I aint afraid of no ghost!

The origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Irish name Samhain is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". What no ghosts, no scary monsters?

Diego

Today the great Diego Armando Maradona is 50. Despite the controversy that surrounds his life there is no doubting he was one of the greatest footballers of all time. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 tournament, where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player.

Feliz cumpleaños Diego!

Heads you loose

Today in 1618 Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded under a sentence that had been brought against him 15 years earlier for conspiracy against King James I.

Raleigh was a busy chap he was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also largely known for popularising tobacco in England (thanks for that).

Another rainy day and the last of my break from school.

Il Duce Vita

Today in 1922 Benito Mussolini took control of the Italian government and introduced fascism to Italy.

Mussolini was among the founders of Italian Fascism, which included elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress and anti-communism in combination with censorship of subversives and state propaganda. Sadly this fascist model was to catch on and spread into other countries within Europe and free expression of thought and will was dealt a telling blow for several years as a result.

How often a saviour can turn into a villain when they come to power.

Class(ical)

Just to show you all how much of music fan I am; today I am going to celebrate the birth of the composer and violinist Nicolo Paganini who was born on this day in 1782. The Italian violinist is rumoured to have gained his talent as a result of a pact to the devil. Who knows he sure could play faster than most.

As many of you may not be familiar with his work I have included a little video of Kirill Troussov playing Paganini Caprice 24, perhaps one piece of his work that is well known to people that stay up late and watch the South Bank Show.

Miss Jackson

Today in 1911 the singer Mahalia Jackson was born, she may not be a well known name to most in this country but she became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and is the first Queen of Gospel Music.

Closely associated with the black civil rights movement, Miss Jackson was chosen to sing at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington rally at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

The granddaughter of a slave, she had struggled for years for fulfillment and for unprejudiced recognition of her talent. She was present at many of Dr. Kings speeches at this time and was vital in whipping up excitement and creating unity in often varied civil rights audiences.

She sadly died in 1972 of heart failure.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

Today back in 1415 in Northern France, England won the Battle of Agincourt over France during the Hundred Years' War. Almost 6000 Frenchmen were killed while fewer than 400 were lost by the English (though these numbers are hard to accurately confirm due to lack of sources).

The battle is also the centrepiece of the play Henry V, by William Shakespeare. That's where the title of today's post comes from.

UN

Today in 1945 The United Nations (UN) was formally established less than a month after the end of World War II. The Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories.

On this it's 65th anniversary, the UN resolves ‘to do more’ for peace. Let's hope they succeed.

Edison "Edson" Arantes do Nascimento

Today in 1940 was born arguably the greatest footballer of all time Pelé. In his career he scored 760 official goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total he scored 1281 goals in 1363 games. On top of this he was part of three world cup winning teams.

Happy Birthday O Rei Pelé!

Good Vibrations

Today in 1966 The Beach Boys (another maritime related post, get it?) released the single "Good Vibrations". Along with being a fantastic band this song shows what vocal harmonies sound like when done very well.

Is it still fair that I love that it's Friday even though I have been on holiday all week?

Have fun! Enjoy!

Nelsons Monument in Glasgow

Well I'm just back from my walk and here is one of the pictures I took of the Nelson Monument in Glasgow Green (see previous post for more details).

Nelson and Trafalgar

In keeping with the nautical feel of yesterdays post today in 1805 The Battle of Trafalgar occurred off the coast of Spain. The British defeated the French and Spanish fleet. This confirmed Britain's worldwide naval superiority, something which was not really to be threatened for over 100 years until the arms race pre WWI. No mean feet when you consider that global trade, at this time, was vital to a healthy economy and this was tied in to a countries ability to travel by sea.

Admiral Lord Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, becoming one of Britain's greatest war heroes. In fact London's most famous square (Trafalgar) was laid out in 1829 to 1841 to commemorate Nelson's victory at the Battle. Though the first monument dedicated to Nelson is believed to have been erected in Glasgow Green in 1806. I think I might take a walk up and see it now as it's a nice day.

Tall and beautiful

A beautiful day in Glasgow and whilst out walking by the famous river Clyde I took this picture (on the right). It shows the tall ship 'The Glenlee'. She is a three masted barque, with length 245 feet, beam 37.5 feet and depth 22.5 feet.

The Glenlee first took to the water as a bulk cargo carrier in 1896. She circumnavigated the globe four times and survived (though not without incident) passing through the fearsome storms of Cape Horn 15 times before being bought by the Spanish navy in 1922 and being turned into a sail training vessel.

To find out more go visit, kids get in for free!!!

http://www.glenlee.co.uk/newsite/index.shtml

Justice?

Today back in 1989 The 'Guilford Four' were cleared of all charges and released after 14 years in prison. The charges were from the 1975 IRA bombings of public houses in Guildford and Woolrich, England.

As he emerged from the court, one of the four, Gerard Conlon, announced to the waiting crowds: "I have been in prison for something I did not do. I am totally innocent."

Guess who's back?

Well I have not blogged for a long time so I thought since I am at a new school it was time to get back in the swing. First off I want to say Hi to all the pupils at St C's and I hope you are enjoying your holiday.

Did you know that on this day in 1564 Sir John Hawkins begins 2nd trip to America?Despite being one of the foremost seamen of 16th-century England and main architect of the English navy he was also sadly to be the pioneer of the English slave trade. He was one of the first to run the triangular trade, making a profit at every stop. We can not judge him on today's standards as this would be somewhat unfair but think how different life would have been for millions if he had not been around.

Its good to be back!