Guess who's 40 on Sunday 13th July?

If you listen to radio/watch TV in the UK, you can't be unaware that this Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of a rather special day back in 1985.
Where were you when Mr Geldorf was letting loose his potty mouth all over the BBC? If you listen to Greatest Hits Radio (home of Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo), you'll know they're playing all the original recordings from 12 noon on the 13th. Enjoy.

Time Travellers - Guess the year #2

Famous Hatches, Matches and Dispatches from this year:
Births:
Rowan Atkinson, Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruno Tonioli, Olga Korbut, Simon Rattle and Yo-Yo Ma

Marriages:
Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck and Veronique Passani, Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates, Clark Gable and Kay Spreckles, Michael Caine and Patricia Haines

Deaths:
Albert Einstein (76), James Dean (24), Alexander Fleming (74), Charlie Parker (35)

While researching, I noticed some fun coincidences among people born that year, must have been something in the water.
Inventors: Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple) & Tim Berners-Lee (World Wide Web)
Musicians: Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen), Angus Young (AC/DC), Billy Idol (Generation X)
Actresses in Sci-Fi series: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Katherine Janeway), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), Mira Furlan (Ambassador Delenn), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan) – can you guess the odd one out?

Time Travellers - guess the year #1

Famous Hatches, Matches and Dispatches from this year:
Births
Liv Tyler, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom, Michael Fassbender, Chris Martin, Richard Ayoade & Shakira

Marriages
David Cassidy and Kay Lenz, Brian May and Chrissie May, Marvin Gaye and Janis Hunter,
Bruce Boxleitner and Kathryn Holcomb, Chris De Burgh and Diane Davison,
Graham Nash and Susan Sennett, Donald Trump and Ivana Zelníčková

Deaths
Elvis Presley(42), Charlie Chaplin(88), Bing Crosby(74) & Marc Bolan (30)

Solstice Greetings – Happy Midsummer

I just happened to be up at the crack of dawn (or actually quite a while later) in time to watch the sun rise above the horizon, and the scene through my front window had that golden orb shining between the tall trees in the park opposite. Unfortunately I wasn’t sharp enough to grab my camera, but the closest I could find was this.
The sun reflecting off the white side door had a buttery creaminess to it, reminding me of how special the sunrise is at that time of year.

I only joined the throng at Stonehenge once and was most disappointed by the lack of respect of the lumpenproletariat as they swarmed all over the stones and left their detritus behind. And it was cloudy! This year’s figure mentions 25 thousand – my idea of hell. I much prefer the celebration at Avebury – much smaller and more spiritual, although plenty of entertainment with drummers and fire-poi dancers.

It’s been a while since I did the epic drive – these days the spirit is willing, but you know the rest. I keep promising myself to do Glastonbury Tor one year – we’ll see.

Celebrating Fathers

For years, I got quite worked up about the fact Mother’s Day is always on the shortest day of the year (not the Winter Solstice, but because the clocks move forward). And then Father’s Day is on the longest day of the year (but not when the clocks go back). For several years the Summer Solstice fell on the same weekend, so I had to run around doing stuff for my husband, his father and mine before I could drive down to Avebury to celebrate with like-minded people. So this year, with it being on the 15th, nearly caught me out, and I looked into why it wasn’t on the 22nd as I would have expected. A few keystrokes later, I discovered it’s celebrated in the UK on the third Sunday in June.

A little more digging brough up some interesting facts, like the fact it’s a secular celebration, unlike Mother’s Day, which in Britain stems from Mothering Sunday in the Christian liturgical calendar. Having said that, In some European Catholic countries, Father’s Day has been celebrated on 19 March (St Joseph’s Day) since the Middle Ages in honour Joseph of Nazareth, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the legal father of Jesus.

The one in June celebrated in the UK is a relatively modern tradition, adopted from the United States. where the first unofficial Father’s day was held on 19 June 1910. It was introduced by Sonora Smart Dodd from Arkansas, who wanted to honour her widowed father’s dedication to raising six children after his wife died in childbirth. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. From there, it was made a permanent national holiday by President Richard Nixon in 1972.The idea spread internationally, and by the 1970s, it became popular in the UK. Many people celebrate with cards, gifts and homemade school projects. The day often starts with children preparing breakfast in bed, followed later by a family meal. Dad is treated like royalty and not allowed to lift a finger – not even to make a cup of tea.

Other countries have their own traditions, including:

In Germany, Father's Day – Vatertag - (also known as Männertag gentlemen's day/boys’ day out) is celebrated on Ascension Day - the Thursday forty days after Easter. One tradition involves young and older males taking parts in hiking tours. They take small wagons filled with beer and Hausmannkost - simple, hearty dishes prepared at home. Alternatively, they ride beer-bikes, but the general idea is plenty of fun, beer and no responsibility.

First promoted In France by the manufacturer of cigarette lighters “Flaminaire” in Bretagne (1946 to 1969) known for inventing the first gas cigarette lighter, who had the brilliant idea to boost his sales by pushing the then little known holiday. At the time, smoking was a sign of masculinity and virility and a cigarette lighter was the perfect gift choice. Officially recognised in 1952 (on the third Sunday in June), dads and father figures got nominated for a national prize by the social services of each town hall or mayor's office.

In Paraguay, Father's Day is celebrated with a traditional banquet of Paraguayan food like chipa (cheese-flavoured rolls), mbeju (starch cake) and sopa paraguaya (similar to corn bread).

In Thailand, Father's Day takes place on 5 December, (birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej). Traditionally, Thais would celebrate by giving their father figures a canna flower, although this is not as popular anymore. They also wear yellow and light candles to show respect for the late king, who was seen as the "father of the nation".

In Japan, traditional gifts for Father's Day include sake (Japanese rice wine), shochu (Japanese liquor), gourmet food and various sweets.

My Cover Designers 3 - Getcovers

Post-pandemic saw a new era, and 2022 saw me releasing three books in the Calamity Chicks series with my own cover designs (more about those later).
Then I heard Keith A Pearson, a phenomenal Time Travel author on Ken Bruce's Popmaster, and it was a defining moment. After reading a stack of stories by Keith and Adam Eccles, I was inspired, and abandoned my retro chick-lit series.

I had the idea of a bunch of 30-something nerds - like a British version of Big Bang Theory. But I couldn't just do a straight Time-Travel adventure - my fascination with Dungeons and Dragons, meant I did a genre mash-up - given the growing interest in series like Big Bang, Stranger things and even iZombie, I hoped I'd be onto a winner.

As ever, I'd left it far too late to ask anyone, so I had a go myself, based on the general lad-lit covers format of plain background (left). Pitiful, eh? Then someone mentioned Getcovers, and they did a phenomenal job in just under a week (right). Talk about a transformation!

I managed to squeeze books 1 and 2 in before the end of 2022 - which was a tough target, as I didn't start Just in Time until November, but thanks to NaNoWriMo, I wrote it in a month. Two years later, I pubbed the sixth book, and here are the glorious covers. Didn't they do well?

I cannot recommend this Ukrainian outfit enough.
Every dealing I’ve had with them has been an enjoyable experience thanks to the friendly, helpful project managers, and the designers have taken on board every note and quickly tweaked the cover to my satisfaction.

I was so impressed, I got them to redo the Calamity Chicks covers. The differences between my covers and theirs are subtle, but they have a huge impact.

Eurovision Winners – Part 3

So it took a while, but continuing our tradition, I watched the movie: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Although it's only been a year since I last saw it, as ever, there were one or two wee scenes which caught me unawares. I hadn't really clocked quite how many previous contestants bought into the idea.
There were a whole bunch of cameos from actual Eurovision winners including:

• Salvador Sobral, the Portuguese singer who won the contest in 2017 with “Amar Pelos Dois,” who appears briefly as a street performer in Scotland.
• John Lundvik, who kicks off the song-a-long, is a Swedish pop singer who placed fifth in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv with the song “Too Late for Love.”
• Anna Odobescu represented Moldova in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, where she performed “Stay.”
• Bilal Hassani represented France in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Roi.” He made it to the finals, ultimately placing 16th.
• Loreen is a Swedish pop singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with her song “Euphoria.”
• Jessy Matador represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo with “Allez Ola Olé,” which placed 12th.
• Alexander Rybak is a Belarusian Norwegian singer and violinist who has represented Norway in two separate Eurovision Song Contests. In 2009, he won the contest with “Fairytale,” which features some very energetic violin playing, and In 2018, Rybak returned with “That’s How You Write a Song,” which placed 15th.
• Jamala is a Ukrainian singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with “1944,” a song about Stalin and Beria’s deportation of the Crimean Tartars.
• Elina Nechayeva represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, placing eighth with “La Forza.”
• Conchita Wurst, the stage persona of Austrian singer Thomas Neuwirth, won the contest in 2014 with “Rise Like a Phoenix.”
• Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with “Toy.”

As promised, here’s the second lot of winners, from 1956-1989.

Year	Country	Song	Performer
1956	Switzerland	"Refrain "	Lys Assia
1957	Netherlands	"Net als toen"	Corry Brokken
1958	France	"Dors, mon amour"	André Claveau
1959	Netherlands	"Een beetje"	Teddy Scholten
1960	France	"Tom Pillibi"	Jacqueline Boyer
1961	Luxembourg	"Nous les amoureux"	Jean-Claude Pascal
1962	France	"Un premier amour"	Isabelle Aubret
1963	Denmark	"Dansevise"	Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann
1964	Italy	"Non ho l'età"	Gigliola Cinquetti
1965	Luxembourg	"Poupée de cire, poupée de son"	France Gall
1966	Austria	"Merci, Chérie"	Udo Jürgens
1967	United Kingdom	"Puppet on a String"	Sandie Shaw
1968	Spain	"La La La"	Massiel
1969	Spain	"Vivo cantando"	Salomé
	United Kingdom	"Boom Bang-a-Bang"	Lulu
	Netherlands	"De troubadour"	Lenny Kuhr
	France	"Un jour, un enfant"	Frida Boccara
1970	Ireland	"All Kinds of Everything""	Dana
1971	Monaco	"Un banc, un arbre,	une rue"Séverine
1972	Luxembourg	"Après toi"	Vicky Leandros
1973	Luxembourg	"Tu te reconnaîtras"	Anne-Marie David
1974	Sweden	"Waterloo"	ABBA
1975	Netherlands	"Ding-a-dong"	Teach-In
1976	United Kingdom	"Save Your Kisses for Me"	Brotherhood of Man
1977	France	"L'Oiseau et l'Enfant"	Marie Myriam
1978	Israel	"A-Ba-Ni-Bi"	Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta
1979	Israel	"Hallelujah"	Milk and Honey
1980	Ireland	"What's Another Year"	Johnny Logan
1981	United Kingdom	"Making Your Mind Up"	Bucks Fizz
1982	Germany	"Ein bißchen Frieden"	Nicole
1983	Luxembourg	"Si la vie est cadeau"	Corinne Hermès
1984	Sweden	"Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley	"Herreys
1985	Norway	"La det swinge"	Bobbysocks!
1986	Belgium	"J'aime la vie"	Sandra Kim
1987	Ireland	"Hold Me Now"	Johnny Logan
1988	Switzerland	"Ne partez pas sans moi"	Céline Dion
1989	Yugoslavia	"Rock Me"	Riva

A few fun facts and figures:
The performer and the songwriter(s) of the winning song only receive a medal or a trophy, while its participating broadcaster is invited to host the following year's contest. Since 2008, the performer has been awarded a handmade trophy of sandblasted glass in the shape of a 1950s microphone, while the songwriter(s) and the broadcaster receive smaller versions of the trophy.

Ireland and Sweden have won seven times, more than any other country. Ireland also won the contest for three consecutive years (1992, 1993, and 1994), the only country to ever do so. Three countries have won twice in a row: Spain (1968 and 1969), Luxembourg (1972 and 1973) and Israel (1978 and 1979). Serbia is the only country to win with its debut entry (in 2007).[b] By contrast, Portugal holds the record for waiting the longest to achieve their first win, doing so in 2017; 53 years after their first appearance in the contest. Two people have won more than once as a performer: Ireland's Johnny Logan, who performed "What's Another Year" in 1980 and "Hold Me Now" in 1987, and Sweden's Loreen, who performed "Euphoria" in 2012 and "Tattoo" in 2023.

The United Kingdom has finished second sixteen times at Eurovision (most recently in 2022), more than any other country. France has finished third and fourth eight times at Eurovision (most recently respectively in 1981 and in 2024), and Sweden has finished fifth nine times at Eurovision (most recently in 2019). The country with the most top three places that has never won the contest is Malta, having finished second in 2002 and 2005 and third in 1992 and 1998. Another island nation, Iceland, has also finished second twice, in 1999 and 2009.

With Portugal achieving its first win in 2017, Malta now also holds the record for longest wait for a first win, having first entered the contest in 1971 (although Cyprus has more winless appearances, with 36 since debuting in 1981, due to Malta taking a break from 1976 through 1990). Spain holds the current record for longest drought by a winning country, having last won in 1969. They are followed by France (1977) and Belgium (1986).