22 March: Plane Trees

In the French Revolutionary Calendar, today is Platane, or Day of the Plane-tree. 10 things you might not know about plane trees:

1. Plane trees belong to the genus Platanus, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
2. They often grow near Water, and in Ancient Greece they were purposely planted near springs and wells; perhaps as sacred guardians of the water supply, perhaps to provide shade to the people who visited to fill their water bottles. There is a myth that Poseidon once turned a young woman into a plane tree because she peed him off in some way. Aristotle and Plato’s famed philosophical schools were held in the shade of plane trees.
3. Classical Chinese poetry often features plane trees as a motif for sorrow, because they shed their leaves in Autumn.
4. An early military camouflage pattern was based on the plane tree’s flaking bark. The German camouflage pattern Platanenmuster ("plane tree pattern"), was designed in 1937–1942 by Johann Georg Otto Schick.
5. In Handel's opera Serse, the famous aria, "Ombra mai fu," is sung by the title character in praise of his favourite plane tree.
6. One feature of this tree is the ability to fuse neighbouring roots or branches together if they grow too close and rub against each other. This can occur not only within a single tree, but between two neighbouring trees, and sometimes even between a plane tree and a tree of a different species.
7. The legendary Dry tree recorded by Marco Polo was possibly a plane. According to legend, it marked the site of the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III.
8. There’s one species in the genus which isn’t found in the wild. That is the London plane tree, which has been widely planted in London parks and to line streets. At least 15% of the trees lining city streets around the world are London planes, so called because so many of them were planted there during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. This tree is particularly tolerant of urban conditions. Its flaking bark is one method the tree uses to get rid of pollutants, and it tolerates being pollarded, or trimmed to fit its environment.
9. Nobody knows for sure exactly how the London plane came about. It’s a hybrid of the oriental plane and the American plane, which come from two different continents on opposite sides of the world. Some say the two species came together in Spain in the 17^th century quite naturally, and were brought to Britain from there. Others say it was thanks to a botanist and plant collector named John Tradescant the younger, who kept a garden in Vauxhall. Needless to say, he wasn’t the only person around at the time who collected plants. Large National Trust properties often have collections of plants and trees from all over the world, so any keen botanist from the English aristocracy, or person with a lot of money could have had both the parent trees in their gardens.
10. The oldest London planes date from around 1660-80. The oldest living examples are at Buckden. Robert Sanderson, (Bishop of Lincoln 1660-1663), is said to have been presented with two London planes; both are still growing healthily. The oldest in London itself is at Barn Elms, is probably from about 1685, planted on land then belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury. These are the trees which line The Mall, the Embankment and Berkeley Square. There are 30 London planes in Berkeley Square which were planted in 1789.

Character birthday

Electroflux, aka Leonard Marx, who invented a suit of radiation proof power armour. He worked for Desi Troyes, unaware at first that his programme of nuclear testing was a precursor to a plot to blow up the planet of Infinitus and make himself the sole ruler of the survivors. Electroflux was one of the many pulled through the interdimensional worm hole created by the nuclear test on Bird Island. Now aware of Troyes’s plan, he turned down an offer to become his right hand man on Earth, and teamed up with the Raiders, instead.

Over the Rainbow

'We're not in Trinity anymore,' says Leonard Marx, quoting a line from an old Innovian  movie. The moon is different; the planes flying overhead are different. Nobody has any idea where they are or if it's possible to get home. 

In this strange new world, people from the highly technical Innovia and the less advanced Classica must co-operate in order to survive. In addition, travel through the inter-dimensional wormhole has given some people unusual and unexpected powers.

Innovia mourns the loss of its superhero, Power Blaster, last seen carrying a nuclear bomb to the upper atmosphere away from the inhabited Bird Island. They don't believe he could possibly have survived. Power Blaster has survived, but is close to death and stranded in the new dimension. He is nursed back to health by a Classican woman, Elena. She has no idea who he is, only that she is falling in love with the handsome stranger.  

Shanna sets out to discover what happened to Nathan Tate, who didn't return from his hiking holiday, not knowing her life is about to be turned inside out and upside down. 

Meanwhile, Desi Troyes, the man responsible for the catastrophe, is at large on the new world, plotting how he can transfer his plans for world domination to the planet he now finds himself on - Earth. 

Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle

21 March: 80

Today is the 80^th day of the year. 10 facts about the number 80.

1. Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. It’s about a man called Phileas Fogg and his French valet Passepartout, who set out to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days for a bet.
2. In London, the number 80 Bus runs between Reynolds Close, Hackbridge and Downview and Highdown prisons.
3. According to Exodus 7:7, Moses was 80 years old when he initially spoke to Pharaoh on behalf of his people.
4. The American band Green Day released a song called "80".
5. The M80 is a motorway running between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland.
6. The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, used mostly in business and economics, states that 80% of any given outcome results from 20% of its causes. For example, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the workforce.
7. Ultraman 80 is a Japanese superhero character, an alien who lives on Earth working as a science teacher while also fighting monsters.
8. 80 is the upper age limit for cardinals to vote in papal elections.
9. 80 is the atomic number of Mercury.
10. In numerology, those influenced by the number 80 tend to be skilled managers and builders. They are good at leading others towards a common goal, likely something beneficial to society and long lasting, like buildings, systems and procedures, institutions, and roads.

Character birthday

Stomach Contents, a member of the Demolition Squad group of punk supervillains. While he has no powers, he is a skilled brawler who has learned that anything to hand is a potential weapon. While he appears to be a loyal team member, he holds a secret grudge against leader Leopold Smythe-Warner, for stealing his girlfriend. He secretly plots to depose and kill Leopold, lead the team and get his woman back.

20 March: Fred Rogers Quotes

Fred Rogers, American television personality, musician, puppeteer, writer, and producer was born on this date in 1928. He was best known as the creator, composer, and star of the educational children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001. 10 quotes from him:

1. When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’.
2. Try your best to make goodness attractive. That's one of the toughest assignments you'll ever be given.
3. Wishing doesn’t make anything happen, but it certainly can be the start of some important happenings.
4. There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.
5. Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work, but it's worth the effort.
6. Often out of periods of losing come the greatest strivings toward a new winning streak.
7. There is no person in this whole world who is a mistake, no matter how different that person may seem.
8. The only thing evil can't stand is forgiveness.
9. There isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story.
10. Deep within each of us is a spark of the divine just waiting to be used to light up a dark place.

Character birthday

Hazard: Villain who works for the Greenroom Society. His speciality is special effects and booby traps.

19 March: 78

Today is the 78^th day of the year. 10 things you might not know about the number 78:

1. In London, the number 78 Bus runs between Shoreditch High Street Station and St Mary's Road, Nunhead.
2. 78 is the atomic number of platinum (Pt). Its name originates from Spanish platina, a diminutive of plata "silver".
3. Old records would be played at 78 revolutions per minute.
4. There are 78 cards in a Tarot deck.
5. The Rule of 78s is a method of yearly interest calculation. The name comes from the total number of months' interest that is being calculated in a year. This assumes the borrower pays only the amount due each month.
6. The Roman numeral for 78 is LXXVIII.
7. In binary it’s 1001110.
8. The A78 is an A road in Scotland. It connects Greenock and Prestwick on a route which follows the northern section of the Ayrshire coast.
9. According to the urban dictionary it’s a code to use when there is a group of people together, say in an office, and the phone rings. It communicates to the person answering that the caller is to be told they are not there, in fact, the answering person has not seen them since 1978. It might be that nobody in the group wants to be contacted, in which case the last person to call 78 must answer the phone.
10. In numerology, a person influenced by the number 78 is likely to be spiritual with a deep connection to their family, including a sense of connection with their ancestors. They take their responsibilities seriously and work towards a harmonious and spiritual home. They are likely to be neighbourly types who are sensitive to the needs of their neighbours and friends as well as their blood relations.

Character birthday

Nexial, an android belonging to Combat Team Alpha. It was activated on this date. While Nexial’s creator was a pacifist, his invention was soon appropriated by the military. Nexial can absorb the skills and knowledge of up to ten people at a time and access each set as needed. Hence a soldier who is incapacitated or killed can be replaced by Nexial. In the course of the second world war, Nexial was a secret weapon used by the Allies and absorbed the skillsets of many soldiers. Each time, however, it also absorbed a tiny bit of humanity until it began to think for itself and decided war was wrong. Using the persona of the last dying soldier absorbed, one Private Callaghan, Nexial left the army and returned to Callaghan’s home. However, he was unable to maintain Callaghan’s marriage and left again to seek out his creator. He eventually was acquired by Llew Powell for his combat team. In everyday life and interactions, Nexial poses as Callaghan and observers not in the know believe him to be fully human. He has a difficult relationship with team mate Soldier, however, as Soldier is an android created by the Japanese, and it was Soldier who killed Callaghan on the battlefield.

18 March: Neighbours

On this date in 1985 the Australian soap Neighbours was first broadcast. 10 things you might not know about Neighbours:

1. The show was created by Australian TV executive Reg Watson, who’d spent some time in the UK working on the soap Crossroads. While he was here he used to watch Coronation Street and that gave him the idea for Neighbours.
2. The exterior shots of the houses in Ramsay street are filmed at a real street in Melbourne. It’s called Pin Oak Court, and the people who live there are paid for the right to film the outsides of their properties. Only six houses are ever shown – numbers 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and 32.
3. Neighbours has been broadcast in more than 60 countries around the world including Barbados, Norway and Belgium, as well as the UK and the US.
4. The first words spoken on the show were "No, no, Shane, no, no”, by Danny Ramsay, played by David Clencie, who was having a nightmare.
5. The show is set in a suburb called Erinsborough. Which is an anagram of “Or Neighbours”.
6. In Australia, the show was originally pitched to Channel Nine, who declined. A former executive of the channel would later admit that was “one of the biggest missed opportunities". Channel Seven took it, but axed it after just eight months. However, the channel were so determined that no other channel should take it on that they destroyed all the sets. Channel Ten decided it was worth rebuilding them all. In fact, they built a couple of sets on trailers which they drove around, with the cast on the back, waving and holding a banner proclaiming: “Neighbours is moving to a new home.”
7. The wedding of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell (played by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue) was watched by 19.6 million people in the UK. The audience in Australia was just 2 million. The couple only married at all because there had been complaints from straight-laced viewers about them living “in sin”.
8. In 2009, Neighbours was the first Australian show to create Twitter accounts for its characters.
9. The theme tune was composed by Tony Hatch, and the lyrics written by his wife at the time, Jackie Trent. There have been eight versions of the theme song, as well as a sombre version which is used whenever a character dies or there is a disaster.
10. All three Hemsworth brothers have appeared on Neighbours. Chris guest-starred as Jamie Kane for one episode in 2002, Liam played Josh Taylor for 25 episodes in 2007, and Luke was on for 10 episodes as Nathan Tyson.

Character Birthday

Eliott Warner, a descendant of Superwil. The variant gene skips a generation and his father, Dominic, is normal as is his mother and brothers. Eliott is strongly discouraged from using his power. He is encouraged by the ghost of one of his great grandfathers that having a power is a good thing.

17 March: Guinness

On St Patrick’s Day, many of you may decide to enjoy a pint or two of Guinness. Here are 10 things you might not know about the brew:

1. It looks Black, and indeed is sometimes referred to as “the black stuff”. However, it’s not actually black at all. It’s a deep ruby Red, thanks to the roasted Barley in it. Hold your glass up to the light to see it.
2. There are official company guidelines on how to pour the perfect glass. First, take a Guinness branded glass which is cool, clean and dry. Hold it under the tap at 45 degrees. Fill the glass to between 15mm and 20mm from the top. Never put the tap spout into the Guinness. Leave it to settle for approx 119.5 seconds. Top up the glass by pushing the tap handle backwards until the head is just proud of the glass. Never let it overflow or use a spatula to level the head. Hand the pint to the consumer with a steady hand.
3. As well as Ireland, Guinness also owns breweries in Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. All the ingredients are locally sourced except for one, the Guinness extract, a secret mixture which is added to it wherever it comes from.
4. If you think Ireland is the number one consumer of Guinness, you’d be wrong. The country which consumes most of it is actually the UK. It’s also very popular in Africa, especially Nigeria, which some (but not all) of the sources I looked at claim also consumes more Guinness than Ireland.
5. The Guinness harp was one of the first trademarks in the British Isles, using a symbol of Ireland as a nod to its Irish roots. The harp was was officially registered in the trademark office in 1876. The same instrument appears on Ireland’s coat of arms, but it was much later when the Irish government wanted to register the harp as a state symbol under international trademark law, and they ran into problems because Guinness had already registered it. Eventually, the state and the brewery were reached a compromise: the harp on a bottle of Guinness would always face right, while in official use, the harp would always face left.
6. One of the Guinness advertising campaigns in Africa featured a superhero. His name was Michael Power, and he was a journalist who got his strength from drinking Guinness.
7. Another one was “Guinness is good for you”, which could have been influenced by a cavalry officer injured at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, who wrote: "When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take some nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness. It contributed more than anything else to the renewal of my strength.” While it’s true that a pint of Guinness has only 198 calories, compared to other beers which tend to be around 260 calories per pint, you won’t see that slogan any more because advertising an alcoholic beverage as having medical benefits is no longer legal.
8. Guinness mixed with Champagne is called a "Black Velvet". This cocktail has been around since 1861. After Prince Albert died, London was in mourning. Legend has it that a barman at Brook's Club came up with the mixture, explaining that even a glass of bubbly should be in mourning and dressed in black at such a sad time.
9. According to a 2000 study, an estimated 162,719 pints of Guinness are wasted every year due to facial hair. A drinker with a Beard or moustache will get .56 milliliters trapped in his facial hair with each sip. This assumes it takes 10 sips to finish a glass, and the estimated 92,370 UK Guinness consumers with facial hair drink an average of 180 pints each a year.
10. Arthur Guinness began his beer business in 1759 by renting a four-acre brewery at St. James’s Gate in Dublin. The original lease was for 9,000 years, so it wouldn’t expire until the year 10,759. It also included free access to water. The one time local authorities tried to make Arthur Guinness pay for his water, he’s said to have grabbed a pick-axe and waved it at them, swearing profusely, until they went away. Eventually, however, the lease was nullified when the company bought the brewery outright.

Character Birthdays

Sword Keeper, aka Daniel Moran, son of Harlequin and Columbine. His birth coincided with a visit to Earth of a dying alien whose planet had been destroyed and who was the last of a long line of keepers of an ancient powered sword. The alien was taken in by a group of women, one of whom was the pregnant Columbine. Lacking any of his race to continue the role of sword keeper, the alien gifted the sword to Daniel on his birth. He would be able to use it from the age of sixteen. Daniel’s parents hid the sword in their attic. Daniel discovered it at the age of 11, and waited with anticipation to be presented with it on his 16^th birthday. It wasn’t, as his parents thought it was too dangerous. Daniel, however, contrived to smuggle the sword out of the attic to school. He became the leader of Third Wave, comprising the superpowered students at his school, who played a part in rescuing Prime Minister’s daughter Yasmin Miller when she was kidnapped by Obsidian. The story is told in Obsidian’s Ark.

Tabitha Drake, a woman with psychic powers who is persuaded to help the police solve a serial killer case, partly by the victims appearing to her. She appears in Death and Faxes and Glastonbury Swan.

Clover, a member of the Earth Guard group of Superheroes from Infinitus. Being pulled through a wormhole to Earth gave her the powers of regeneration and super-fast reaction times. She does not yet appear in a published story.

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?

Available from:

Amazon

Amazon Kindle

Death and Faxes

Several women have been found murdered - it looks like the work of a ruthless serial killer. Psychic medium Maggie Flynn is one of the resources DI Jamie Swan has come to value in such cases - but Maggie is dead, leaving him with only the telephone number of the woman she saw as her successor, her granddaughter, Tabitha Drake.

Tabitha, grief-stricken by Maggie's death and suffering a crisis of confidence in her ability, wants nothing to do with solving murder cases. She wants to hold on to her job and find Mr Right (not necessarily in that order); so when DI Swan first contacts her, she refuses to get involved.

The ghosts of the victims have other ideas. They are anxious for the killer to be caught and for names to be cleared - and they won't leave Tabitha alone. It isn't long before Tabitha is drawn in so deeply that her own life is on the line.

Paperback -  Amazon 

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16 March: Vienna

The Vienna offensive began on this date in 1945. 10 things you might not know about Vienna:

1. The locals know it as Wien, pronounced “Veen”. Austria’s most famous dish, wiener schnitzel, therefore, translates to Viennese schnitzel. Which is basically a cutlet of veal beaten flat, coated in Egg and breadcrumbs and fried in clarified Butter. Another culinary speciality from the city is Sachertorte, Chocolate and Apricot cake. It was invented in Vienna in 1832 by Franz Sacher for Prince Wenzel von Metternich. Vienna is also one of the places which lays claim to having invented the sausage, because Hot dogs are sometimes called weiners. However, since some people call them frankfurters, Frankfurt makes the same claim.
2. Vienna has the oldest operating Ferris wheel and the world’s oldest zoo. The former was built in 1897 and is called The Wiener Riesenrad. The latter was built in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in 1752. It is probably the only zoo with original baroque architecture, and is considered the world’s most beautiful zoo.
3. The snow globe was invented in Vienna by Edwin Perzy in 1900. He invented it by accident – he was actually trying to improve the brightness of lightbulbs for a surgical lamp by adding water and semolina flakes in the hopes that the light would bounce off them and cast a brighter glow. It didn’t, but the snow globe was born.
4. Vienna has 1,700 acres of vineyards and 320 vintners within its city limits and is therefore the only capital city in the world which produces significant quantities of Wine.
5. More than 450 annual balls are held in the city each year between January and March. Some of the most famous ones are the Opernball (held at the Vienna State Opera since 1877), the Philharmonic Ball (which features a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), and the Blumenball (famous for its flower arrangements).
6. Vienna has over 20 annual Christmas markets, as well as several Easter markets.
7. Famous people from Vienna include, from the world of science, Hans Asperger, who discovered the syndrome named for him; behavioural scientist Konrad Lorenz; Erwin Schrödinger, the one who may or may not have had a cat; and Sigmund Freud, thanks to whom Vienna is known as the birthplace of psychotherapy and is nicknamed the City of Dreams. In the world of music, Johann Strauss I and II, Gustav Mahler, Maria (Sound of Music) von Trapp and Falco were all born here and Mozart spent a lot of time here. Also the painter Gustav Klimt, Marie Antoinette, director Fritz Lang and actress Hedy Lamarr. At one point in 1913, Hitler, Trotsky, Tito, Freud and Stalin all lived in Vienna at the same time.
8. Vienna has its fair share of museums, including the usual art, history and natural history ones and those dedicated to famous residents like Mozart and Freud. You’ll also find museums dedicated to Clowns, Clocks, globes, horse carriages, crime, schnapps, illusions, wax models, disfigured skeletons, funeral objects, fake artworks, and Coffee.
9. Vienna also has an independent republic within its boundaries, namely the Republic of Kugelmugel, which is 0.00003 km2. It was created by a local artist who declared independence in 1976. It has 650 citizens, none of whom actually live there. These days it is a tourist attraction, since its founder died in 2015.
10. The Vienna Woods, or Wienerwald, which have an area of 521 square miles, are home to 2,000 species of plant and 150 species of bird. At least two endangered species—Ural owls and green lizards are found here.

Character Birthdays

Sidestep, a member of Combat Team Epsilon. He is their teleporter. His power is the result of technology – he has developed a teleport suit. All the combat teams tried to attract him but he chose the independent Epsilon because of his left wing political views.

Alex and Robin Kostellov, twin daughters of Arthur Kostellov and Black Rose. They have the powers associated with the Galorvian royal family, ie flight, energy bolts and the ability to create forcefields. From their mother they have inherited a danger sense and superhuman reaction times. As they grew up in a ski resort they are also accomplished skiers and snowboarders.