4 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 4 December: 

1. Born this date in 1865 was Edith Cavell, an English nurse in Brussels during the first world war, who was accused of helping Allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium over the Dutch border. She was executed by the Germans for that. She was quoted as saying, "I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved".
2. In 1861, Queen Victoria forbade the export of Gunpowder, firearms and all materials for their production.
3. According to Carl Perkins, this evening in 1955 is the night that inspired his classic hit Blue Suede Shoes. He played at a Jackson, Tennessee High School Dance and noticed a teenage boy telling his date off for stepping on his shoes.
4. In 2006, an adult giant squid was finally caught on video by Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo.
5. President Wilson set sailed for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference on this date in 1918, becoming the first President to travel internationally while in office.
6. In 1958, a Cessna 172 took off from Las Vegas, NV, and didn't land for 64 days, the world's longest aeroplane flight. The pilots were Bob Timm and John Cook, with refuelling done in flight.
7. In 1998, Nicholas Bourne from London became the first person to run the length of Africa, 6,300 miles South Africa to Egypt. It had taken him 10 months and 30 pairs of Shoes.
8. Killer fogs, "Smog" began in London on this date in 1952. More than 4,000 people died in three weeks.
9. In1995, a diamond necklace and bracelet, wedding gifts from the Queen, were stolen from the Duchess of York during a flight from Washington to London, by baggage handler Gilbert Terrero.
10. American brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic ocean between the Azores and Portugal on this date in 1872, by the British ship Dei Gratia. The Marie Celeste had set sail from New York on November 7, bound for Genoa. The ship was deserted. The captain, Benjamin S. Briggs, and his entire crew of eight were missing, as was the wife and daughter of the captain. The ship was hardly damaged, other than slight damage to the rigging. The cargo of 1,700 barrels of alcohol was untouched. The captain's table was set for a meal which was never eaten. There was no message aboard, or any indication of what could have happened to the crew and passengers.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

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