16 February - Historical Events and Special Celebrations

Flower of the Month

Violet

Gemstone of the Month: Amethyst

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!



There are some days in history when there’s not a lot to fire Nomanda’s imagination and 16th February appears to be one of them! I am however pleased to see that the Beatles song “Please, Please Me” topped the UK charts on this day in 1963.



If you drive a car then I think that you’ve been in a traffic jam or two at some stage in your driving experience. We all hate them, there’s nothing we can do about them and we try our best to stay calm and just hope that the bloody thing will clear up as soon as possible! Then when you get to the spot where all the trouble seems to have started, there’s nothing there! Frustrating, I know.


Spare a thought for the unfortunate French drivers who on this day in 1980 had the misfortune to be stuck in the longest traffic jam on record! The jam stretched all the way back from Lyons to Paris, a full 176 kilometres, and I’d like to bet that a few Gallic tempers got frayed! Can you imagine, jumping out of your car to see how far the jam stretched only to eventually find out that it went on for ever or as near as dammit! It gives me the creeps just thinking about it!


Something else that gives me the creeps is the Jehovah’s Witnesses ringing your door bell with their self satisfying sickly smiles and their “I’m better than you are view on life”. No matter how much you tell them that you are not interested, that you are not religious, that you believe in another religion they never ever, go quietly and you end up slamming the door in their faces! That gives you a small amount of satisfaction, but in the meantime whatever you were doing before they called has gone off / cold/ /stopped or is finished! I hate them! That’s why I want you to know that the guy responsible for the founding of this self righteous bunch of self serving smarmy evangelists, Charles Taze Russell (1852 – 1916), will not be getting a mention on Nomanda’s blog today! Oh bollocks, I’ve just gone and done it!


However, the guy known by the sport’s umpires as “Whispering Death” on account of his swift, silent and beautifully balanced run up to the crease, Michael Holding (1954) gets Nomanda’s very best wishes for his bash today! Have a look at this example of his bowling talents in 1976 playing against England at the Oval Cricket Ground. He now does a great job for Sky Sports as a cricket commentator.


Another class act turned commentator, this time from the tennis courts, John McEnroe (1959), is our next birthday boy today. Some of his matches against Borg, Connors and Lendl are legendary. He took his matches very seriously and sometimes questioned whether the umpires were doing the same! A great character and a great player!




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 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!




First of all Nomanda sends a very special birthday greeting to our favourite Australian, Michael! He’s a great guy who works and plays hard and he happens to be Nomanda’s son-in-law! He’s about to become a Daddy soon and we’re all very excited about that. So Michael all our love and happy special birthday wishes! We hope you have a great time on your birthday and enjoy your visit to your local golf shop!


One of the first things most blokes do in the mornings is shaving. It’s boring but it’s got to be done unless you have a beard and moustache when I guess you just have to trim them from time to time. All those guys sporting their beards may have a different view of things if they were obliged to pay a tax for wearing their beards. Well if you lived in Russia on this day in 1698 your beard would cost you 100 roubles a year. The tax was imposed by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great in an effort to “Europeanise” his court and army. He had spent some time in Europe and was impressed with European customs which he believed to be more civilised than Russia’s. At the end of his reign his policy of westernisation and expansion had transformed the Tsardom of Russia into a 3 billion acre Russian Empire and a major European power. It’s amazing what you can achieve without a beard!


Of course I guess that Peter had to box clever to establish his empire. Well on this day in 1923 two boxing flyweights, Gene LaRue and Kid Pancho were a bit too clever in their boxing match. They managed to KO each other simultaneously! You can just see it, bank, bang and they both fall down! I guess the result was a draw!


Boxing his way to a gold medal on this day in 1960 was one of the best boxers of the 20th century, Cassius Clay. He described his boxing style as “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” He also fancied himself as a bit of a poet and has many quotable quotes. The one I like most of all is the words he said to Sonny Liston, a mean man in anybody’s book, after he knocked him down in their second fight, “Get up and fight, Sucker!” Brave words, indeed!


Another sportsman who had a lot to say in his early career was the tennis star John McEnroe. Indeed he was fined $17,500 for his troubles on this day in 1987 at the US Tennis Open. Time has mellowed the young petulant performer and he’s developed into a really nice guy, still a great player and an excellent commentator on the game.


Our first birthday celebrity is more notorious than famous, Jesse James (1847 – 1882). The dangerous bank and train robber came to his end with a bullet in the back of his head whilst dusting a picture in his home. I keep saying that housework is dangerous! He was also the “Son of a Preacher Man”. Cue for a song!



One of Nomanda’s favourite comedians, Bob Newhart (1929) will be entertaining his party guests with a few stories at his birthday bash today. This one has to be one of his funniest!



There is a bevy of beautiful women sharing their birthdays today; Raquel Welch (1940), Kristian Alfonso (1964) and Elize du Toit (1981).




That just leaves room for our best birthday wishes to the Australian actor OHMSS, George Lazenby (1940), and our fond memories of Freddie Mercury (1946 – 1991). Let’s hear one from Freddie!





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!!