Guernica

I have not posted in a while this is due to moving around a lot, holidays and internet issues. However as part of this travelling I write this post whilst sitting in Madrid and today I saw Guernica by Pablo Picasso. It was very impressive.

The painting shows the bombing of Guernica, which is in Basque Country (North Spain), by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. You can find out more about it by searching the usual sights on the internet.

Tickle Day

Today in 1603 all married men were made to tickle their wives as part of the souffrance lifting laws. This law was later changed on the same day the following year to include unmarried men and women too. It stayed a law until 1/4/1914 when the growing concerns about a European conflict left the nation in a less jovial mood.

Quite an Eiffel

Today in 1889 in Paris (eh where else would it be?), the Eiffel Tower officially opened.

The Bruce

Today in 1306 Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland.

From BBC's website :-

Robert was born on 11 July 1274 into an aristocratic Scottish family. Through his father he was distantly related to the Scottish royal family. His mother had Gaelic antecedents. Bruce's grandfather was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne during a succession dispute in 1290 - 1292. The English king, Edward I, was asked to arbitrate and chose John Balliol to be king. Both Bruce and his father refused to back Balliol and supported Edward I's invasion of Scotland in 1296 to force Balliol to abdicate. Edward then ruled Scotland as a province of England.

Cowboys

Today in 1848 Wyatt Earp was born. Now the name might not be familiar but he is a very famous law man in the days of the wild west. He is best known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, along with Doc Holliday, and two of his brothers, Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp.

Despite all of what you might believe here the cowboys were actually the bad guys as Earp and his bunch had the law on their side. However as with most things in history it was not quite as straight forward as that in the west as Wyatt Earp was accused of murdering one of the cowboys.

His story along with Doc Holliday has been the subject of quite a few movies. My favourite being 'Tombstone'.

Have a great weekend.

Ajax Amsterdam ole ole!

Today in 1900 Ajax (Amsterdam Football Club) was formed. Ajax are one of the largest and most successful clubs in European football. I have been lucky enough to visit their new stadium and the history of the club is something as a football fan and historian makes them quiet irresistible to me.

If you look through a list of past players it reads like a whose who of great European footballers.

Happy birthday AFC Ajax.

Happy St Patricks day!

Today in 461 Bishop Patrick, St. Patrick, died in Saul. Ireland has St Patrick as their patron saint so this is a good day for the Irish (which means a huge party to most). So to one and all that celebrates tonight have a great day.

There are a lot of myths surrounding St Patrick but why don't you try and find some of them out for yourself.