest points in the Southern and Western Hemispheres are located in Argentina. The highest point is Mount Aconcagua in the Mendoza province (6,959 m (22,831 ft) above sea level), and the lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in the San Julián Great Depression Santa Cruz province (−105 m (−344 ft) below sea level.
8. Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is the fourth biggest city on earth and the most visited city in South America.
9. Argentina's national sport is pato, a horseback game which originated in the 1600s and is like a cross between polo and basketball. The name “pato” literally means “duck” in Spanish, as the earliest versions of this game used a live duck in a basket - duck lovers will be pleased to note that nowadays, they use a ball. It was a dangerous game, partly due to players falling off their horses and getting trampled to death, and partly because players would often start knife fights with each other during the game. The game was banned several times for this reason. Today's version is more sedate. Perhaps the history of playing this game is the reason why Argentina is so successful at polo - it has won more international championships than any other country and is home to most of the world's top players.
10. The hornero is the national bird, chosen by a lower school survey in 1928 The ceibo is the national flower and national tree, while the quebracho colorado is the national forest tree. Rhodochrosite is the national gemstone.

24th May: National Escargot Day

Today is National Escargot Day. Escargots being snails, here are 10 things you might not know about snails:

1. Snails are renowned for moving slowly. 1mm a second is a typical speed for adult snail, although some can, if they put their minds to it, travel as fast as 1cm per second.
2. They're also known for being slimy. The mucus they secrete has a dual purpose - it aids movement and keeps them from drying out. It is thanks to the mucus that a snail can crawl over a sharp object, even a razor blade, without hurting itself. There is a myth that snail slime is poisonous to humans, but this isn't true. In fact, some research even suggests it helps cure stomach ulcers.
3. A garden snail has about 14,000 teeth.
4. Snails have four retractable stalks. The longer ones are its eyes and the shorter ones are olfactory organs. They do not have ears, so they are deaf. Their eyes are not that good, either - but their sense of smell is excellent and they can detect the presence of food several metres away.
5. Snail sex is strange to say the least. For starters, most varieties of snail have both male and female sex organs. When a couple of snails decide to mate, they will circle around each other for up to six hours, touching tentacles and biting each other. Then before actual mating, they shoot love darts at each other. This makes sex a risky business for a snail, because their eyesight is so bad, so the shots are not very accurate. A snail could shoot its partner in the head or impale a vital organ by mistake. Or it could miss completely. Which raises the question, why would such a thing evolve? Especially since snails can mate without them - the snail's body does not produce them until it has mated once; the darts take a week to grow, and the randy little things don't always wait that long! Scientists have figured out that the mucus on the dart reconfigures the female part of the reproductive system so that more sperm is stored to fertilize eggs.
6. Garden snails bury their eggs 5 to 10cm down in damp soil. They can lay up to 100 eggs at a time as often as once a month.
7. Snails are hatched with their shells, although initially the shell is colourless and very weak. As soon as it hatches, a baby snail has to eat some calcium to beef up its shell. Usually the most readily available source is the egg it just hatched from. They will often scoff other, unhatched eggs nearby as well. Their shells grow with them, and will turn slightly blue before turning to their adult colour after about three months. After about three years, they stop growing and the growing edge of the shell hardens. Once the snail has stopped growing, it is ready to start mating.
8. The largest living species of snail is the Giant African Snail or Ghana Tiger Snail (Achatina achatina; Family Achatinidae), which can measure up to 30 cm.
9. Most wild snails live about 2 to 3 years and usually die because of parasites or predators. In captivity, they can live up to 15 years, and a lifespan of 25 years is possible for some species.
10. We all know snails are a delicacy in France (escargots), but it's not just the French who like munching on them. In Portugal they are called caracóis and are served stewed with white Wine, Garlic, piri piri, oregano, Coriander or Parsley. In Spain, they are called caracoles, caragols or cargols. In Greece They are eaten either boiled with vinegar, or cooked alive in a casserole with Tomato, Potatoes and squashes. In In Sicily, they are called babbaluci and are boiled with Salt, then served with tomato sauce or oil, garlic and parsley. In parts of Germany they are made into a soup called "Black Forest Snail Chowder" (Badener Schneckensuepple). In addition, snail caviar is a growing trend in Europe. Heliciculture is the farming of snails. Before they can be eaten, a snail is starved for three days, with only Water available, and then fed on flour and water for at least a week. Catching wild snails to eat is risky as they may have a parasite, and if they are not properly cooked it can give you meningitis.

23rd May: Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision song contest Final will be held in Vienna tonight. Here are 10 things you may not know about the Eurovision Song Contest.

1. The first contest was held in May 1956. It took place in Switzerland with seven countries taking part and each performing two songs. We don't know how anybody voted because no recording of the event exists, but we do know that Switzerland won. Eurovision means a contest which is broadcast on the Eurovision television network, which is why countries like Israel and Morocco can take part even though they are not technically in Europe. In 2015, Australia is taking part as a one off guest contestant.
2. The contest was originally intended to unite countries through song, although politics tends to creep in with traditional allies voting for each other. Some countries refuse to take part because Israel does, or because they have been told they cannot block out the Israeli song. In 1978, Jordanian television showed a bunch of Daffodils when the Israeli entry won, and claimed that Belgium, who came second, had won.
3. There are a number of rules. Songs can be no longer than 3 minutes and only six people are allowed on stage during the performance, including dancers. Until 1971, groups of more than three were not allowed - if that had not changed, neither ABBA or Buck's Fizz could have even entered. Instrumental pieces are not allowed, and animals are not allowed on stage. Countries are free to enter singers of any nationality. The songwriters are supposed to be natives but this isn't strictly enforced.
4. Ireland holds the record for the most wins (seven), with Luxembourg, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom hot on their heels with five wins each. Eurovision is a colourful spectacle, but the most winning colour to be worn by contestants is white. Seven of the winners wore white, more than any other colour. The language most likely to win is English - songs performed in English have won 26 times. In 1969 there was a tie between France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
5. The least successful country is Norway, who have come last eleven times. They have won more recently than the UK have, though. Portugal, despite competing since 1964, have yet to enter a winning song. Other nations who have been competing for over 20 years and are still waiting for a win are Malta, Cyprus and Iceland. No country has yet won after performing second in the line-up.
6. The contest always begins with the fanfare Prelude To Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which has become known as the "Eurovision Anthem".
7. The youngest ever entrant was Sandra Kim from Belgium who won in 1986 at just 13. The oldest was Emil Ramsauer, 95, from Switzerland, not Englebert Humperdinck, 78.
8. In 1974, the UK did not score ABBA any points.
9. Some Eurovision firsts - the UK's first win was in 1967 (Sandie Shaw singing Puppet on a String. She confessed later that she hated the song from the moment she first heard it. She said it was "sexist drivel and a cuckoo-clock tune"). The first contest to be broadcast in colour was in 1968 from the Royal Albert Hall. The first black contestant was the Netherland's Millie Scott in 1966. The only black winner so far is Dave Benton (one half of Estonia's Tanel & Dave in 2001).
10. Some of the wackiest entries: Spain's La La La, which won in 1968, contained no fewer than 138 'las'. Norway's 1980 song was about the construction of a hydro-electric power station. France's 2014 song was about a man trying to grow a moustache and in 2013 Sweden's Petra Mede sang about Ikea, Abba, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, recycling and the fashion retailer H&M.

My Books:

Death and Faxes

Several women have been found murdered - it looks like the work of a ruthless serial killer. Psychic medium Maggie Flynn is one of the resources DI Jamie Swan has come to value in such cases - but Maggie is dead, leaving him with only the telephone number of the woman she saw as her successor, her granddaughter, Tabitha Drake.

Tabitha, grief-stricken by Maggie's death and suffering a crisis of confidence in her ability, wants nothing to do with solving murder cases. She wants to hold on to her job and find Mr Right (not necessarily in that order); so when DI Swan first contacts her, she refuses to get involved.

The ghosts of the victims have other ideas. They are anxious for the killer to be caught and for names to be cleared - and they won't leave Tabitha alone. It isn't long before Tabitha is drawn in so deeply that her own life is on the line.

Paperback - CreateSpace or Amazon 

Or get the E-book: Amazon Kindle (Where you can use the "Look Inside" function and read the first few pages for free!)

Glastonbury Swan

Every few weeks, there is a mysterious death in Glastonbury. They seem completely unrelated - an apparent suicide, a hit and run, a drug overdose, a magic act which goes horribly wrong - but is that what the killer wants people to think?

The police are certainly convinced - but one of the victims is communicating to medium Tabitha Drake that the deaths are linked.

Who is killing all these people and why? 

This is what Tabitha has to figure out - before it is too late to save someone very dear to her.

Paperback CreateSpace or Amazon

E-book Amazon Kindle

22nd May: Yemen

North and South Yemen merged on this date in 1990 so today is the National Day of the Republic of Yemen.

1. The name of the country is either from the word yamin, meaning "on the right side", or yumn, meaning "felicity". The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia).
2. Yemen is the only country in the Arab Peninsula to be a republic. All the others are kingdoms or emirates.
3. Officially, the capital is Sana'a, also the largest city, but in 2015 the capital has been temporarily moved to the port city of Aden, after rebels captured Sana'a.
4. Archaeologists believe Yemen to be the location of the ancient kingdom of Sheba. Both the Qur'an and the Bible tell the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon.
5. Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb is the highest point at 3,666 metres (12,028 ft) high, the second highest point in the Arab world. The entire country is elevated, with an average elevation of about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). This allowed its people to remain isolated from the rest of the world except when they wanted to trade, when they would go to the lower lying coastal areas.
6. Talking of trade, in ancient times they would export as much as 3,000 tons of frankincense each year to Greece and Rome. In the 11th century, Yemenis invented Coffee as a drink, and coffee was one of its most important crops. Mocha coffee was named for a port in Yemen, Al Mukha. They still export coffee, but many of the farmers have switched to growing the stimulant drug, qat.
7. Some areas of Yemen are very fertile, especially the escarpment of the western highlands, which gets more rain than anywhere else in Arabia at around 1,000 mm (39.4 in), and has been terraced to take advantage of this and grow crops. Other parts of the country are less fortunate and get hardly any rain at all. Yemen's portion of the Rub al Khali desert in the east is one. The Tihamah ("hot lands" or "hot earth") is a very arid and flat coastal plain along the Red Sea coastline. Here, streams from the highlands evaporate before they can reach the sea.
8. This, and the growing population (24 million in 2014), and unauthorised drilling of wells to water the qat plants, contributes to a potential drinking water crisis. Sana'a could be the first capital city in the world to run out of drinking Water.
9. Yemen is home to what has been called the oldest skyscraper city in the world, or the Manhattan of the desert. Shibam, population 7,000, is famous for its high rise buildings built from mud. Some are 30 meters (100 feet) high. The city is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
10. The most popular sport in the country is Football, but tribesmen on the west coast also participate in Camel jumping. Competitors tuck their robes around their waists and from a running start, leap over camels placed side by side. The one who jumps over the greatest number of camels wins.

21st May: Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope is the third most quoted English writer, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. He was born on this date in 1688.

1. No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday.
2. Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.
3. What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease.
4. Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
5. A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labour of bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.
6. True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
7. All are but parts of one stupendous whole, whose body Nature is, and God the soul.
8. Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.
9. The same ambition can destroy or save, and make a patriot as it makes a knave.
10. But blind to former as to future fate, what mortal knows his pre-existent state?

20th May: Cuba Independence Day

Today is Cuba Independence Day. 10 things you may not know about Cuba:

1. Cuba is home to the worlds’ smallest bird (the bee Hummingbird, 5-6 cm long) and smallest Frog (Eleutherodactylus iberia, 1cm long).
2. When Columbus landed there in 1492, he thought he was in China and sent some of his men to find the emperor. However, once he realised his mistake, Columbus initially called the island Isla Juana after Prince Juan of Asturia, although he later switched to calling it Cuba. It is not known whether this was derived from a local Taíno word meaning 'where fertile land is abundant' or if it was named after the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.
3. Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world (99.8%) and also the most doctors per person in the world. As well as providing free healthcare for its own people, Cuba exports doctors to places which need them, and medical tourism is a growing industry. They also export medical equipment.
4. The tourist industry in Cuba is growing, although between 1992 and 1997 it was actually illegal for foreign visitors to have any contact with ordinary Cuban people, so if you wanted to go on holiday there you could only visit segregated enclave resorts. Americans were not allowed to go there on holiday at all after 1960 and at time of writing, Cuba is the still the only country that US citizens need official government permission to visit. However, now that Barack Obama has changed the footing of relations with Cuba, this could change.
5. Although most Cubans are Christians, Christmas was removed from the calendar of celebrations by Fidel Castro in 1969, making 25 December just another working day. He thought that celebrating Christmas was detrimental to sugar cane production. It remained that way until 1998, when the Pope came to visit, and Christmas became a public holiday again.
6. As well as Christmas, Castro had it in for The Beatles and banned their music in 1964, although he later decided that John Lennon was worthy of respect and commissioned a statue of him and named a park after him. Castro didn't like the game of Monopoly, either, and one of the first things he did when he came to power was have all games of Monopoly destroyed.
7. Cuba is known for its cigars. It has the perfect climate for growing tobacco and the making of the cigars is highly regulated to make sure that they are hand-produced using a 100 step procedure which has been in place for centuries. Cuban cigars are officially banned in the USA, but John F Kennedy was a fan - before he signed the embargo against Cuba, he stocked up with 1,200 Cuban cigars.
8. Bacardi Rum was originally made in Cuba, but when Castro tried to nationalise it, the company moved their manufacturing away from Cuba.
9. Cuba is a good place to hitchhike - government vehicles are legally obliged to pick up hitchikers if they have room.
10. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with a population of over 11 million. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos. Havana is the capital and largest city.

19th May: Nancy Astor

Nancy Astor, the first woman to become an MP, was born on this date in 1879. Here are 10 things she said:

1. The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything... or nothing.
2. The penalty of success is to be bored by people who used to snub you.
3. One reason why I don't drink is because I wish to know when I am having a good time.
4. Women have got to make the world safe for men since men have made it so darned unsafe for women.
5. I married beneath me, all women do.
6. Pioneers may be picturesque figures, but they are often rather lonely ones.
7. The only thing I like about rich people is their money.
8. The first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman.
9. We women talk too much, but even then we don't tell half what we know.
10. A fool without fear is sometimes wiser than an angel with fear.

18 May: Somaliland Independence Day

Somaliland Independence Day is today. Here are 10 things you might not know about Somaliland:

1. Somaliland is a self-declared independent state and autonomous region of Somalia. Its independence is widely acknowledged, but not officially recognised as the international community hasn't yet given up trying to reunify Somalia.
2. The area used to be a British protectorate known as British Somaliland. The British were mainly interested in protecting it to stop foreign powers interfering with the slave trade and the transportation of meat via caravan routes to the British Indian outpost in Aden. Hence the region's nickname of "Aden's butcher's shop".
3. In 1960, the former British Somaliland became the State of Somaliland, but within a week, the State of Somaliland merged with the former Italian Somaliland, to become Somalia. At the beginning of this short period of independence, Somaliland adopted a National Anthem. It was performed by the Royal Highland Fusiliers at the independence celebrations. They didn't even have a chance to write any lyrics before the merger. It lasted five days and is therefore the shortest lived national anthem in the world. Now, the national anthem is Samo ku waar (Long Life with Peace).
4. Its claimed territory has an area of 137,600 square kilometres (53,100 sq mi), with approximately 3.5 million residents. The region is slightly larger than England.
5. The capital and the largest city is Hargeisa, with a population of around 750,000.
6. There are three official languages: Somali, Arabic and English.
7. Tourist attractions in the area include the Laas Geel cave paintings, discovered by a French archaeological team in 2002, believed to date back around 5,000 years. Only a restricted number of tourists are allowed entry. There is also the Freedom Arch in Hargeisa, the Naasa Hablood - twin hills just outside Hargeisa; the historic towns of Sheekh, Berbera and Zeila. Zeila has old colonial landmarks, mangroves, coral reefs, towering cliffs and a beach.
8. However, although Somaliland is said to be a safer place to visit than Somalia, the Somaliland government requires that all foreigners take armed guards when travelling outside of the major cities. These guards are known as SPUs (Special Protection Units) and are available from the local police department or the office of tourism in Hargeisa. Since homosexuality is illegal in Somaliland, punishable by prison, torture and death, it is definitely not safe for gay people.
9. The flag consists of three equal horizontal stripes of Green, white and red. Written in white on the green stripe is the shahada ('There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger'). The white strip has a black five pointed star. The Somaliland flag was introduced on 14 October 1996. Before this the flag of Somaliland was plain white with a green disk in the middle with the shahada handwritten in Black around it.
10. Its currency, the Somaliland shilling, is not an internationally recognised currency and has no official exchange rate. Nor are there any banks or cash machines in the region.   

17th May: Norway National Day

Today is Norway's National Day. 10 things you might not know about Norway:

1. In Norway, you will find the longest road tunnel in the world, The Lærdal Tunnel, (24.5 km / 15.2 mi) and the world's deepest undersea tunnel, The Eiksund Tunnel which is 7,765 metres (25,476 ft) long and 287 metres (942 ft) deep.
2. The name “Norway” means “path to the North”. It is also sometimes called "Land of the Midnight sun" because some parts of Norway are above the Arctic Circle and so from late May to late July, the Sun never completely sets.
3. The Cheese slicer and the aerosol spray were both invented by Norwegians, by by Thor Bjørklund and Erik Rotheim respectively. Other famous Norwegians include playwright Henrik Ibsen, composer Edvard Grieg and the painter Edvard Munch.
4. Norway made a significant contribution to the world of sport as it claims to have invented modern skiing. An ancient rock carving at Rødøy shows that Norwegians used skis 4,000 years ago, and a 2,300-year old ski was found in Finnmark in far northern Norway. The word "ski" is a Norwegian word meaning "piece of wood". Skiing as we know it today was pioneered by Sondre Norheim of Telemark in the 1870s. He devised ski bindings and designed the “waisted,” or Telemark, ski, the prototype for modern skis. In 1884, he emigrated to the US and promoted the sport of skiing there. The world's oldest ski festival, at Holmenkollen has taken place since 1872, and Norway has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other country. The world "slalom" is also Norwegian - sla, means “slope, hill, or smooth surface,” and låm is the track down the slope.
5. Norway’s Hardangervidda Plateau is the biggest mountain plateau in Europe and home to the continent’s largest herd of wild Reindeer. Norway is also home to Europe's highest waterfall, Vinnufossen (860 m / 2,822 ft), the world's sixth tallest.
6. The children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was inspired by the Freia hot chocolate factory in Norway. Roald Dahl was Norwegian-American. Roald Amundsen, another Norwegian, was the first to reach the South Pole - and Freia chocolate was one of the main sources of sustenance on his journey.
7. Norway is the world’s largest exporter of Salmon.
8. Throughout history, people from Norway have travelled far and wide and settled in may other countries. The Irish cities of Dublin, Limerick and Waterford were founded by Norwegian settlers. It is even thought that Norwegian sailors discovered America long before Columbus but did not settle there.
9. During World War II, the Norwegian mining town of Kirkenes suffered more bomb attacks than any other place in Europe except for Malta. Norway was so grateful for the UK's assistance during the war that each December Norway gives us a Christmas Tree as a thank you. The tree in is erected in London's Trafalgar Square in a special ceremony each year.
10. Norway’s national symbol is the Lion. Its flag is red with a blue cross outlined in white. The colours represent Norway’s past political unions with Denmark (red and white) and Sweden (blue).

16 May: Middlesex Day

16 May is the anniversary of the Battle of Albuera in which the Middlesex Regiment played a part, and in recent years has been celebrated as Middlesex Day. An event to recognise and celebrate the historic county of Middlesex. So here are 10 things you may not know about the place:

1. The area has been formally settled since the 8th century and was part of the Kingdom of Essex. In fact, many places now considered to be part of London were once in Middlesex, including: Edmonton, Hounslow, Westminster, Finsbury, Holborn, Kensington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Islington, Highgate and Twickenham.
2. The name means "territory of the Middle Saxons".
3. There is some dispute over whether the county of Middlesex still exists or not. It is commonly believed it ceased to exist when the London Government Act 1963 came into force, but the act actually merely disbanded the County Council while the county itself was never officially dissolved so therefore still exists.
4. Middlesex was once a rural area, its economy dependent on agriculture and tourists from London wanting a day out in the country. However, the coming of the railways made it a good place for commuters to live and so the land was increasingly built on until Middlesex towns and villages merged with London. Sir John Betjeman wrote, "Dear Middlesex, dear vanished country friend,Your neighbour, London, killed you in the end."
5. Middlesex and Essex had the same coat of arms, three notched swords on a red background. The Sheriff's Office of the County of London also used it. In 1910 it was proposed that the arms of Middlesex should change in order to distinguish it from the others. Colonel Otley Parry, a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and expert on military badges, was asked to devise an addition to the shield. He chose a "Saxon Crown", derived from the portrait of King Athelstan on a silver penny of his reign, thought to be the earliest form of crown associated with an English sovereign.
6. Middlesex has a county flower, the wood anemone, chosen in 2002 by the plant conservation charity Plantlife.
7. It doesn't have a county town, certainly not since 1789, and possibly never. For Middlesex, the functions of a county town are fulfilled by London.
8. The first Cash Dispenser in the world was installed at Barclays Bank, Enfield, Middlesex, in 1967. Reg Varney, from On the Buses was the first person to withdraw cash from the machine.
9. There was once an Earl of Middlesex. The title was created in 1622 and lasted until the third Earl died childless in 1674.
10. Thomas Babington wrote in 1843, "An acre in Middlesex is worth a principality in Utopia".

15th May: Austria Independence Day

Austria Independence Day commemorates the Austrian State Treaty of 1955. 10 things you may not know about Austria:

1. Austria’s formal name is Republik Öesterreich (Republic of Austria), which literally means “Eastern Realm.”
2. Austria is home to the world's oldest zoo, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Tiergarten, founded in 1752 as an animal menagerie by Emperor Franz Stephan.
3. It is also home to the Eisriesenwelt Caves, also called “the world of the ice giants,” the largest accessible ice cave system in the world.
4. 62% of Austria is covered by the Austrian Alps. A tenth of the country is barren or unproductive because it is above the tree line or extremely Alpine.
5. The population of Austria is around 8.5 million. Over twice that number (20.8 million) visit per year. About a quarter of the population live in the capital, Vienna.
6. Austria has one of the oldest national Flags in the world, along with Denmark. The red white and red stripes are said to have originated from Duke Leopold V, who got soaked in Blood during a battle in the Crusades, but when he took his belt off, the tunic underneath was still white. The flag was first adopted in 1230.
7. Famous Austrians include Ferdinand Porsche, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Josef Madersperger (who invented the sewing machine), Adolph Hitler, Gregor Mendel (who established the basis of modern genetics), Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Liszt, Johann Strauss, Mahler, Marie Antoinette, Erwin Schrödinger and Sigmund Freud.
8. Viennese cafés claim to have invented the process of filtering Coffee after the second Turkish siege in 1683. If you prefer something stronger, there are 621 ha of vineyards within the city limits of Vienna. Vienna is one of only a few capital cities to have vineyards, the others being Paris, Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw and London. The most famous Austrian food is Weiner Schnitzel, cutlets of veal, pounded thin, dusted with egg and breadcrumbs, fried and served without sauce.
9. Austria’s highest point is the Großglockner at 12,461 feet (3,798 m); the lowest point is Hedwighof (Municipality Apetlon), at 114 m.
10. Austria is the only European Union nation that is not a member of NATO.