8 April: Worcestershire

The Worcestershire Flag was registered with the Flag Institute on 8 April 2013 as the winning entry of a BBC Hereford & Worcester competition. The designer is Elaine Truby. It was first flown in a ceremony at Worcester Cathedral on that day. The flag features three black Pears – a symbol said to have been used by Worcestershire units at the Battle of Agincourt. 10 things you might not know about Worcestershire:

1. The county borders Herefordshire to the west, Shropshire to the north-west, Staffordshire to the north, West Midlands to the north and north-east, Warwickshire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south. It has two major rivers, the Severn and the Avon.
2. The English Civil War began and ended in Worcestershire. The first battle was fought at Powick Bridge in 1642, and the last at Worcester in 1651.
3. One of the things the county is famous for is its sauce. Worcestershire Sauce is spicy condiment for savoury dishes. It was invented by two chemists, John Wheeler Lea and William Henry Perrins, in Worcester in the early 1800s.
4. More Asparagus is grown in Worcestershire than anywhere else in the UK.
5. William Shakespeare and Ann Hathaway were married at the Bishops Court in Worcester rather than in Stratford upon Avon, because the marriage was quite scandalous at the time and they wanted to avoid the wagging tongues at home. He was 18, which at that time meant he was still a minor, she was 8 years older than him and pregnant.
6. It’s said that the county was the inspiration for the Shire, the place where the Hobbits live in Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins' house "Bag End" is said to have been named after Tolkien’s Aunt Jane’s Worcestershire farm. Tolkien wrote of Worcestershire, "Any corner of that county (however fair or squalid) is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is."
7. Shrek the Third was set in Worcestershire, too, partly because director Chris Miller thought there was a lot of comic potential in the tendency of Americans to pronounce it wrong. And because he liked the sauce.
8. Berrow’s Worcester Journal, first published in 1753 is thought to be the world’s oldest newspaper.
9. Composer Edward Elgar and Sir Rowland Hill, inventor of the Postage stamp, were both born in Worcestershire. Elgar’s father, William, had a music shop in Worcester and Hill’s father ran a school. Rowland was a teacher at the school when he was 12.
10. In the Middle Ages, the county's economy was based on the wool trade. In the 19th century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of Gloves; the town of Kidderminster was a centre for carpet manufacture, while Redditch specialised in the manufacture of Needles, springs and hooks. Droitwich Spa was situated on large deposits of Salt, so became a centre of salt production in Roman times.

Character Birthday

Dominic “Machine Gun” Pozzi, a gangster from New York. His weapon of choice is, as you may well have guessed already, a machine gun.

7 April: David Frost quotes:

David Frost, satirist and broadcaster was born on this date in 1939. 10 David Frost Quotes:

1. Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
2. Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home.
3. Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee.
4. Love is when each person is more concerned for the other than for one's self.
5. Diplomacy, n. is the art of letting somebody else have your way.
6. Love is staying up all night with a sick child – or a healthy adult.
7. The creed of the Inland Revenue is simple: "If we can bring one little smile to one little face today, then somebody's slipped up somewhere."
8. A broad definition of crime in England is that it is any lower-class activity that is displeasing to the upper class.
9. Being upbeat is the key to life.
10. He's turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he's miserable and depressed.

Character Birthday

Blackblade, criminal from Classica in the Infinitus dimension. Having heard there might be rich pickings on the famed Bird Island, he went there, and was caught up in a wormhole to Earth created by a nuclear test. He survived in this new dimension in the best way he knew how – by violent robbery. He travelled throughout the UK, raping and pillaging and facing most of the well-known crime fighters of the time. The media dubbed him "The Black Knight". This came to the attention of Professor Power, who persuaded him to join the Power League. Blackblade is supremely confident and believes himself to be the best swordsman in the universe. Hence he believes that anyone else who takes up a sword is challenging him, whether they directly engage in combat with him or not. He appears in Obsidian’s Ark.

Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

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6 April: Waterloo Day: ABBA

Today is Waterloo Day, when fans of the Swedish group ABBA, them winning the 19th Eurovision song contest for Sweden singing Waterloo. 10 things you might not know about ABBA.

1. The four members of the group are Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome.
2. They weren’t all born in Sweden. Anni-Frid Lyngstad was born in Bjørkåsen, Norway, after her mother had an affair with a German soldier. She was brought up believing he’d died when his ship sank on the way back to Germany, but found out when she was 30 that he was still alive and eventually met him.
3. At the age of 18, Benny was a member of a popular group in Sweden called the Hep Stars. Their repertoire included covers of international hits, and they were known as “the Swedish Beatles”. Björn fronted the Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk–skiffle group.
4. They were known for the outrageous outfits they wore on stage. There was a financial reason for them. Stage outfits weren’t tax deductible in Sweden unless they were only usable for performances. So they wore things they’d never wear in the street for tax reasons.
5. They first performed together in 1970. The two couples had gone on holiday to Cyprus together and started singing on the beach, just for the fun of it, but it ended up being an improvised gig for the soldiers stationed there.
6. Their first hit in Sweden was called "Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier.
7. Waterloo was voted the best ever Eurovision song in 2020. However, at the time, the UK didn’t appreciate the song and actually gave it no points.
8. The Lion King soundtrack was almost written by ABBA. They were approached by Tim Rice and asked to collaborate, although the rest of the production team weren’t convinced. ABBA declined, in any case.
9. The official logo, with the backward "B," was designed by Rune Söderqvist, the designer of most of their record covers.
10. The band had to engage in some legal negotiations in order to use the name ABBA, because it was also the name of a Swedish herring producer.

Character Birthday

Veronica Black, Viper agent married to fellow agent Douglas Black, a teacher, whose role was to groom future agents at the Viper approved boarding school. She appears in Killing Me Softly, where she seduces Sebastian Garrett and his cohorts, so that they will not waste time and energy on trying to lose their virginity to the detriment of their training.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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5 April: 95

Today is the 95^th day of the year. 10 things you might not know about the number 95:

1. Interstate 95 is a freeway that runs from Florida to Maine.
2. +95 is the dialling code for the Union of Myanmar.
3. It’s the racing number of Lightning McQueen, the main character in Disney-Pixar's film Cars.
4. It’s also the number on the steam locomotive Woody is seen driving at the beginning of Toy Story 3. This is a reference to Lightning McQueen’s racing number and the year the first Toy Story was released.
5. The Bay Ridge–95th Street is the southern terminal station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. The station is located in Brooklyn and is served by the R train.
6. In London, the 95 bus route runs between Southall Broadway and Shepherds Bush Green.
7. The STS-95 Space Shuttle Discovery mission was the historic second space flight for Senator John Glenn.
8. 95 is the atomic number of Americium, a synthetic radioactive chemical element with the symbol Am. In the periodic table, it is located under the element europium, and thus by analogy was named after the Americas.
9. The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences was written by Martin Luther, professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany in 1517.
10. In numerology the influence of 95 brings intelligence and curiosity and an interest in many things. Interests can change quickly and often, but there will always be an interest in the right of everyone to be free and express themselves freely. The circumstances of the number 95 tend to have a preponderance of changing life circumstances — travel, meeting new people, being exposed to new ideas, being enticed by new ways of looking at things. 95 endeavours to try as many different things as possible; not to become an expert, but for the experience.

Character Birthday

Sea Raven, aka Roberta Swanson. She has the power of flight and can survive underwater. She is from the Channel Island of Jersey, and went to school in England where she was part of the friendship group which included Ivory, Jade and Gloria. After school she returned home and joined the coastguard. Her powers were a gift from some grateful aliens she helped rescue when their spacecraft crash landed in the Channel.

4 April: 94

Today is the 94^th day of the year. 10 fun facts about the number 94:

1. 94 is the atomic number of Plutonium.
2. The Space Shuttle Columbia was designated STS-94.
3. In London, the number 94 Bus runs between Acton Green and Piccadilly Circus.
4. 94 in Roman numerals is XCIV.
5. In binary it’s 1011110.
6. Spoof articles in Private Eye magazine often end halfway through a sentence followed by the words: “continued on page 94”. Needless to say the magazine never has that many pages.
7. Haydn’s Surprise Symphony is his 94^th.
8. +94 is the code for international direct dial phone calls to Sri Lanka.
9. Shakespeare’s sonnet 94 is the one that begins “They that have power to hurt and will do none.”
10. In numerology, people influenced by this number are realistic and goal oriented. They’ll have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and the steps they need to take to get there. They’ll focus on their goal and not give up or be easily distracted.

Character Birthday

Quatro, alien solo hero with a special affinity for the number 4. While she doesn’t have a birth date translatable to Earth dates, she has adopted April 4 as her birthday because of her liking for the number 4. She is a probability alterer and claims she has powers because she is the fourth daughter of a fourth daughter of a fourth daughter of a fourth daughter. In her culture, it is a sin to harm any four-legged creature; four-sided shapes are sacred. Spheres and circles are seen as evil.

3 April: Jane Goodall Quotes

On Jane Goodall’s birthday, 10 quotes from her:

1. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.
2. The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
3. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
4. Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help shall all be saved.
5. The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.
6. If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.
7. One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.
8. You may not believe in evolution, and that’s alright. How we humans came to be the way we are is far less important than how we should act now to get out of the mess we have made for ourselves.
9. It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.
10. Forgiveness is how we unchain ourselves from the past.

Character Birthday

Enigma, Villain associated with The Chain Gang, the most wanted person after The Fox was caught. He has the power to create illusions, which he first used to escape the orphanage he was placed in when his parents were killed in a car crash. Over the years, he developed a number of personas and aliases, including that of London night-club owner Terry Robinson. The club was a going concern in its own right, but also used as a cover for Enigma's shady but more profitable activities. He appears in A Very Variant Christmas.

2 April: Dallas

American soap opera Dallas was first broadcast on this date in 1978. Here are 10 things you might not know about the show:

1. It wasn’t originally going to be set in Dallas at all, but in Houston, which is more associated with the oil industry. However, producers decided that “Dallas” sounded better as a title than “Houston”.
2. The only character to appear in every single episode is JR. However, he wasn’t intended to be the main character – that was supposed to be Pam, who was the link between the two rival families, Barnes and Ewing, when she, a Barnes, eloped with Bobby Ewing in the first episode. Larry Hagman’s performance as JR was so good, however, that he soon stole the show.
3. The house used as the "Southfork Ranch" house was a real Texas residence called "Duncan Acres", owned by Joe R. Duncan. When the house started attracting huge numbers of tourists. the Duncan family sold it, and it is now a museum devoted to the show.
4. The first couple of seasons were only a modest success. It wasn’t until the “Who shot JR” plotline beginning as a cliffhanger at the end of season 2, that it because a worldwide phenomenon. JR had so many enemies, even the producers had a hard time choosing who did it, and filmed several of the actors firing the shot before deciding it would be (spoiler alert) Kirstin. The episode in which this was revealed was the highest rating for a single episode of a television series in American history until M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen in 1983. The actual gun is now on display in the above mentioned museum.
5. The whole of season nine was essentially a Dream sequence. At the end of season eight, Bobby Ewing is killed off in a car accident, because Patrick Duffy, who played him, had had enough and wanted to play other roles. However, it didn’t work out for him and producers started looking at ways to bring him back. Duffy’s wife came up with the shower idea. When Duffy mentioned to her the possibility of Bobby making a comeback, she said, ‘You can only do that if the whole last season was a dream.’
6. JR’s wife, Sue Ellen, wasn’t even named in the pilot episode as she didn’t have much screen time. However, the Sue Ellen is an alcoholic storyline brought her more to the forefront. At one point, Linda Gray, who played her, was fired because she had the temerity to ask for a pay rise and the chance to direct an episode like the male actors. Larry Hagman threatened to walk, too, claiming that there could be no J.R without Sue-Ellen, and the producers had to relent. Gray finally left in 1989 because she grew sick of playing an alcoholic.
7. Dallas was broadcast in over 90 countries and dubbed into 67 languages. For a time, it was banned in Romania, until Nicolae Ceaușescu was tricked into believing it was anti-capitalist, and therefore safe for Romanians to watch. Some people believe that Dallas was what caused the downfall of the Soviet Union.
8. Larry Hagman (JR) was only nine years younger than Barbara Bel Geddes, who played his mother.
9. There’s a computer game based on the series. It’s called The Dallas Quest and was released for the Commodore 64 computer in 1984. The premise of the game is that Sue Ellen summons the player to Southfork to find a map of an oil field and return it to her. If the player is able to thwart J.R. and return the map, they’ll receive $2 million. Players spent most of the game fighting off angry cattle, monkeys, and angry Ewings.
10. The show ended in 1991 after 14 seasons. At the end, JR, who had lost everything and been drinking so much he was hallucinating, and had a vision of how the world would have been without him. He picks up a gun, intent on shooting himself. In the final scene, Bobby is seen going into the room and a shot is fired. However, in the Dallas reunion movie JR Returns it is revealed that JR shot his reflection in the mirror, and thus lived to win his company back and make Bobby and Sue Ellen partners.

Character Birthday

Asad, probability alterer with Combat Team Delta. Asad was working for a secret organisation in Iraq researching weapons production. He was working specifically on the probability altering device. For reasons unknown, he defected, taking the device with him. He is wanted in Iraq for treason and is sought after by bounty hunters. The name "Asad" derives from a snide remark made by team-mate Ego Master and is an abbreviation of "All Singing, All Dancing”.