One of the happiest occasions that happens in a family is a wedding, which incidentally comes from the old English weddian ‘to pledge to do something’.
My son Patrick’s recent wedding was no exception. On a sunny afternoon in our local church, 150 family and friends gathered to see Patrick and Sarah marry and [more…]
Readers often tell me that when they can’t solve a crossword clue, they sleep on it and hey presto! In the morning the answer suddenly springs out at them.
Writer John Steinbeck discusses this phenomenon “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of [more…]
Although Shakespeare wrote his plays about 400 years ago, in some ways the world he wrote about has hardly dated. For instance, the plants he referred to in his plays are the same ones we’re familiar with today.
In his Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oberon tells Puck to squeeze the juice of a flower onto the [more…]
Good news this month for anyone whose birthday falls on 29th February – this is a leap year so you can celebrate your birthday on the correct day instead of 28th February or 1st March. Or maybe you don’t mind not having a birthday, because you claim to be only a quarter of your [more…]
Fishing is one of the oldest occupations in the world, dating back at least as far as the Paleolithic era when catching fish was necessary for survival. Today, people fish for many reasons such as relaxation, the sport of it, or simply for the fish story – that colourful boastful tale about the size [more…]
As we start counting down the days to Christmas, here at home, it’s a good time to look at what the rest of the world does at this time.
Nearly all countries that celebrate Christmas have Christmas trees, although not necessarily fir trees. Sometimes fig trees or palm trees are decorated and lit. Most countries [more…]
The early 20th century was a time of huge changes in the global marketplace. Before this time most of what manufacturers made could be sold easily. For example, soap was once made a batch at a time in kettles and sold in chunks from door to door. There was no variety in colour, fragrance, [more…]
When making a crossword, one of the useful words is the Spanish cry “ole!” There’s a theory that it is derived from the Muslim cry “Allah!” from the days when the Moors invaded Spain, with the pronunciation changing over the years, so that instead of meaning God it has become a shout of triumph [more…]
It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re absorbed in solving our crosswords, but most of you tell me it is time well spent!
The means of keeping time began with the observation of day following night. As early as 3500 B.C.the Babylonians started using a sundial, an instrument that estimates the time of [more…]
