17 February: Ash Wednesday

In 2021, today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Here are 10 things you might not know about Ash Wednesday:

1. It's not on the same date every year because it is linked to the date of Easter. It can occur as early as 4 February or as late as 10 March.
2. Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the congregation as a sign of mourning and repentance. Not just any old ashes, either – the ashes used are from the burning of last year's Palm Sunday palms.
3. It's the start of Lent, which is a period of 40 days of self-sacrifice, which is observed in numerous ways from abstaining from food completely until sunset, abstaining from meat for the duration or simply giving up a guilty pleasure until Easter, such as smoking, Chocolate or television.
4. However, if you count the days between now and Easter on a calendar, it's actually 46 days, not 40. That's because, traditionally, people didn't fast on Sundays.
5. Ash Wednesday isn't mentioned in the Bible. In fact, it wasn't a thing at all until about the 11th century. The only potential link is the connection made in the Bible between ashes and grief, repentance or fasting, which isn't tied to a specific date or ceremony. That is the reason not all Christian denominations celebrate it. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Mormons, Evangelicals, and Pentecostal Christians all give it a miss.
6. For those who want to observe it, but can't fit in attending a church service on a weekday, "Ashes to Go" has become a thing, especially in the USA, and in Sunderland in the UK. For people who can't get to church, the church will come to them – ministers will go out into the city centres, in public places like railway stations, even at Traffic Lights so you can get ashed up while waiting for a green light. In fact, since the application of ashes isn't a holy sacrament, it doesn't even have to be done by a member of the clergy, so people can take a bag of ashes home and apply them to the foreheads of people who weren't able to get to church.
7. In Victorian times, theatres refrained from putting on costumed shows on Ash Wednesday, although entertainment in which people didn't dress up was allowed.
8. In Iceland, Ash Wednesday is a bit like Halloween. Children dress up in costumes and go about singing songs in exchange for sweets. Another custom there is for kids to carry small bags of ashes which they surreptitiously pin on to people's backs.
9. In Ireland, Ash Wednesday is also National No Smoking Day, which ties in nicely with giving up the fags for Lent. In the UK, the first National No Smoking Day in 1984 was held on Ash Wednesday, too, but it has since been fixed as the second Wednesday in March.
10. In St Paul's Cathedral in London, Ash Wednesday sees the annual Cakes and Ale Sermon. This started when Alderman John Norton left money to the Stationers Company for the purpose of refreshments of cake and ale on Ash Wednesday. After the cake and ale is all gone, members of the company parade in livery to the cathedral where the Company Chaplain gives the Cakes and Ale Sermon in the crypt.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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