Showing posts with label Queen Elizabeth II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queen Elizabeth II. Show all posts

Thursday, 11 June 2009

11 June - Historical Events and Special Celebrations


Gemstone of the Month


Pearl


Flower of the Month: Rose


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!



In a rare display of batting prowess England managed to knock up 658 runs against Australia and declared with 2 wickets left on this day in 1938. In fact the Belgians were so gob smacked that they had an earthquake on the same day!



Beer drinkers of the world unite and celebrate this day in 1870 that marked the founding of the Amstel Brewery in Amsterdam. The brewery was named after the river alongside the building and water from the river was used in the cooling of the golden liquid. Within two short years production was up to around 2 million pints per year and everybody was very happy! Initially most of the production was consumed by the beer lovers of Amsterdam. That is a lot of pints every night for the unfortunate inhabitants! Cheers!



Smacking their lips at FDR’s party on this day a year later in 1938 were the King and Queen of England who tasted their first “hot dogs” at this prestigious party! Way to go FDR! I bet that impressed your old colonial masters! Who else would serve “hot dogs” at a state banquet? I’ve a sneaky feeling that the Queen didn’t ask for the recipe to pass on to the butler!


Another Queen, HRH Elizabeth II, showed the country that she was “with it” on this day in 1964 when she ordered (royals do that, they don’t just ask like us ordinary mortals!) the “Beatles” to play at her birthday party. They did and the Queen is cool!




Now I know that the Americans have had oil for ever but it was on this day in 1975 that the UK first started pumping the black stuff from its little oil field in the North Sea. All UK economic problems were going to be resolved overnight now that it had become an oil producing nation. So what happened? The last I heard current prices at the pumps were bringing the country to its knees, lorry drivers were protesting and demonstrating, and all other prices were squirting upwards as a result of increased distribution costs. The only guy who daren’t smile on camera is the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is building bigger coffers to accommodate this latest revenue windfall. When challenged on the subject he defended the fact that he hadn’t intervened in the taxes on oil because,”Revenues will be less from the commercial sector.” Of course it will, they’ll all be bust!


Busting his racquet strings on his way to the French Open Title on this day in 1975 was the blond Swede, Bjorn Borg. The poor chap had to leave his homeland and relocate to Monaco to avoid the tax man. It’s so sad!



Making pots of cash for his backers on the release of his film on this day in 1982 was the frail extra terrestrial “ET”. It is the highest grossing film ever!




There’s so much music stuff happening on this day in history that I’ll let you choose what you’d like to hear. Manfred Mann record “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” in 1964. The Beach Boys “Sloop John B” goes to #1 in 1966. “I Am A Rock” by Simon and Garfunkel peaks at #3 in 1966 and Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There To Remind Me” goes to #8 in 1983. Really Great Stuff!



Our birthday celebrities’ start with John Constable (1776 – 1837), the great painter from Suffolk, now often referred to as “Constable Country”. During his lifetime the French bought more of his works than his countrymen and his “The Hay Wain” is probably his best known work.



The next celebrity is the “Flying Scot”: Jackie Stewart (1939) whose 8 year career in Formula 1 motor sport from 1965 – 1973 includes 100 starts, 43 podium finishes, 27 wins and 3 times world champion. Not at all bad! He now pursues a successful career as a sports commenter in the US.



Final birthday greetings go to the very funny man, Hugh Laurie (1959) who is at his best when teamed up with his old friend Stephen Fry.




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!!

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Tuesday, 2 June 2009

2 June - Historical Events and Special Celebrations



Flower of the Month


Rose


Gemstone of the Month: Pearl



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!


Celebrating her reign of 55 years today will be HR Queen Elizabeth II who on this day in 1953 was crowned Queen of England at her coronation ceremony held at Westminster Abbey. The TV was a relatively new, small and expensive item in 1953 but that didn’t stop half the population of the UK going out and buying one so they could see the whole “show” on the telly! Street parties and the singing of the National Anthem was everywhere. With lungs bursting with enthusiasm most of the younger children thought they were sending the Queen flowers called “Victorias”, "Happy” and “Glorias”. But who cared, we had a new Queen! God bless her!



Not lucky enough to live in a democracy, Chinese students were protesting for one in Tiananmen Square on this day in 1989. This time the students were protected by 100,000 civilians who stood between the students and the assembled 10,000 soldiers. Sadly they would not be protected for long as we shall see in a couple of day’s time.


Our first birthday celebrity today is Thomas Hardy (1840 – 1928). Although he saw himself as more of a poet than an author, ironically his novels have proved to be the most popular. The fictional county of Wessex brought to life in his book “Far from the Madding Crowd” was sensitively made into a film starring Julie Christie with Terence Stamp and Peter Finch. It is a classic and if you’ve not seen it, you should!



Our next celebrity is Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) who’s “Pomp and Circumstance” marches have become an integral part of “The Proms”. His “Land of Hope and Glory” must be his best known work.




Drumming to a different beat, the “Wembley Whammer”, Charlie Watts (1941), drummer of “The Rolling Stones” will be having a glass or two today at his birthday celebrations. I bet that will be a great party! I wonder if he will entertain his guests with his drumming impresario of "Monkey Man".



Another musician who knows how to party, Tony Hadley (1960), the vocalist of the “Spandau Ballet” will also be downing a couple today!
Here's one of Nomanda's "Gold" favorites!



A couple of Australian twins, the Waugh brothers (1965), will be having a coolie in some cricketing bar today. They were the scourge of the English cricket team in the early 2,000’s. Thank goodness they now both retired from the international scene to give someone else a chance!



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!!

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Friday, 29 May 2009

29 May - Historical Events and Special Celebrations



Gemstone of the Month

Emerald


Flower of the Month: Lily of the Valley



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!



When a great statesman like Abraham Lincoln says something usually most people stand up and listen. It was on this day in 1849 that he said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” Great words and sentiments. So how is it that no politician has heeded them?



In an act of extreme intolerance it was on this day in 1912 that the company Curtis Publishing fired 15 young female employees for dancing the “Turkey Trot” during their lunch break! I guess the employers were all good Catholics as the dance had been denounced by the Vatican. Other conservative members of society had tried to get it banned at public functions. Of course these actions only served to increase its popularity! Good!



The timing may be off, but the song and the tune weren’t, because it was on this day in 1942 that Bing Crosby recorded Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” for the film “Holiday Inn”. It is the best selling record in the world! Love it!




Climbing high and trying to get his timing spot on was Edmund Hillary who with Tensing on this day in 1953 became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The timing was to coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation which took place at Westminster Abbey on June 2nd. Pretty good timing, if you ask me!



Singing their way to the top on this day in 1960 were The Everly Brothers with “Cathy’s Clown”. Their harmonics were to influence other popular groups of the 60’s including The Beach Boys and The Beatles.



Birthday celebrations today start with the relatively unknown Ebenezer Butterick (1826 – 1903) the inventor of tissue paper dress patterns. Nomanda is reliably informed he made all his own dresses!




Making people laugh most of his life was the comedian, Bob Hope (1903 – 2003). His career is too extensive to do it justice in a few lines but one quote I remember that summed up his attitude to life and his joy of it was this. At the age of 99 in reply to a question by a reporter who asked him why anyone would want to live to a hundred years old, Bob replied, “Ask someone who’s 99!” He lived to be 100! Great man!


Another great man, John F Kennedy (1917 – 1963) was born on this day. Everyone who was around at the time remembers what they were doing the day JFK was assassinated. Sadly to this day nobody has come up with a satisfactory reason of why he was killed.




Another member of the Jackson family, this time La Toya, was born on this day in 1956. Despite the fact that she has tried her hand at singing, writing and acting, she will probably be best remembered for her appearance in the “Playboy” magazine in 1989. She protests that she was forced into the job by her then husband, but I think she just did it for the money. After all it was the best selling “Playboy” edition ever selling 8 million copies! And she appeared again in 1991! Get real!



If you really really want to know our final birthday celebrity then it is Melanie Janine Brown (1975), better known to her fans as “Scary Spice”. Her massive mop of hair and leopard patterned outfits are her trademark. They’re all nice Spice Girls really!





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!!


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Saturday, 16 May 2009

16 May - Historical Events and Special Celebrations



Flower of the Month

Lily of the Valley



Gemstone of the Month: Emerald



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!



We are always happy when food is on the agenda and today we have two food and drink celebrations! The first goes to Charles Elmer Hires, a pharmacist, who on this day in 1866 invented root beer. In fact he copied the idea from the landlady of the place where he spent his honeymoon, but who cares! He was going to call it root tea, but correctly calculated that the word beer would make it more marketable. Sadly it doesn’t make it more drinkable!



The next food invention on this day in 1891 by George A Hormel & Co was none other than our favourite dish of the day, the one and only SPAM! This pink coloured luncheon meat blob is just the thing for the working lunchbox and has been hungrily devoured by millions of poor sods who couldn’t be bothered to make a proper sandwich! Nevertheless it still appears every day on billions of computer screens! Thanks, George!




In a typical Vatican gesture of too little too late it was on this day in 1920 that they decided to canonize Joan of Arc and make her a Saint. Well done!






Despite the fact that aeroplanes had been flying around for some time by now remarkably it was on this day in 1936 that the first air hostess appeared on the scene. Her name was Daphne Kearley and she worked on the Air Dispatch’s “Dawn Express” from Croydon, London to Le Bourget, France. During the two and a half hour flight she had to mix drinks and cook and serve the food. As if that was not enough she also had to be able to speak French, be able to take dictation and be able to use a typewriter. The businessmen on board expected their letters all nicely typed up at the end of the journey. None the wonder the flight took so long. I bet that half of the time of the flight was spent in a “holding” position so that Daphne could finish her typing! Thank God it wasn’t a jumbo jet; they’d be up there all day!



There was no holding back Jim Laker on this day in 1956 when playing for Surrey he took all 10 of the Australians wickets for just 88 runs. His final match figures were 19 for 90. Not at all bad, Jim! Well bowled!



The Beach Boys released their album “Pets Sounds” on this day in 1966 and “Wouldn’t it be Nice” to hear one of their songs! Brilliant!





Now here’s a one for the Vatican to consider because it was on this day in 1986 that “Bobby Ewing” came back from the dead. Will he be up for a canonization in a few hundred years time, I think not!






In a remarkable double act on this day in 1988 the US Supreme Court ruled that trash could be searched without a warrant, but with rubber gloves, I suppose! And on the same day in a report from the Surgeon General, C Everett Koop, he revealed that nicotine was as addictive as heroin. All I can say is that he obviously had never tried the stuff himself as if he had he would have known already!



Having recovered from the baseball game and her host George Bush, it was on this day in 1991 that HRH Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the US Congress. I bet she didn’t tell them how much she’d enjoyed the previous day’s game!



Birthday celebrities today start with an Italian lady, Maria G Agnesi (1718 – 1799) who was a mathematician and who is renowned for her formula for the curve. To all our mathematicians we believe it is: xy=a,a-y.





Next up for birthday wishes is Henry Fonda (1906 – 1982). Amongst his many films Nomanda likes his westerns best.





Another great performer, this time on the piano, Liberace (1919 – 1987) was born on this day. As time went on his performances got more and more extravagant and Nomanda likes his “candelabra era” best! (you choose a clip, please, x)




Another celebrated actor, Pierce Brosnan (1952) was born on this day and has played several “James Bond” roles including “Golden Eye”.




Our final birthday wishes go to Janet Jackson (1966) and Michael’s sister who seems to go from hot to blob at the gulp of a MacDonald. Eat more spam, ma’am!



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!!

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