How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes: Lessons in Mindfulness and Creativity from the Great Detective

 by Maria Popova

“A man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose.”

Click HERE to read the article 

LONDON - Live the Slanguage

For people visiting London - a quick guide to the slanguage (it's polite don't worry!)

Press HERE to watch the video

White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

And I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

And have a merry Christmas
And have a merry Christmas, too

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases
All your Christmases
All your Christmases be white

What would the union jack look like if the Scottish bit were removed?

By Sam Judah  

for the BBC News Magazine

'Scotland's referendum on independence is now just over 10 months away, but the question of what might happen to the union jack has been largely overlooked. An association of flag experts, or vexillologists, has created a set of designs it hopes will encourage a discussion.'

Click HERE for the whole article

 

 

The 50 best Christmas songs 

click HERE

St. Andrew’s Day

 

Fast facts about St Andrew

St Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland
St Andrew is celebrated on 30 November
St Andrew's Day is a day to celebrate Scottish culture, food and dance
St Andrew's flag is the flag of Scotland
The flag is in the form of a white X on a blue background and is commonly known as The Saltire
Scotland is one of the few countries to have one of Christs disciples as their patron saint
St Andrew was one of the Twelve Apostles (disciples of Jesus) and brother of St Peter
St Andrew is believed to have died on a diagonally transverse cross which the Romans sometimes used for executions and which, therefore, came to be called St Andrews Cross
St Andrew's Day is connected with Advent, which begins on the first Sunday after November 26.
St Andrew's Day marks the beginning of Scotland's winter festivals.

For an animated story of St. Andrew press HERE

What do people do?

The Scottish flag, or Saltire, is flown on public buildings in Scotland on St Andrew's Day. In the rest of the United Kingdom, the British Union Flag is flown. Some people have a day off work in Scotland. In Edinburgh, there is a week of celebrations, concentrating on musical entertainment and traditional ceilidh dancing. A ceilidh is a social event with couples dancing in circles or sets (groups of eight people). In Glasgow city center, a large shindig, or party, with traditional music and a ceilidh are held. In Dumfries, songs are performed in the Burn's night tradition.
There is a lot of folklore associated with St Andrew's Day, particularly around young women, who hope to marry. At midnight, as November 29 becomes November 30, young woman prayed to be shown signs about their future husbands. They peeled an apple in such a way that the peel remained in a single piece and threw this over their shoulders. The shape that the peel formed on the ground indicated the first letter of their future husbands' names. They also dropped molten lead or candle wax into a bucket of water. The shape that it formed indicated the profession of the men they would marry.

Public life

St Andrew's Day is a bank holiday in Scotland on November 30. If November 30 is on a Saturday or Sunday, the bank holiday falls on the following Monday. The amount of disruption to public life varies greatly. Generally schools are closed. Some other organizations and businesses may be closed, but others are likely to be open.
Public transport services may run to their usual or holiday timetables. Those intending on using a particular transport service on St Andrew's Day are encouraged to check ahead on the service's availability. St Andrew's Day is not a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on November 30.
from  http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/st-andrew-day

For St Andrew’s Day Menu click HERE

For information on Saint Andrew in Greek press HERE

What is Black Friday ?

The day after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of November)  is known as Black Friday. This is unofficially or officially the beginning of the holiday shopping season.In recent years, most major retailers have opened extremely early and offered promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many Commonwealth Nations. Black Friday is not a federal holiday, but California and some other states observe "The Day After Thanksgiving" as a holiday for state government employees, sometimes in lieu of another federal holiday such as Columbus Day.

Why it is called Black Friday ? 

Closest reason as to why it is know as Black Friday is given in Wikipedia - "Many retailers report some of their highest profits on Black Friday. The black portion of the name, "Black Friday" relates to businesses recording their losses in red ink and gains in black. This tradition lives on in modern accounting software, hence the name."  

(sources: wikepedia)

Ten things you didn't know about Black Friday

to read the article press HERE