8 June: Carmina Burana

On this date in 1937, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana premièred in Frankfurt. 10 things you might not know about it:

1. 'Carmina' means 'songs', while 'Burana' is the Latinised form of Beuren, the name of the Benedictine monastery in Benediktbeuren, Bavaria. So, Carmina Burana translates as “Songs Of Beuren”.

2. Its full title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones Profanae Cantoribus Et Choris Cantandae Comitantibus Instrumentis Atque Imaginibus Magicis (Songs Of Beuren: Secular Songs For Singers And Choruses To Be Sung Together With Instruments And Magic Images).

3. It’s an adaptation of a collection of early 13th-century songs and poems discovered in Beuren in 1803, although it was later discovered that the collection originated from Seckau Abbey, Austria. The originals are now kept in the Bavarian State Library.

4. The originals were written in Latin and High German. At some point someone translated the old texts into English and here’s where Carl Orff came in, when he came across the translation in 1934, and decided to set some of them to Music.

5. The subject matter isn’t really what you’d expect to come out of a Benedictine monastery: the fickleness of fortune, drinking, gambling, gluttony, the joy of the return of spring, and lust.

6. Carmina Burana is divided into three sections – Springtime, In the Tavern and The Court Of Love – each preceded by and ending with an invocation to Fortune.

7. One of the invocations to Fortune is the best known part of the piece: O Fortuna. It has been used in advertisements to sell coffee, beer, pizza, soft drinks and aftershave (Old Spice). It’s often used in film and TV shows, too, including: the film Excalibur, when King Arthur and his knights ride into battle; Glee; The X Factor; Britain’s Got Talent and Cheaper by the Dozen. The video game “World of Warcraft” uses the song as the main theme for a log in screen.

8. After initial concern about the erotic lyrics, the Nazi regime in Germany liked it a lot. It has been suggested that its rhythms were reminiscent of the “stamping columns of the Third Reich”. Expecting the UK Tory party to start using it any day now. That said, in the words of Alex Ross, "the music itself commits no sins simply by being and remaining popular.”

9. The premiere of Carmina Burana went so well that Orff, then 41, wrote to his publishers: “Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, published, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana my collected works begin.”

10. When he was 80, Orff collaborated with director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle to make a film version with acting and choreography.

Character birthday

Rupert Garrett, Viper agent and father of Sebastian, the Viper Assassin featured in Killing Me Softly.

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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7 June: 158

Today is the 158^th day of the year. Here are 10 fun facts about the number 158:

1. The year 158 was a common year starting on Saturday. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos.

2. 158 is a song by the Indie-rock band Blackbud.

3. The British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992.

4. 158 Koronis is a main-belt Asteroid discovered by Russian astronomer Viktor Knorre in 1876. It was the first of his four asteroid discoveries. The meaning of the asteroid name is uncertain, but it may come from Coronis the mother of Asclepius from Greek mythology. Alternatively, it may come from Coronis, a nymph of the Hyades sisterhood.

5. The A158 is a road in England which runs between Lincoln to Skegness. The road is located entirely in the county of Lincolnshire and is single carriageway for almost its entirety. The road is approximately 40 miles (64 km) long.

6. The 158-Pound Marriage is the third novel by American author John Irving. The book explores the sexual revolution-era trend of "swinging" (partner-swapping) via a glimpse into the lives of two couples in a small New England college town who enter casually into such an affair, with disastrous consequences.

7. In London, bus route 158 runs between Chingford Mount and Stratford Bus Station.

8. The 1998 song "Here We Go" from The Bouncing Souls’ Tie One On CD includes the lyrics "Me, Shal Pete and Lamar thumbed down the ramp of Exit 158".

9. 158 is the atomic number of a theoretical element temporarily called unpentoctium.

10. In numerology, 158 represents curiosity and freedom of expression. Those under its influence are interested in pretty much everything, and enjoy play, imagination and fun. They are witty and enjoy social interaction but are also comfortable alone.

Character birthday

Boulder, aka Adam O’Donnell, a member of the G Men. He is large, with craggy skin like rock. For the first years of his life, he lived hidden away in the family home, until his sister needed to be taken to hospital and he was the only person around. It was here that he was picked up by the G-Men and chose to go and live in Ultra Grav’s mansion, where he would be able to go outside in the grounds without being seen by outsiders. He was sensitive about his condition and at first found it hard to fit in with the rest of the team, who all appeared normal. However, in time he befriended Dynamite, a young woman who was just three feet tall and had pure white hair. The two became close.

His story is told in the short story Heart of Stone in the Sweet Karma collection.

Sweet Karma

More murder and mayhem along with moving statues, Ancient Egyptian magic pebbles, a World War II evacuee's diary and a bathtub full of marshmallows.

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6 June: Diego Velázquez

On this date in 1599 Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter of the Baroque period, was baptised. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. His full name was Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez. His parents were Juan Rodríguez de Silva, a notary, and Jerónima Velázquez. It’s possibly because he was from a family of Portuguese immigrants that he had his mother’s surname.

2. When he was about 12, he was apprenticed to Francisco Pacheco, an artist and teacher in Seville, for six years.

3. About a year after the apprenticeship ended, Velázquez married his teacher’s daughter, Juana Pacheco.

4. Velázquez’s early paintings were mostly bodegones (ie, kitchen scenes with prominent still-life), an example being Old Woman Frying Eggs. Some of these, like Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha, had religious scenes in the background.

5. His early style was realist, but after a tour of Italy in 1629, his work became more impressionistic.

6. There are only a couple of paintings of nudes surviving from this period, thanks to the Spanish Inquisition, and one of these is by Velázquez. It’s called the Rokeby Venus. Nobody knows who his model was, or whether it was painted in Spain or Italy. Painting nudes at that times was pretty rebellious, especially when the artist used live naked models, as Velázquez did, rather than copying from a book.

7. Francisco Pacheco had contacts with the Spanish royal family at the time and introduced Velázquez to the court. Velazquez’s first job was painting a portrait of Count-Duke of Olivares, who was so impressed that he recommended his services to King Philip IV himself. Velázquez became, in due course, the king’s go-to painter when he wanted a portrait of himself or his children. In a time when Spain was suffering financial hardships, Velázquez was the only painter in court who was getting paid a salary. It might have helped that he took on other roles, too, like wardrobe assistant and superintendent of palace works.

8. Velázquez had an assistant called Juan de Pareja, who was actually a slave, and who accompanied Velázquez on his trip to Italy in 1649. In 1650 Velázquez granted Juan his freedom, and the former slave went on to become a renowned artist in his own right.

9. Velázquez was not prolific; he is estimated to have produced between 110 and 120 known paintings, and no etchings or engravings. Only a few drawings are attributed to him.

10. Velázquez was given decoration responsibilities for Maria Theresa’s wedding to Louis XIV, which took place on the Island of Pheasants, a small swampy island in the Bidassoa. It could well be that this job was the death of him, because soon after his return to Madrid, he went down with a fever and died a few weeks later on August 6, 1660, at the age of 61. His wife Juana also died about a week later and was buried beside him.

Character birthday

Emma, a princess from another dimension who was brought to ours to be adopted by an unwitting couple in England to keep her safe from troubles embroiling her home at the time. For much of her life she was unaware of her origins. She grew up and attended university where she met and started a relationship with Daniel Moran (Sword Keeper). Soon after that, a delegation from her home world came to seek her out and take her home. It happened that portals between the dimensions could only be used by genetic variants, which meant Daniel could go with her.

5 June: Elderberries

In the French Revolutionary Calendar, this date was the Day of the Elderberry. 10 things you might not know about elderberries:

1. The scientific name for elder is Sambucus nigra. They belong to the Adoxaceae family, although in the past, they were classified as belonging to the Honeysuckle family.

2. It’s thought the name elder comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'aeld', meaning Fire, because the hollow stems were used as bellows to blow air into the centre of a fire. Hollowed elderberry twigs have also been used to tap maple trees for syrup, and used as flutes, blowguns, and syringes.

3. Elder grows in temperate to subtropical regions, often near farms and homes. It likes soil rich in nitrogen and so is often found near places where there is organic waste. It’s often found near Rabbit warrens or Badger setts, where the animals distribute the seed via their droppings.

4. It is also known as the ‘Judas tree’ as Judas Iscariot is said to have hanged himself from an elder tree.

5. It’s said that planting elder near your home will keep Witches and the devil away, although burning the wood is said in some traditions to summon the devil, and witches are said to congregate under the trees, especially when they are full of fruit.

6. According to folklore, if an elder tree is cut down, a spirit known as the Elder Mother would be released and take her revenge. Chanting a rhyme to the Elder Mother as you cut the tree down will protect you from her wrath.

7. The fruits of elderberry are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B Vitamins, and minerals like Zinc, Iron, selenium, calcium, and manganese. However, eating of unripe berries or any other part of the plant isn’t a good idea because they’re toxic, containing cyanide, and could kill you.

8. St-Germain, a French liqueur, is made from elderflowers, and Hallands Fläder, a Swedish akvavit, is flavoured with them.

9. Elton John's 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player features a song titled "Elderberry Wine".

10. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, John Cleese as the French Taunter tells the knights of Camelot, "Your mother was a Hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries."

Character birthday

Priestess of Punk: Priscilla Brinkley was born into a middle class family. At fifteen, she became disillusioned with school and tired of the athletics and gymnastics teams she belonged to. She adopted a punk lifestyle. To begin with, it was purely to alienate her family. Her romance with Chris Lang, the most aggressive, violent and debauched member of the gang was initially begun because she knew her family wouldn't approve. She moved into a squat with him. Eventually, the house was sold. Priscilla and Chris waited for the new owner to arrive, intent on killing him; but the new owner was Leopold Smythe-Warner, another middle class punk, who was delighted to find squatters living in his house. Rather than throw them out, he moved in with them. In due course, Priscilla dumped Chris for Leopold. Also living in the house was a mutated rat, Ratty Scrawny Punko, who became their pet.

4 June: Pall Mall

On this date in 1807 Pall Mall became the first London street to be lit by gaslight. 10 facts about Pall Mall:

1. It was named after a game. The game of pall mall was popular in the 17^th century and was similar to croquet. It is said to have originated in Italy where Pallamaglio loosely translates as ‘ball mallet’, and introduced to England by James I. Samuel Pepys's diary entry for 2 April 1661 says: "I went into St. James's Park, where I saw the Duke of York playing at Pelemele, the first time that I ever saw the sport". In 1630, St James's Field, London's first pall-mall court, was laid out to the north of the Haymarket, in the area where Pall Mall is today.

2. It’s also found within a game. Pall Mall is part of a group of three squares on the British Monopoly board game, the other two being Whitehall and Northumberland Avenue. All three streets converge at Trafalgar Square. Pall Mall is in the lowest-priced third of properties on the Monopoly board, but in real life even a small flat there would set you back over £1 million.

3. The street is around 0.4 miles (0.64 km) long.

4. Historical research suggests there has been a road in this location since Saxon times. The earliest written references are from the 12th century in connection with a leper colony at St James's Hospital.

5. One of the things Pall Mall is known for is high class shopping. Two of the historical shops include that of the Vulliamy family, who made Clocks at No. 68 between 1765 and 1854; and Robert Dodsley’s bookshop at No. 52, where he suggested the idea of a dictionary to Samuel Johnson.

6. The world’s oldest shopping arcade is here, called the Royal Opera Arcade, because it was built on the west side of the Royal Opera House, now Her Majesty’s Theatre. It survived a fire which destroyed the theatre in 1867. Royal Opera Arcade was designed by John Nash and his assistant George Repton.

7. Carlton House Terrace is home to the only Nazi-era memorial in London. Before the second world war, the German Embassy was based here. Giro, the ambassador's German shepherd, tragically died in 1934, electrocuted trying to chew through the Embassy’s wire fence. Giro’s grave, with its headstone, is still there.

8. In 1814 the Royal Academy, the National Gallery and Christie's auction house were all based on this street.

9. Most of the property on the south side belongs to the crown, the exception being number 79, which was given to the trustees of Nell Gwyn, mistress to Charles II. Aside from Nell Gwyn, some famous residents of Pall Mall include Richard Cosway, Thomas Gainsborough and Giacomo Casanova. King George V was born here in 1865.

10. The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening Newspaper founded in London in 1865 by George Murray Smith. It was absorbed into The Evening Standard in 1923. Prior to that it made several appearances in fiction. Sherlock Holmes places an advertisement in The Pall Mall Gazette, in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, and a Pall Mall Gazette article describing the escape of a wolf from the Zoological Gardens appears in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Character birthday

Captain Australia, aka Bruce Foster, He grew up in Melbourne and excelled at all types of sport. Went to university in Sydney although mostly for the opportunities to play sports and compete. When he realised his strength was beyond normal human limits, he began styling himself as a somewhat tongue-in-cheek Australian superhero.

3 June: Newcastle Upon Tyne

On this date in 1882 Newcastle Upon Tyne granted city status. 10 things you might not know about Newcastle:

1. It was once a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius ("Hadrian's bridge"), which consisted of a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne. The name Newcastle derives from the castle.

2. People from the area are sometimes referred to as ‘Geordies’. This might be because during the Jacobite rebellion, Newcastle refused to let the rebels into the city because they supported King George II and that is where the nickname comes from. There’s an alternative theory that it came from George Stephenson of Newcastle, inventor of the miner’s lamp.

3. Newcastle is believed to be the coldest major city in England, but it is also one of the driest cities in the UK, because it is in the Rain shadow of the North Pennines.

4. The city is home to the first covered train station in the world, which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1850. Newcastle Central Station is today one of only six Grade I listed railway stations in the UK.

5. The cathedral was built in 1448 and is dedicated to St Nicholas. It was also used as a Lighthouse. A fire would be lit in the tower to help sailors navigate up the river.

6. The Geordie accent has been voted the friendliest accent in the UK, and the city also boasts the most different shades of red hair (47) in the world.

7. Windscreen wipers were invented in Newcastle, by one Gladstone Adams, who was the official photographer of Newcastle United Football Club. On his way back from photographing the FA cup final in London in 1908 it was snowing and he had to stop several times to clear his windscreen, which led to the idea. Though he filed for a patent, though, it was never manufactured. American inventor Mary Anderson invented the wiper we use today.

8. Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle. It was built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1835 and 1842. The buildings include Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. There are a lot of listed buildings here: of Grainger Town's 450 buildings, 244 are listed. 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II.

9. Mosley Street was the first street in the world to be illuminated by electric light.

10. King Charles I was held prisoner here by the Scots for a year, between 1646 and 1647, in a building called Anderson House. The building is still there, and is now a branch of Lloyds Bank.

Character birthday

Cheshire Cat, aka Julian Lorimer. When he was a young teenager, Julian began to appear transparent, as if fading from view. His mother sought medical advice and was in due course referred to James Lovell (Unicorn) who confirmed that he was a genetic variant and that his natural state was to be invisible. He was given neutralising wristbands so he would remain visible and allow him to attend medical school. During his training, he met Superwil and became his student and apprentice as a medical practitioner for genetic variants. He would help with routine work at Superwil's surgery while continuing his studies to become a plastic surgeon. He met Tina Bryant (Two Tone) at a medical school dance. She had disguised her appearance by absorbing Harlequin's illusory power. When Julian discovered what she truly looked like, it did not change his feelings for her and they became a couple. However, aware that her birthmark bothered her, once he qualified as a plastic surgeon, he arranged for her to have it removed. He appears in the short story, The Cinderella Syndrome, in Sweet Karma.

Sweet Karma

More murder and mayhem along with moving statues, Ancient Egyptian magic pebbles, a World War II evacuee's diary and a bathtub full of marshmallows.

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2 June: The sense of smell

This week is National Fragrance Week, so here are 10 things you didn't know about the sense of smell:

1. Just as there are a handful of basic tastes, scientists have identified seven basic smells: musky, putrid, pungent, camphoraceous (mothballs), ethereal, floral and minty. It is thought all scents are a mixture of these.

2. That said, humans can identify at least one trillion different smells. Our noses have 10 million smell receptors. We can smell fear, disgust, happiness and even sexual arousal on other people, thanks to pheromones in sweat.

3. This is pretty pathetic, though, when compared to what many animals can do. Dogs, for example, have about 44% more smell receptors than we do and can pick up even more smells, and from further away.

4. Women have a more developed sense of smell than men, and it varies depending on where they are in the menstrual cycle. The human sense of smell peaks at around the age of 18 or 19, and starts to decline after that.

5. Sense of smell also varies with the seasons. It's easier to detect aromas in the Spring and Summer than in the Autumn and winter, because of seasonal variations in humidity. We're also better at identifying smells after exercise, which may be because we're more likely to exercise in spring and summer, or it may have something to do with sweat. There's even a variation throughout the course of a day – our sense of smell is weakest in the morning and increases as the day progresses. Incidentally, when we're asleep, our sense of smell switches off.

6. The favourite smell of people in the UK is freshly baked Bread. Roses, vanilla, Lavender, Lemon and scented Candles were other favourites. Scientists have managed to figure out which scents some animals prefer. Cats like valerian, lions mint and Camels apparently love the smell of tobacco.

7. Smell is the first sense to develop. Babies in the womb have a fully developed sense of smell. Smell is also strongly linked with memory: an old familiar smell can bring the memories flooding back. The smell of Crayons is one of the earliest memories many people can bring to mind. We're better at remembering smells than any other sense. People can remember smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, whilst visual recall is only 50/50 after about three months. This might be because smell works differently to other senses. With other senses, the brain identifies the stimulus and then reacts. With smell, the emotional reaction comes first.

8. We probably evolved that way, as a means of identifying danger, such as food that had gone off or the smell of a predatory animal. Today, a smell which warns of danger is the smell of gas, suggesting a leak. However, natural gas is actually almost odourless. The rotten egg pong of escaping gas is actually a chemical called tert-Butylthiol, added to the gas supply for safety reasons, so we'll know when there's a leak. Another evolutionary use of smell would have been selecting a mate. Early humans would have been able to sniff out sickness and/or a good immune system. Male and female reactions to smells has also been suggested as part of the reason for sexual orientation. Studies have found that gay men react to odours in the same way to straight women, and Lesbians react the same way as straight men.

9. Despite being able to detect trillions of smells, we're not great at describing them. There are plenty of unique terms to describe what we see and hear, but when it comes to smells, we generally resort to saying that something "smells like" something else. The inability to smell is called anosmia.

10. The scent cells in our noses are renewed about every 28 days.

Character birthday

Adriana Tate, a woman who lives in Sprawling, Innovia in the Infinitus dimension. She and her husband were unable to have children of their own and so adopted a baby boy who they called Nathan. He grew up to become the superhero Power Blaster. Adriana was one of the few people who knew Power Blaster’s real identity and guarded it jealously. She appears in Secrets and Skies and Closing the Circle.

Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

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Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears that there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know that she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

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