25 February - Historical Events and Special Celebrations

Gemstone of the Month

Amethyst

Flower of the Month: Violet

First of all Nomanda would like to thank all our new readers! We have been getting more and more of you every day and we really appreciate you! If you are enjoying Nomanda’s blog please pass it on to your friends. And if you would like to make a comment or get your own special mention on your own special day just send us the details through the comments section and we’ll make sure we don’t forget you!

Nomanda’s Happy Special Day blog is a celebration of events and anniversaries that have touched our lives. If today is your special day join us in looking at a few other events that have occurred on your day. Enjoy!



Yesterday was a day for expensive pigs! Today seems to be a day for eccentric Brits!


It was on this day in 1838 that a London pedestrian, alas un-named, walked 20 miles backwards and then without turning round, walked the same distance forwards. The exercise was completed in just 8 hours and I’m sure the un-named hero enjoyed a couple of good old English beers at the end of his walking marathon! I have no idea why he undertook the task, but my bet would be that he did it for a bet! It does however give us an excuse to listen to Helen Shapiro’s song “Walking Back to Happiness” which if she had been aware I’m she would have dedicated to this unsung hero! Apparently walking or running backwards can do wonders for your health, so don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!



The next feat of physical and, in this case, relationship endurance took place on this day in 1974 when the English husband and wife team Veronica and Collin Scargill jumped onto their bicycle tandem to ride around the world. I’m pretty sure that even if we had a tandem Nomanda and his wife couldn’t ride around the block without one, or more likely, both of us falling off! They stayed together and saddle sore and weary completed their tour of 18,020 miles on 27th August 1975. Well done guys!


And to sum the whole thing up Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded “That’ll Be the Day” on this day in 1957! Great Stuff!




One of France’s favourite sons, Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841 – 1919) is our first birthday celebrity today. Nomanda bought his “Luncheon of the Boating Party” as a wedding present for our daughter and new husband a couple of years ago and it hangs in pride of place in their lovely home in Brisbane. Sadly, it is not the original!


The voice of cricket, John Arlott (1914 – 1991) is next up for birthday honours today. Despite all my efforts the great man does not seem to have made it onto You Tube so that I can share one of his moments with you. If you find one, please let me know.



There’s no doubt that we’ll be able to find “Pearl’s a Singer” to celebrate the birthday of Elkie Brooks (1945) today!




The very funny and talented Ricky Gervais (1961) is our last birthday guest today. He eventually made it out of the “Office” and went on to bigger and better things. Gone, but never forgotten!




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!!

5 January - Historical Events and Special Celebrations

Gemstone of the Month

Garnet

Flower of the Month: Carnation

Nomanda’s Happy Special Day blog is a celebration of events and anniversaries that have touched our lives. If today is your special day join us in looking at a few other events that have occurred on your day. Enjoy!



Are there enough pubs in England? We all know that the traditional English pub is under the same commercial pressures as many other businesses, especially in today’s financial climate. However the number of pubs serving the population is shrinking at a more alarming rate than many may believe. In the 1840’s which is around the time that there were proper censuses and worthwhile statistics there were 95,820 pubs serving a population of approximately 16 million. That works out at 1 pub for every 156 people. Today the population is around 61 million with a mere 53,000 pubs and that works out at 1 pub for 1,150 people! None the wonder there’s always a queue at the bar to get a drink!



I don’t know how long you had to wait to get a drink at the “Heartbreak Hotel” but I’m sure Elvis could have told you when he recorded that song on this day in 1956! It breaks your heart all that waiting!


Buddy Holly didn’t care how long he waited as he said in his last record “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” released on this day in 1959! It was to be his last song recorded so I guess it really didn’t!




The builder of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan (1592 – 1666) is our first birthday celebrity today. He built the mausoleum at Agra in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. That’s a great name for a wife and mother! Sadly his son and heir didn’t share his father’s respect and grief and shortly after the tomb was completed he had his Dad arrested and put in jail where he spent the rest of his years whilst his son enjoyed the perks and benefits of being the “Ruler of the World”!


The author of the biblical murder mystery, “The Name of the Rose”, Umberto Eco (1932) is our next birthday celebrity. If you haven’t seen the film, starring Sean Connery, you should. Wet your appetite with this clip. If you haven’t read the book then be warned that it’s a bit of a challenge!


The co-founder and guitarist of the group Blondie, Chris Stein (1949) is our next birthday boy. If you get an invite to his party, please be gentle with him because he’s got a “Heart of Glass”!




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!!

23 September - Historical Events and Special Celebrations

Gemstone of the Month

Sapphire

Flower of the Month: Aster

Nomanda’s Happy Special Day blog is a celebration of events and anniversaries that have touched our lives. If today is your special day join us in looking at a few other events that have occurred on your day. Enjoy!



Now Nomanda is interested in history and the events of the past that have influenced and shaped our lives. So not unnaturally I was interested in The Time Capsule that was buried at the World Trade Fair in New York on this day in 1938. When I discovered what the capsule contained I became less than impressed! For starters there are instructions on the capsule that it shouldn’t be opened before the year 6939! OK I can see that 5000 years is a nice round number to keep things under one’s hat, so to speak, but there are even instructions to anyone who finds it earlier to resist the temptation of opening it and to leave it be until the appointed time. Included in the contents are a woman’s hat, and a man’s pipe. Well just over 1% of the time before opening has elapsed and women no longer wear hats very much, and smoking had been banned almost everywhere! There are also 1,100 feet of microfilm, together with a reader, that contain most of everything we knew at the time! So there’s no rock and roll, TV’s computers, men on the moon, big bombs, sat nav, mobile ‘phones or any of the stuff we take for granted today! Nomanda says we should open it and update the stuff every few years or the guys who see it in 6939 are going to think that their ancestors were really stupid! Maybe they will be right!


“That’ll be the Day” by Buddy Holly has missed out of the contents of the capsule because it was on this day in 1957 that his record hit the #1 spot.



The guys who open the capsule will also miss out on the BBC Ceefax service that was introduced on this day in 1974. If you had a TV with Ceefax in those days you had really arrived!


Anyway who’s to know that there will be anyone around to open the dammed capsule in 6939? We may have blown ourselves to smithereens well before then! Let’s dig the confounded thing up and put it a museum where it truly belongs!

The Belgium surrealist painter, Paul Delvaux (1897 – 1997) is our first birthday celebrity today. Nomanda was privileged to visit his museum and home whilst he was still alive and he is one of our favourite painters. Check out some of his work;



The short lived Austrian actress, Romy Schneider (1938 – 1982) appeared in nearly 40 films in her career and will be best remembered by most of her fans for her performance in “What’s New Pussycat?”



Check out the birthmark on our final birthday boy, Bruce Springsteen (1949), and I think you’ll find he was “Born in the USA!”



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!!