November 5th is coming up, Guy Fawkes Night. The day when people all over Britain light bonfires, and let off fireworks in commemoration of the only man to enter parliament with honourable intentions.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the plot, and the true story is no less fascinating despite the passage of time. If you would like to know more about the plot, the conspirators, their motivations, and the consequences of their actions, the following links should answer all your questions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/launch_gms_gunpowder_plot.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/gunpowder_hutton_01.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/…//gunpowder_haynes_01.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/gunpowder-plotters-of-warwickshire.shtml

PS: 5th November is my birthday, and I spent part of my childhood in the Clopton area of Stratford on Avon, which was home to one of the conspirators.

Find out about life in the Iron Age with this interactive game. It’ s easy to play, but very informative.

Learn how to bake bread, make a fire, and spin wool, then be glad we have central heating and shops :-)

Go here.

I bought one of these plants recently, they were displayed
next to the supermarket checkout, so it was definitely
an impulse buy. Trouble was I got it home and hadn’t a clue
what to do with it, or even what it was. So, I did a bit
of research and came up with this:

Lucky Bamboo is often given as a gift in China.
For example as a housewarming present, to welcome a new baby or
at Chinese New Year. The luck you get will depend on the number
of stems you have. Three will bring you happiness, five will
bring you prosperity, and six will improve your health.
However, you must never have four, because the Chinese word
for the number four is very similar to the word for death,
so this is considered very unlucky.

Although it is called Lucky Bamboo, it is in fact
Dracaena sanderiana a member of the Lily family.
A native of rainforest floors it is easy to grow because it
require little direct light, in fact too much light can
be harmful. Furthermore, it can survive quite happily
in a vase of water, just refresh it every week or so.
If you are using tap water, leave it to stand for about
24 hours before using it to allow salts, and chemicals
to dissipate. Alternatively, pot it up using a free draining
compost with plenty of drainage in the bottom of the pot.
And that is pretty much it. Be warned it can grow quite big,
about 1.5 metres, so make sure you can give it houseroom.

More Info:

http://www.chiff.com/a/lucky-bamboo.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Bamboo

http://www.emilycompost.com/lucky_bamboo.htm

Yet another benefit for us left-handers. Apparently, we earn more . . . oh, I see it only applies to men, but that’s still good news for me, I have two left-handed sons to keep me in comfort in my old age.

And I agree about the dying younger thing. It is only because we spend our lives struggling with right-handed devices . . . grrr!

Kate, who has lacerated her finger once too often using a right-handed tin opener.

meryl’s notes: Lefties Make More Money

This is an interesting, slightly tongue in cheek, piece about Halloween . . . coming up very soon. The info about Guy Fawkes Night [my birthday :-) ] is a little out of date. Yeah, we do still have the bonfires, but I can’t remember the last time I saw kids trying to get ‘ a penny for the guy ‘ In fact they didn’t do it back in the ’70s when I was a small person. The bit about the random firing of fireworks is true though . . aren’t kids lovely!?!

© 2011 Itisi Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

Switch to our mobile site