Leap Day, some personal and interesting facts
But first, yesterday. Sunday morning, 08.30: Waking up early to a fabulous, though damp, morning. The balcony was dripping wet, the windows were slightly misted up and yet the only cloud I could see first thing was hanging low over Nimos, obscuring the top of the hills. It must have been a humid night. Yesterday (Saturday) was hot in the sun, so much so that we even contemplated sunbathing on the roof. The evening felt colder because of it and today, Sunday, morning feels like summer. We are going to walk to St Nicholas later, so there should be some decent images over the next few days; meanwhile, today’s photos were taken on Saturday when we went to Yialos to get some shopping and have a bit of a walk.
But today (Monday) is a special day, being a leap day, February 29th. It is also (being personal in my blog for a change) the fourth anniversary of the death of my uncle, so for only the third time since 2004, when he died, we are able to celebrate, if that is the word. Remember might be more appropriate. My uncle was a colourful man, something of a celebrity in his own way, once mistaken by the Duke of Edinburgh for Bob Monkhouse, friend of various (Conservative) MPs and celebrities, leader of his local Neighbourhood Watch in South London for many years, and a man who, after only a few months of work at Lloyds, was able to invest his income and live on his capital for the rest of his life. He was very good with money, the stock exchange, languages (he spoke Greek, French, English and bits of others) and ended up living in France where his funeral was held in Saint–Lô cathedral in March 2004. It was my job to carry the family flag with his coat of arms before the coffin as it processed through the nave. There are 101 stories I could tell you about him, but they would be more suited to a book of anecdotes that a quick blog post. Instead, I wondered what else had happened on this unusual date.
Something of interest to me, as one of my favourite plays is Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (a film I must get on DVD – the screenplay was also by Arthur Miller), it was this day in 1692 that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne & Tituba, a servant, were the first people to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1774 the Marquis de Sade was transferred into the Bastille – there’s another good film there, with Kate Winslet, and Geoffrey Rush as the Marquis, called Quills. In 1932 (and this is strangely topical), TIME magazine featured eccentric American politician William “Alfalfa” Murray on its cover after Murray stated his intention to run for President of the United States. I am thinking of Donald Trump here, who is, surely, some practical joke gone badly wrong.
For those who follow Gilbert and Sullivan storylines, rather Gilbert storylines and Sullivan melody lines, it was on February 29th 1940 that Frederick would have been finally released from his contract by the Pirate King – his birthday being on February 29th, one of those devices Gilbert was so keen on. Also in 1940 on this day, Gone With The Wind won eight Oscars. The first Playboy club was opened in Chicago in 1960 on this day, and, in 2004, The Lord Of The Rings (part three) won its Oscars. (So as my uncle was being returned to God, the film, ‘The Return Of The King’ was winning its awards. More appropriate, for Uncle, would have been ‘The Return Of The Queen.’)
As for who else has died on this day in history, my uncle will be in friendly hands as Pope St. Hilarius died in 468 (my uncle converted to Catholicism later in life and liked a good laugh, though I might find Pope Hilarius’ name hilarious, he probably wouldn’t), and an Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift also died, in 1604 – my uncle’s father was a Church of England priest, a friend of a later Archbishop of Canterbury, and Uncle went to school at Kings Canterbury, so he and the Most Reverend Whitgift will have some catching up to do, and Hugh will have some explaining to do too about his conversion.
And that’s enough of that. I’ll hand you back to Symi tomorrow, hopefully with a tale of our walk to St Nicholas and with some more of Neil’s wonderful Symi photos. Enjoy your extra day this year and remember, no day is to be wasted, especially when you have/had a 1-in-1461 chance of being born today.
