Happy Special 13th July Day!

Flower of the Month

Larkspur

Gemstone of the Month: Ruby

Upcoming Special Days

14 July - Emmeline Pankhurst Day
15 July - St. Swithin’s Day


Following her recent coronation Queen Victoria became the first monarch to take up residence in Buckingham Palace in this day in 1837. Despite its grandeur and refurbishments the Palace was not a particularly comfortable place to live with chimneys smoking so badly that the fires were kept barely alight and the ventilation of the palace leaving a lot to be desired. The court was reduced to a life of freezing stoicism until the new Queen got out her new broom and sorted the place out! Today the palace is a vision of refinement and luxury.

The third vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to the small children of Fatima, Portugal on this day in 1917. There were to be another three visions each appearing on the 13th of the succeeding months and the Catholic Church was as usual having a problem getting its spin right on both the veracity of the visions and even more challenging the interpretation and revelation of the three secrets. The third secret was so secret that it took the Vatican another 87 years to reveal just what it was!

The Catholic Church didn’t seem to suffer the same reserves against communist Catholics as it was on this day in 1949 that Pope Pius XII excommunicated them! Now I would have thought that a capitalist Catholic, a White Catholic, a Brown Catholic, no matter what type, they are all first and foremost Catholics. Apparently not!


Perhaps with more generosity of spirit and goodwill than the Catholic Church it was in the late ‘80’s that a number of rock groups got together to help save the undeveloped nations of the world. It was on this day in 1985 that the “Live Aid” concert raised $70 million for African famine relief, and Sting on this day in 1987 performed his first Rain Forest Benefit concert. Our thanks to all who took part and let’s see if we can bring you a few moments from those concerts!

Our first birthday wishes got to the actor Patrick Stewart (1940) probably best known for his character Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek, The next Generation”. Despite his star travelling fame his career has spanned 50 years, he is an accomplished Shakespearean actor and an all round good egg!


Our favourite archaeological action hero, Harrison Ford (1943) will be having his birthday bash today providing he can successfully negotiate all the demons and traps on the way to the party!


The most sued man in the history of the libel action, Ian Hislop (1960), the celebrated editor of the magazine “Private Eye” will be having a couple of drinks today no doubt with his good friend Paul Merton. The two seem to have become inseparable and their performances on the show “Have I Got News for You” is well worth the money! Have a look at the two of them together in Room 101.

Our final birthday tribute goes to the lovely actress Ashley Scott (1977) whose performances in “Death Angel” and “Birds of Prey” will be well known to all her fans. I think she’s a bit scary!


Happy Special Day to one and all!!


If you know someone who is celebrating their birthday, anniversary or a special day today or sometime soon why not send them a nice e-card so they get it as soon as they log on! Even better, why not send this page to your friend!
Don’t know what to get for a present? Think about what your special person enjoys doing and the things they like.

For Girls, I know that flowers and chocolates are a bit cliché but nevertheless they always seem to work! Of course, if your budget stretches that far, jewellery, watches, perfume and fashion items are always appreciated!

For Boys, all boys like toys! It’s just as they get older the toys get more expensive. So gadgets and gimmicky things work. Again, if you have the budget then car accessories, sporting equipment and clothes, and man type jewellery like watches and gold chains will go down very well!

And, if all else fails, you could always send them a gift voucher and they can choose whatever they want!

If you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special event today I hope you got lots of cards and presents and that there is someone special in your life who will make this day a very happy and special day for you.

Happy celebrations to you from the Happy Special Day Blog!!