1 June

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 1st June:

1. This date in 1926 saw the birth of Marilyn Monroe, the iconic actress whose films include All About Eve, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How To Marry a Millionaire. She said, "It's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
2. Another performer born on this date, in 1857, was Joseph Pujol, known professionally as Le Pétomane. He was a French vaudeville star famous for being able to Fart at will. His stage name translated means "the fart maniac". His profession is sometimes referred to as a "Flatulist" or a "Fartiste." He was a smash hit at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Highlights of his stage act included playing a flute through a rubber tube in his anus and making sound effects like cannon fire and thunderstorms. The grand finale of his act was an impression of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
3. Bob Dylan used an electric Guitar for the first time on this date in 1966, at the Royal Albert Hall during his British tour. The purists in the audience booed him.
4. The first written record of Scotch Whiskey, distilled by Friar John Cor, in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland was made on this date in 1495.
5. The first recorded earthquake in US history occurred in Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts on this date in 1638. The earthquake took place at 2 pm, luckily did not cause any human deaths or much material damage.
6. In 1997, Spice girl Victoria Adams and footballer David Beckham got engaged.
7. In 1988, prisoners in Oregon prison began walking the exercise yard in the first sponsored walk to take place in a prison. They walked 3,400 miles to raise Money for organ transplants.
8. In 1938, the first issue of the comic book Superman appeared in news stands. Superman was created by two teenagers: Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster.
9. In 1908, John Krohn set out to walk around the United States with a wheelbarrow. He completed the walk around the perimeter of the US in 357 days (it's a good thing Alaska and Hawaii weren't states then). He walked 9,024 miles, wore out 11 pair of Shoes, 112 pairs of Socks, five wheels for his trusty wheelbarrow and never walked on Sunday.
10. In 2002, Caroline Hamilton and Ann Daniels arrived at the North Pole and became the first women to walk to both poles. They'd been part of a five woman team which had reached the South Pole in January 2000.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

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30 May

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 30 May:

Christopher Marlowe

1. On this date in 1968, The Beatles began recording The White Album.

2. In 1431, Joan of Arc, a peasant girl born in Eastern France, who'd led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, claiming divine guidance, was burned at the stake at the age of 19.

3. In 2006, at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong, casino resort developer Steve Wynn from Las Vegas bought a 600 year old Ming vase for $10,122,558.00, making it the world's most expensive vase. He donated it to a museum in Macau.

4. This date in 1593 saw the death of Christopher Marlowe at the age of 29. The dramatist and government agent, whose works include Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus, was fatally stabbed with his own dagger in an argument over a tavern bill.

5. In 2013, an Asteroid named QE2 was discovered to have its own moon.

6. In 2000, Gloria Terrell, aged 43, was detained by security guards at a shop in Detroit, suspected of shoplifting a pair of Shoes. She made a run for it and hid in a garbage compactor, where she was crushed to death when workers returned from a break and started the machine.

7. Joni Phelps, aged 54, became the first blind woman to climb Mt. McKinley on this date in 1993. She'd been blind since she was 30. She and her two sons had taken 16 days to reach the summit.

8. Think your wedding is beset by disasters? Spare a thought for Amadeus I and Donna Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, whose wedding on this day in 1867 was almost certainly much worse. The best man shot himself. The Palace Gatekeeper slit his throat. The King's aide died after falling from his Horse. The bride's wardrobe mistress hanged herself. The colonel leading the wedding procession collapsed from sunstroke. The stationmaster was crushed to death under the wheels of the honeymoon train. Puts the car arriving late and the youngest bridesmaid puking over her dress into perspective.

9. In 1992, Southfork, the Ewing family ranch from the TV show Dallas was sold for $2.6 million to one Rex Maughan.

10. In 1925, Percy Fawcett, a British explorer, entered the jungle on the Brazil-Bolivia border in search of a lost city. He vanished. Several rescue parties went to look for him, and also vanished.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

Paperback

Kindle

31 May

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 31 May:

1. On this date in 1742, Evelyn Lady Montefiore Carew and Sir Godfrey Haslitt were married. Evelyn's mother had been so desperate for her daughter to marry the incredibly rich Sir Godfrey, that she'd pledged both their souls to the devil in exchange for an aphrodisiac to put in his drink. It appeared to have worked, but according to legend, a skeletal bishop and several equally flesh-challenged companions arrived in a coach at midnight and carried the bride off. The coach crashed on Potter Heigham Bridge and fell into the river in flames. The dramatic accident is said to recur on May 31 each year.

2. Another wedding took place in 1991. The oldest bride on record, Minnie Munro, aged 102, married her toyboy, Dudley Reid, 19 years her junior at 83, in Australia.

3. This date in 1872 saw the birth of William Heath Robinson, an English illustrator, creator of fantastic machines. Robinson’s cartoons are still popular, and to this day, the term ‘Heath Robinson’ is used as shorthand for an improbable, fantastic machine.

4. In 1976, The Who played at the Charlton Athletic Grounds and got into the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest rock band ever, when their set measured 120 decibels.

5. It was on this date in 2001 that John Prescott, British MP and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was pelted with Eggs by protester Craig Evans, and responded by punching Evans in the face. As it happened, it was Prescott's 63rd birthday.

6. In 1889 artist Francis Barraud showed one of his paintings to William Barry Owen, the general manager of the Gramophone Company in Maiden Lane. The painting was of his dog, Nipper, listening to a phonograph. Owen paid £50 for the picture, with one alteration, that the dog be depicted listening to a gramophone, and £50 for the copyright of ‘His Master’s Voice’, which would became the Company’s famous trademark.

7. Born on this date in 1930 was Clint Eastwood, US actor and director and later Mayor of Carmel-by-the-sea, California. His films include Dirty Harry, A Fistful of Dollars, Unforgiven, In the Line of Fire and The Bridges Of Madison County.

8. In 1927, the last "Tin Lizzie" car came off the production line, almost unchanged since it was introduced as the model T Ford in 1908.

9. In 1908, Belgium saw its first passenger in an aeroplane. Her name was Miss Pottelsberghe de la Pottery.

10. In 1909, Count Zeppelin set a new record of 37 hours in an airship, but when landing to refuel in Stuttgart, he crashed into a Pear tree.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

Paperback

Kindle

29 May

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 29 May:

1. In 1993 Cecile Le Doc, previously described as "a docile woman", beat her husband to death with their 18lb turtle, Henri, after a row which woke the occupants of their entire block of flats in Nice, France.

2. In 1660, on his 30th birthday, Charles II arrived in London to be restored as King of England after the Puritan Commonwealth.

3. On this date in 1913, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring choreographed by Nijinsky, opened in Paris. Some of the audience took umbrage at its sensuality and the disturbing music and complained loudly. The rest the audience were enjoying the performance, and tried to shut them up. Police were called to quell the resulting riot in the theatre. The worst offenders were ejected, but fighting continued throughout the performance. The producers of the show deemed it a great success.

4. The first episode of The Archers was broadcast on BBC Radio on this date in 1950.

5. 1953 Edmund Hillary and his guides became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was first. Of their activity at the summit, Hillary said, “We made seats for ourselves in the snow, and sitting there in reasonable comfort we ate with relish a bar of mintcake.” Tenzing Norgay didn't know his exact date of birth, only that it was in late May 1914. After his ascent of Everest, he decided to celebrate his birthday on 29 May from that day onwards.

6. 59 years later, climbing Everest had become less of an achievement. In this date in 2012, more than 150 runners completed the world's highest marathon on Mount Everest.

7. In 1982, Pope Paul II became the first Pope in 450 years to visit Britain, and the first to pray side by side with the Archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury Cathedral.

8. In 1912, 15 young women were fired by Curtis Publishing for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break.

9. In 1977, Nigel Short, aged 11, qualified as the youngest ever competitor in a national Chess championship.

10. In 1988, the world's longest scarf was completed. It was 20 miles and 13 feet long.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

Paperback

Kindle

28 May

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 28 May:

1. This date in 1759 saw the birth of William Pitt the Younger, who became the youngest ever British Prime Minister in 1783, aged 24. He is known as "William Pitt the Younger" to distinguish him from his father, William Pitt the Elder, who also served as Prime Minister. On meeting the King for the first time, in response to the observation that he was very young, he replied, “I think we can rely on time to remedy that.”

2. Born this date in 1934 were the Dionne Quintuplets (Annette Cécile, Émilie, Marie, Yvonne), first identical quintuplets known to survive infancy. Born to a poor family, where there were already five children, they were taken from their parents and exploited as a kind of side show, with people paying to view them.

3. In 1858, Erasmus Bond patented Tonic water

4. In 1881, periwinkles fell on Worcester during a severe thunderstorm.

5. In 1959, two Monkeys, Able and Baker, went into space on Jupiter and became the first animals to return safely to Earth.

6. In 1742, the first indoor swimming pool opened in Goodman's Fields, London.

7. In 1982, Barcelona soccer club bought Argentine football prodigy Diego Maradona from his junior club for a record $9,250,000.

8. In 1898, the Shroud of Turin was first photographed by Secundo Pia in Turin's Cathedral, where it had rested for 320 years.

9. The first historical event for which the exact date is known took place on this date in 585 BC. It was a battle between the Medes and the Lydians, which was called off when both armies were frightened by an Eclipse of the Sun.

10. In 1987, West German pilot Mathias Rust, 19, evaded Soviet air defence and landed his Cessna plane in Red Square in Moscow.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

Paperback

Kindle

27 May

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 27 May:

1. This date in 1818 was the birth date of Amelia Jenks Bloomer, American women's rights and temperance advocate, who popularised ``bloomers'', the garment which bears her name.

2. Today was a good day for births of classic horror movie actors. Vincent Price was born on this date in 1911. He's best known for roles in horror films such as House on Haunted Hill, The Comedy of Terrors and Bloodbath at the House of Death. In 1922, Christopher Lee was born. He's famous for portraying villains and his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. I'm wondering how close we were to the hat trick, since Peter Cushing celebrated his birthday yesterday.

3. In 1703, Czar Peter the Great founded the city of St Petersburg as Russia's new capital. St. Petersburg is today the most northern city in the world with a population of over one million.

4. In 1951, the first Goon Show was broadcast by the BBC.

5. In 1989, Cliff Richard released his 100th single, The Best Of Me.

6. In 1985, Britain’s longest Daisy chain was made near Chelmsford, Essex. It was 6,980 feet long and took 16 villagers 7 hours to make.

7. In 1992 "Big Snow" of Deuchar, Queensland, Australia, weighed in as the world's heaviest Chicken at 23 pounds.

8. On this date in 1931, men reached the stratosphere for the first time. Swiss scientists Auguste Piccard and Charles Kipfer reached 51,775 feet in a sealed-gondola balloon in Germany.

9. In 1955, President Truman confessed on Ed Murrow's Person to Person show that he believed that the White House was haunted.

10. In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting American President to visit Hiroshima. Obama called for nations to reconsider the development of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them.

The Power of Love

Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic  ordering  and the significance of chance  encounters. She believes there's a spiritual  explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into  mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of  her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.  

A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.

Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.

When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.

Available from Amazon:

Paperback

Kindle