20 December: National Sangria Day

It's National Sangria Day. How much do you know about this drink?

1. What is it? A type of Wine punch, traditionally made with Spanish Rioja, mixed with Orange juice, brandy and chopped fruit. such as Pineapples, Peaches, nectarines, berries, Apples, Pears, or Melon. Recipes vary with local areas adding their own distinctive ingredients. For example, in the southern Spain Sangria is called zurra and is made with peaches or nectarines.
2. The word sangria is said to come from the Spanish word sangre, meaning Blood, because of the deep Red colour the red wine gives it. There is an alternative theory that the word could come from the Sanskrit word for sugared wine.
3. We don't know exactly how sangria originated. In Medieval Europe, it wasn't safe to drink the Water, and Milk was strictly for babies, so everybody, even the children, drank Beer or wine because the alcohol would kill the germs in the water. Adding fruit and spices to wine to vary the flavour was common practice. So while sangria is generally thought to be a Spanish or Portuguese drink, wine punch was consumed all over Europe. A similar drink based on claret, for example, may have been drunk in England by Jane Austen and her heroines.
4. Sangria as an iced drink was reintroduced to the USA by the late 1940s through Hispanic Americans and Spanish restaurants.
5. It became widely popular after the World's Fair in New York in 1964, where the Spanish World area served it to visitors.
6. Sangria blanca is sangria made with white wine instead of red.
7. Mangria is a drink invented by comedian Adam Carolla, who, wanting a drink with an even bigger kick, added vodka to red wine and orange juice.
8. At the opposite end of the scale, non-alcoholic sangria is made from carbonated water, essence of Lemon, cane sugar, and wine Grapes.
9. Only sangria made in Spain and Portugal can legally be sold as "sangria" in Europe; sangria made elsewhere must be labelled as such, e.g., as "German sangria" or "Swedish sangria".
10. American country music artist Blake Shelton recorded a song called Sangria, which reached number one in the Country Airplay chart in 2015.

Superheroes getting together for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? My latest novel. Only £5! Even less for the kindle!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

19 December: Build a Snowman Day

It's Build a Snowman Day. As I write this there's not much snow in the UK so we'll have to be content with reading ten snowman quotes and jokes instead.

1. Snowmen fall from heaven unassembled.
2. Why did Frosty the snowman want a divorce? Because he thought his wife was a flake
3. What do you get if you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite
4. What's the difference between a snow man and a snow woman? Snowballs
5. Two snowmen standing in a field, one says to the other “Can you smell carrots?"
6. It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. Dylan Thomas
7. Wisdom from a snowman: It's okay to be a little bottom heavy.
8. When life snows you under - make a snowman!
9. Frosty the Snowman is a fairy tale they say; he was made of snow but the children known how he came to life one day.
10. When a snowflake falls, a snowman somewhere is blowing you a kiss.

Superheroes getting together for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? My latest novel. Only £5! Even less for the kindle!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

18th December: The Northern Line

On this date in 1890, the first paying passengers rode on the City and South London Railway, the first part of the underground system to be electrified. It is now known as the Northern Line.

1. The Northern Line is 58 km (36 miles) long and has fifty stations, 36 of which have platforms below ground.
2. It is unique in having two different routes through central London, the Charing Cross branch and the Bank branch. This is because it started life as two separate railway companies, the City and South London Railway (C&SLR) and the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR). In the 1920s the two were connected to make an integrated service.
3. Despite being known as the Northern Line, it does not serve the northernmost stations on the network. It does, however, serve the station which is furthest south, Morden.
4. Names put forward for the newly integrated line included "Edgmor", "Mordenware", "Medgway" and "Edgmorden". In 1937 it became known as the Northern Line after the addition of the Northern Heights lines.
5. It is currently the second busiest underground line with about 252,310,000 passengers using it in 2011/2012 and ten trains an hour, except from Mill Hill East to Finchley Central, where there are four trains an hour.
6. The tunnel from Morden to East Finchley via Bank is 17 miles 528 yards (27.841 km) long. Until the Channel Tunnel was built, this was the longest tunnel in the world; while Angel station has the longest Escalators on the system with a vertical rise of 27 metres (89 ft) and a length of 60 metres (200 ft).
7. If you put all the stations on the London Underground system in alphabetical order the last on the list would be a Northern Line station - Woodside Park.
8. Northern Line stations don't always have good claims to fame. The worst accident in the history of the network took place at Moorgate in 1975, claiming 43 lives; in 2013, Bank was voted the most disliked tube station. Stockwell station was the site of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, when police mistook him for a terrorist. A permanent shrine to him was unveiled at the station in 2010.
9. On a more positive note, the first baby to be born on the Underground network was a girl born at Elephant and Castle in 1924, and Warren Street station became the first London Underground Wi-Fi enabled tube station in 2012. Radio 4 listeners will be familiar with the game, Mornington Crescent - Mornington Crescent is a Northern Line station.
10. There are plans afoot to extend the Northern Line to Battersea to serve the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. This would mean there could be a similar split in the lines South of the river as there is to the north - also under consideration is the possibility of splitting the line into two new ones and re-naming them both.

Superheroes getting together for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong? My latest novel. Only £5!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

17 December: The Bowler Hat

On this date in 1849 Thomas and William Bowler, felt hat-makers, sold their first bowler hat. Here are 10 things you may not know about bowler hats:

1. There is some dispute as to exactly who their customer was. Many say it was William Coke, who purchased the hat at Lock’s of St James in London, however, recent research suggests it may have been Edward Coke.
2. Whichever Mr. Coke bought it, it is generally accepted that he had commissioned a hat to protect him from overhanging branches when he was out shooting. Up until then, gentlemen and gamekeepers would wear Top Hats when hunting, but they weren't very practical, because they could easily be knocked off and damaged.
3. The story goes that to test the headgear, Coke put it on the floor and stamped on it. The hat survived, he was suitably impressed and coughed up 12 shillings (60p) for it.
4. The bowler hat is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown and a rim. In America, they are often called derby hats, while in South America they are known as bombins.
5. Bowler hats soon became part of the dress code for gentlemen when walking out. Cavalry officers still wear Bowler hats and suits for their annual parade, because this was considered smart wear for men at the time of their first annual parade. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the bowler hat is worn traditionally by members of the main Loyalist fraternities such as the Orange Order, the Independent Loyal Orange Institution, the Royal Black Preceptory and the Apprentice Boys of Derry, for their annual parades.
6. While cowboys in Westerns are usually portrayed wearing a cowboy hat or sombrero, the most popular type of hat in the West at that time was actually the bowler. It was worn by both lawmen and outlaws, including Bat Masterson, Butch Cassidy, Black Bart, and Billy the Kid, and was even known as "the hat that won the West". A bowler hat was less likely to blow off when riding a Horse in high winds, so was deemed much more practical than a cowboy hat.
7. In the UK, the bowler hat is most associated with businessmen in the city, as this was what they traditionally wore in the early 20th century. Although the wearing of bowler hats died out in the 1970s and 80s, the stereotype of the English city gent is still a man in a suit and a bowler hat carrying a rolled up Umbrella. Like John Steed in the 1960s TV series The Avengers. Perhaps one of the most famous icons of the 21st century to wear a bowler hat was Sir Winston Churchill.
8. Many paintings by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte feature bowler hats. One example is The Son of Man, in which a man in a bowler hat stands in front of a wall. His face is obscured by a large green Apple.
9. In fiction, bowler hat wearers include Alex, the protagonist of A Clockwork Orange, Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, Oddjob, the henchman in Goldfinger, whose hat had a razor edged rim and was used as a weapon, and Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic from the Harry Potter series, whose bowler hat is lime green.
10. Lock & Co still sells around 4,000 to 5,000 Bowlers each year "mostly to City workers, ex-military gentlemen and young Americans".

And now...

What happens when superheroes get together for Christmas! My latest novel. There's still time to get it as a stocking filler for the superhero-lover in your life! Only £5!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

16th December: Heathrow Airport

On this date in 1955, London Heathrow opened its first terminal buildings. Here are ten things you might not know about Heathrow Airport:

1. Heathrow was originally the Great West Aerodome, established in 1929. It was designated for handling long-distance military flights in 1944, but the war ended before the expansion was completed, so it began to be used for commercial flights. It became known as London Airport, only taking the name Heathrow in 1966.
2. The original two terminals were called ‘Europa’ and ‘Oceanic’ but these names were later changed to the much less romantic Terminals 2 and 3. There are now six terminals. It's unlikely you will ever fly from terminal six unless you become a member of the royal family, a head of state or a megastar.
3. Terminal 5 is the largest free-standing structure in the UK. At more than 1,312ft (400m) long, 574ft (175m) wide and 131ft (40m) high, the roof area is the size of five Football pitches.
4. The first flight out of Heathrow was on New Year's Eve 1949, bound for Buenos Aires.
5. Heathrow’s area is 1,227 hectares (4.6 square miles/12 square kilometres). 560,000 square feet (52,000 square metres) of this is dedicated to the 340 retail outlets. The runways stretch for 4.7 miles and could accommodate more than 30 football pitches each.
6. It's the busiest airport in the UK and the third busiest in the world (only airports in Atlanta, Georgia and Beijing are busier). In 2014, over 73 million people flew in and out of Heathrow - more than the population of the UK. That's around 201,000 passengers every day. 1.5 million metric tonnes of cargo move through it, too, not to mention about 53 million pieces of luggage. 30% of passengers are travelling for business and 70% for leisure.
7. To keep all this running takes about 76,000 people, the equivalent of a large town, and £975 million a year. That's without the £660 million needed for annual upgrades. The airport’s annual income is £2.3 billion, which comes from landing charges, departure fees and services such as shops, property rental and parking.
8. The control tower, which opened in 2007, is the tallest tower in the UK at 285ft (87m) tall, twice the height of Nelson's Column. Should this tower ever become inoperable there is a backup tower, at an undisclosed location nearby. The backup tower could be up and running within a couple of hours in the event of a disaster.
9. 70% of incoming flights approach from the east and 30% from the west.
10. To keep birds away from the runways, there are safety vehicles fitted with a sound system that blasts out the distress calls of various bird species to scare them away.

And now...

What happens when superheroes get together for Christmas! My latest novel. There's still time to get it as a stocking filler for the superhero-lover in your life! Only £5!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

15 December: International Tea Day

It's International Tea Day. Put the kettle on and peruse these ten facts about tea which you may not have known:

1. Tea was first discovered in China, and was originally chewed for medicinal purposes rather than drunk. According to legend, the drink was discovered when some leaves from tea bushes accidentally blew into a pot of Water being boiled for Emperor Shen Nong to drink, back in 2737BC. He drank it anyway, and liked it.
2. There were two different words for tea in different parts of China - "te" or "cha". The word used for tea in modern languages tells you which part of China that country originally got its tea from.
3. Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, after water. Over 3 billion cups are consumed worldwide each year. That British people like tea is something of a stereotype, but they do drink about 165 million cups of tea a day, or 62 billion cups per year in the UK. Even so, the UK is not the country which drinks the most tea per capita. That is the Republic of Ireland. Even the USA, where tea declined in popularity after the Boston Tea Party, they consume 1.42 million pounds of tea a day.
4. When tea was first introduced to Britain it was sold in Coffee houses, which women were not allowed to frequent. In 1717, the Twining family opened the Golden Lyon, a teashop that women could go to. The shop is still open today.
5. There are six basic types of tea - Black, White, Green, Yellow, oolong and post-fermented. All of these come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. What makes the difference is what they do to the leaves when they've harvested them - such as how long they are allowed to dry before being packed up. Herbal teas aren't technically teas, but tisanes.
6. The most expensive tea in the world is a rare Chinese oolong tea called Tieguanyin. Named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin, a pound of it will set you back around $1,500.
7. Tea bags were invented in the United States in 1904. The most expensive teabag is a handcrafted diamond teabag made by Boodles jewellers to raise money for charity. It contains 280 diamonds and is worth $15,250. The largest, according to Guinness World Records, was 9.8 feet wide by 13 feet high and weighed over 551 pounds. This record was created in Saudi Arabia in 2014.
8. Solid blocks of tea were used as currency in Siberia until the 19th century.
9. Over 3 million tons of tea is produced every year worldwide. China is the world’s largest producer of tea. In 2009, China produced 1,359,000 tonnes; India came second with 979,000 tonnes.
10. There are other uses for tea besides drinking it. You can use it to dye cloth, marinate meat, clean floors, or rub it on the skin to keep Mosquitoes away. Its also said to help heal small cuts like nicks from shaving. Used tea leaves are also a useful addition to a compost heap as not only are they full of nutrients that Roses love, they speed up the process of decomposition of the rest of the compost materials.

And now...

What happens when superheroes get together for Christmas! My latest novel. There's still time to get it as a stocking filler for the superhero-lover in your life! Only £5!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

December 14: Alabama Admission Day

Alabama Admission Day: Alabama was admitted to the USA on this day 1819. It became the 22nd state.

1. The word Alabama comes from the Creek Indian language, and means "tribal town".
2. The capital is Montgomery, which was the birthplace of the Confederate States of America. Montgomery also had the world's first electric trolley car system and the first open Heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere when Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill sutured a stab wound in a boy's heart.
3. Alabama has some odd sculptures and monuments, including: the World's Largest Office Chair, made of 10 tons of steel; a 13ft high monument to a hog; the largest catfish in the world, 28 feet long, which is also animated so it rolls its eyes and swishes its tail; a giant rooster made of car bumpers and a monument to the boll weevil. The latter is commemorated with its own monument because it played a significant role in encouraging Alabama farmers to diversify the crops they produced and to grow things other than just Cotton.
4. Magnolia Springs, Alabama is the only US postal route which is entirely on Water, all the year round.
5. Alabama celebrated Mardi Gras years before New Orleans did.
6. The rocket that first took people to the Moon was designed and built in Huntsville, Alabama, which is known as the rocket capital of the world.
7. Alabama is the only state which has all the natural resources to make Iron and steel.
8. Alabama is the only state to have an alcoholic beverage as its official drink: Conecuh Ridge Whiskey. Other state symbols include: Animal: Black Bear. Bird: Yellowhammer. Fish: Tarpon. Insect: Monarch butterfly. Mineral: hematite. Gemstone: star blue quartz. Nut: Pecan. Flower: Camellia. 
9. Famous people from Alabama include: Boxer Joe Louis, actors Tallulah Bankhead and Courtney Cox, singers Nathaniel Adams (Nat King) Cole and Lionel Richie. Helen Keller was born there too, which is why Alabama has the only circulating US coin with Braille lettering on it, produced to commemorate her.
10. Things it is illegal to do in Alabama include driving while blindfolded, making people laugh in church by wearing a false mustache, opening Umbrellas in the street (it could scare the Horses), buy live Chickens after dark, wash your hands or feet in a public fountain, put an ice cream cone in your back pocket or put Salt on a railway track. You can actually get the death penalty for that last one. You can, however, drive the wrong way down a one way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your car.

What happens when superheroes get together for Christmas! My latest novel. There's still time to get it as a stocking filler for the superhero-lover in your life! Only £5!

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.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle