I do intend to get back to regular posting on this blog. I’ve got a selection of books I’d like to talk about and quite a lot of other stuff has happened but, to ease back into things, here’s a meme I caught off Jetse de Vries (from Chris Roberson) - put the date of your birth into Wikepedia and take four events, three births, two deaths and a holiday.

Here’s what you get when you put in 28 March

Events

• 193 - Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
  Pertinax lasted 88 days - I don’t know what Didius Julianus paid but it wasn’t worth it by June 1 he was gone, replaced by Septimus Severus (who then had to battle two rival Caesars - 193 was a hell of a year)
• 1930 - Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara.
  “why did Constantinople get the works? Thats’ nobody’s business but the Turks”
• 1979 - In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails in the Three Mile Island accident, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a nuclear meltdown.
  Cough!
• 1979 - British Prime Minister James Callaghan, is defeated by one vote in a Motion of No Confidence. This results in Parliament being dissolved to make way for a General Election
  The defeat of Callaghan is one of the first political events I recall clearly. No one imagined that Thatcher and the Tories would be in power for 18 years.

Births

• 1522 - Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (d. 1557)
  Now that’s a name!
• 1942 - Neil Kinnock, British politician
  A genuinely brave politician - decent bloke.
• 1975 - Richard Kelly, American film director
  Southland Tales? Bwahahaha!

Deaths

• 1987 - Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (b. 1905)
  How do you solve a problem like Maria?
• 1987 - Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
  Not dead. Regenerating.

Holidays

The Feast of St Gontram

“king of a fourth of the kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans.” […] “he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was open-handed with his wealth, especially in times of plague and famine. He strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations.”

Can’t beat a benevolent dictator!