Christine Lovatt’s Hello Column
Christine’s Hello column appears monthly in Lovatts BIG Crossword magazine
Christmas around the world
In Japan, for example, celebrating Christmas has only become widely celebrated in the last few decades, and because there isn’t a high population of Christians in Japan, it is seen as more of a family celebration than a religious holiday. One Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tradition in Japan is the eating of fried [more…]
The word ‘stuff’
The word comes from Old French estoffe ‘quilted material, furniture, provisions’ from estoffer ‘to equip’ from the Greek stuphein to draw together’.
You can do stuff for each other or you can use it as ‘etcetera’ – “she learned ballet and yoga and stuff”. “That’s the stuff!” is said in approval of something that has [more…]
Binary & Hexoku
I’m very excited to introduce to you all the newest addition to our Handy magazine range – Handy Binary + Hexoku! The latest craze for lovers of sudoku, these puzzles offer a fun twist on the original format, and only require logical thinking, not maths skills, to solve. With more than 120 binary and [more…]
When in Rome
The popular myth of the founding of Rome is the story of twins Romulus and Remus who were reared by a wolf. They decided to build a city but when Romulus killed Remus after a quarrel, in 753 BC, the city was named Rome after Romulus. There are other theories though, such as the [more…]
Father’s Day
Papa, Vader, Baba, Apa, Dad, Daddy… There are many ways to say ‘father’, and many different definitions of the English word ‘father’ in the dictionary. Your father is your male parent, or a man who has raised you, a man can father a child, and a man who invented or started something can be [more…]
The word ‘word’
To give your word is to make a promise. If you keep your promises, then you’re as good as your word. You can put in a good word for someone, or have the last word, meaning ‘to make the closing remark of an argument’ but when something is the last word, it means it’s [more…]
Coffee
Did you know that Australia and New Zealand are world famous for their coffee? It’s true, our coffee trends are copied as far away as London and New York. London has some top cafes dedicated to the antipodean style.
Yet it wasn’t always this way. Back in the 70s and 80s, the coffee was usually [more…]
Geese
Domestic geese have been used for centuries as watch animals and guards, because they make fierce watchdogs, which the Romans were grateful for in 390BC. The geese alerted them to an attack by the Gauls and saved the day.
But I wonder why we say they are silly? Maybe there is something about the way [more…]