Today is Alfred name day in Poland. Alfred is a masculine given name of English origin formed from the Germanic words ælf, meaning "elf", and ræd, meaning "counsel". Diminutives of Alfred include Al, Alf, Alfie, Fred, and Freddy. 10 famous Alfreds:
- Alfred the Great: 9th-century King of Wessex, famous for burning cakes.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson: Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets. Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
- Sir Alfred Ramsey: English Football player and manager best known for his time as England manager from 1963 to 1974, which included guiding them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. As a player, Ramsey was a defender and a member of England's 1950 World Cup squad.
- Sir Alfred Hitchcock: English film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as the "Master of Suspense", he directed over 50 feature films. He always appeared in a cameo role in each of his films.
- Alfred Matthew: aka "Weird Al" Yankovic, American singer known for humorous songs which often parody other songs by contemporary musical acts. He also performs original songs.
- Alfred Nobel: Swedish chemist, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He held 355 different patents, dynamite being the most famous. Having read a premature obituary which condemned him for profiting from the sales of arms, he bequeathed his fortune to the Nobel Prize institution. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him.
- Alfred Kinsey: American biologist, who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University. He is best known for writing Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), also known as the Kinsey Reports.
- Alfred Pennyworth: Batman's butler.
- Alfred E. Neuman: mascot and iconic cover boy of Mad magazine.
- Alfred Fielding: inventor of Bubble wrap.
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.
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.
Themes Christmas; superheroes; reunions; parties; life choices; shocking surprises; mistaken identity; kidnap and rescue.
Reasons not to read it
- It's a bit short. You could probably read it in one sitting.
- Most of the action takes place at a Christmas party. In a palace.
- It's all about Christmas but there doesn't seem to be a schmaltzy moral message.
- There are a couple of babies and some small children in it - and one nearly gets eaten.
- Santa appears in it, but he isn't really Santa.
- Superheroes. Again.
- Not to mention a whole bunch of super-villains. Again all new ones and not the ones we know from Marvel or DC.
Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle
- It's a bit short. You could probably read it in one sitting.
- Most of the action takes place at a Christmas party. In a palace.
- It's all about Christmas but there doesn't seem to be a schmaltzy moral message.
- There are a couple of babies and some small children in it - and one nearly gets eaten.
- Santa appears in it, but he isn't really Santa.
- Superheroes. Again.
- Not to mention a whole bunch of super-villains. Again all new ones and not the ones we know from Marvel or DC.
Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle
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