Roxette

Today is Croatian Statehood Day. In Croatian, Statehood Day is known as ‘Dan državnosti’ and is Croatia’s national day marking the day in 1990 when the first post-Communist multi-party Parliament was constituted.

Historically part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire until its collapse at the end of World War I, Croatia was one of the six republics that formed Yugoslavia.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the first post-Communist multi-party Parliament was constituted in Croatia on May 30th 1990.

In May 1991, the Croatian independence referendum had resulted in a 94% vote in favour of establishing an independent Croatia. Following the result, the Croatian Parliament formally proclaimed independence with the Constitutional decision on sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Croatia on June 25th.

At that time, many ethnic Serbs who lived in Croatia declared autonomy of the unrecognised Republic of Serbian Krajina, intent on achieving independence from Croatia. By the end of 1991, a high-intensity conflict fought along a wide front reduced Croatia’s control to about two-thirds of its territory. Serb paramilitary groups then began a campaign of killing, terror, and expulsion of the Croats in the rebel territories, killing thousands of Croat civilians and expelling or displacing as many as 400,000 Croats and other non-Serbs from their homes.

The war effectively ended in August 1995 with a decisive victory by Croatia. Following the Croatian victory, about 200,000 Serbs from the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina fled the region and hundreds of mainly elderly Serb civilians were killed in the aftermath of the military operation. Their lands were subsequently settled by Croat refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Don’t tell anyone!

Today is the birthday, in 1958, of Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist Marie Fredriksson, with Swedish group Roxette, who had the 1990 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘It Must Have Been Love’. Roxette have sold an estimated 75 million records worldwide. Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019, aged 61 following a 17-year long battle with cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2C5TjS2sh4

Today is Anguilla Day, a public holiday in…Anguilla. At only 16 miles (26km) long, Anguilla is the smallest of the five British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. It was first colonized by English settlers from nearby St. Kitts in 1650.

The 1830s saw a union of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla on Britain’s recommendation, a move that was unpopular with the majority of Anguillans as it was thought that representation of the island was neglected.

In 1958, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla became part of the Federation of the West Indies. The Federation collapsed in 1962, and St. Kitts -Nevis-Anguilla was made an associated statehood.

Resentment against this political decision grew, and on May 30th 1967, the people of Anguilla marched on the Police Headquarters and evicted the Royal St. Kitts Police Force from the island. Britain intervened and a peacekeeping committee was established, with British authority being fully restored in July 1971. Although it took until December 19th 1980 before Anguilla fully seceded from the association, the events of May 30th are celebrated today as the most important step towards Anguilla’s autonomy.

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WARNING!

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Today is the birthday, in 1958, of Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist Marie Fredriksson, with Swedish group Roxette, who had the 1990 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘It Must Have Been Love’. Roxette have sold an estimated 75 million records worldwide. Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019, aged 61 following a 17-year long battle with cancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2C5TjS2sh4

Today is the feast of St. Maron. This is an important holiday for Lebanese Maronite Christians who account for about 22% of the total population of Lebanon.

crochet and cross stitch

And never underestimate the power of cardboard —

Here’s another one of the music videos from the eighties…