Crabs and Beer!

Thoughts from the depths of the Eastern Shore
02
Nov
2023

TH…U…RS…DA……….Y!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Liberia. President George Manneh Weah, has by Proclamation declared Thursday November 2nd 2023 as “National Thanksgiving Day” to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday. Each year, the Liberian President issues a Proclamation for this holiday declaring the day as National Thanksgiving Day, to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday. The Proclamation calls on Liberians and foreign residents within the borders of Liberia,  Priests, Imams, Bishops, Pastors, Clergies as well as religious organizations in the country to gather in their various places of worship and offer thanks.

Dumboy (boiled and then pounded cassava) and Fufu (a derivative of cassava) have been the staple side dishes for Thanksgiving alongside a roasted chicken where available

Chicken Coupe

Well that’s a surprise!

From days past…

Today is the birthday, in 1938, of American singer Jay Black, known as ‘The Voice,’ whose height of fame came in the 1960s when he was the lead singer of Jay and the Americans. The band had numerous hits including ‘Come a Little Bit Closer’, ‘Cara Mia’, and ‘This Magic Moment’. He died from pneumonia age 82 on 22 October 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sFy5_kmEi4

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
01
Nov
2023

It’s already WEDNESDAY

Today is Anniversary of the Revolution Day in Algeria. It is celebrated on November 1st and commemorates the start of the war of independence against France.

From the start of the sixteenth century, Algeria had been under the partial rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1830, the country was invaded by France. The conquest of Algeria was a long and bloody affair, and unusually for French foreign territories, Algeria’s status was that it was treated as being part of France rather than as a colony.

Emigration from Europe to Algeria was encouraged by the French, with tribal lands confiscated by the French government or French settlers and Europeans even becoming the majority of the population in some cities like Algiers.

On November 1st1954, the Christian festival of All Saints’ Day, 70 individual coordinated attacks were made on police and military targets across Algeria by the National Liberation Front (FLN). These attacks signaled the start of the Algerian War. The events of November 1st 1954 became known as the ‘Red (bloody) All Saints’ Day’ (French: Toussaint Rouge).

While France won the conflict and regained control of the country, the brutality of the suppression of the revolution further alienated the Algerians and resulted in a loss of support for France’s control of Algeria, both in France and abroad. This change in attitude directly led to independence from Algeria on July 5th 1962.

Unfortunate juxtaposition…

SIGNZZZZZ

Today is the birthday, in 1954, of Chris Morris, guitar, from Paper Lace who scored the 1974 UK No.1 single ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero’, and the 1974 US No.1 single ‘The Night Chicago Died’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82thy_x1M8

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies
31
Oct
2023

TOOOOOOOOOSDAY

Today is Reformation Day, a public holiday in Chile, Slovenia and parts of Germany. Reformation Day commemorates the day in 1517 when a German monk named Martin Luther (1483-1546) strode up to the church in Wittenburg and nailed his 95 ‘theses’ (or propositions) to the church door. Luther chose to do this on October 31st as he knew the church would be full on the next day for All Saints’ Day.

Luther had hoped that pinning his protestations would spark wider debate about the process of ‘buying’ indulgences (which forgave sins) and harden public opinion against the practice. However, so many people agreed with his ideas that they quickly spread across western Europe, helped by the recent invention of the printing press, leading to the religious revolt known as the Reformation.

The reformation led many Christians to break off from the Roman Catholic Church and establish new, independent churches of their own, such as the Lutheran Church. The pivotal act would ultimately lead to the creation of the numerous Protestant denominations, so-called as they trace their theological lineage to this “protestation” of the Catholic Church. 

Pizza Party!!!!

Today is the birthday, in 1950, of American singer, songwriter and guitarist Moon Martin. Originally a rockabilly artist, he wrote the songs ‘Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)’, made famous by the English singer Robert Palmer, and ‘Cadillac Walk’, a hit for American singer Willy DeVille. Hi died on 11 May 2020 age 74. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlPHmYtqSdA

Posted by Tom in eighties music, Humor, Music
30
Oct
2023

MUN…DAI or something like that

Today is the October Bank Holiday in Ireland – always observed on the last Monday of October. After Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, the number of Irish public holidays was lower than that mandated for workers by the EEC. As a result. this day became a bank holiday in 1977 and although no particular reason was given for choosing the date, the date was probably chosen as it would fall at the same time as the half-term school break, which traditionally covered All Saints’ Day on 1st November.

It is interesting to note that there were four Gaelic seasonal festivals, marking key times of the year for agricultural communities. Of these, Beltane (the beginning of summer on 1st May) and Samhain (the beginning of winter on 1st November) were the most important and both these now have public holidays very near to their dates with both the modern public holidays being the two most recently adopted.

Halloween takes its roots from the Samhain Eve, when it was believed that the link between the worlds of living and dead was at its strongest. Some scholars believe that Samhain may have been the Celtic new year. With the Chritianisation of Ireland, the traditional date of Samhain, 1 November, was the same as All Saints’ Day. The traditions of Samhain Eve were allowed to continue, but ‘rebranded’ as All Hallow’s Eve or Halloweve for short. Some consider the later establishment of All Souls’ Day (Day of the Dead) as an attempt to replace the Pagan Halloween with a more Christian focused holiday.

Today is the birthday, in 1939, of American singer-songwriter Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane, Starship. Slick provided vocals on a number of iconic songs, including ‘Somebody to Love’, ‘White Rabbit’, ‘We Built This City’ and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_raXzIRgsA

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Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, sixties and seventies

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