Kevin Gower

Latvian Independence Day commemorates the declaration of independence of the Republic of Latvia from German and Russian occupation on November 18th 1918 after the end of the first world war.

The People’s Council of Latvia proclaimed independence in the building that today houses the National Theatre in Riga.

The country remained an independent state until the Second World War, when forces from the Soviet Union occupied the country in June 1940.

Like the other Baltic republics, full independence from Soviet Russia occurred on August 21st 1991. The restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on 4 May 1990.

This second independence declaration is commemorated in the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia holiday on 4th May each year.

Many festive events take place through the country on Latvia’s National Day, including a nationally televised address to the people by the President of the Republic of Latvia. In recent years this speech is given before large crowds in the square by the Freedom Monument in Riga.

A military parade takes place that goes past the Freedom Monument, where people lay flowers to honour those who lost their lives in the fight for independence. In the evening, free outdoor concerts by children’s choirs and musicians take place. Tens of thousands of people also take part in a torchlight procession, and enjoy a stroll through the decorated streets of Riga.

To mark the day, people enjoy dishes like pīrāgi (bacon pies), rupjmaize (rye bread) and the national dish pelēkie zirņi ar speķi (a stew made of grey peas and bacon).

The Twentieth century was a tumultuous time for both these countries. Indeed, until 1993 they were both part of the same country – Czechoslovakia.

During that time, they had to endure occupation by the Nazis during World War II and following that, the country was under communist rule until 1989.

During both regimes, it was students who led nationwide protests and this day essentially celebrates the political role of students. November 17th is sometimes referred to as World Students Day.

The date of November 17th commemorates the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague following demonstrations against the occupation of Czechoslovakia. It led to the execution of nine student leaders and over 1200 students were sent to concentration camps.

In 1989 there was a memorial march to mark the 50th anniversary of the student revolt. The authorities tried to suppress the march, which only led to an avalanche of popular protests in Czech and Slovak cities. Over the following days, the protests grew into non-violent strikes at first involving students and later all citizens of Czechoslovakia. 

This became known as the Velvet Revolution and marked the beginning of the end of the communist regime that had ruled the country for more than four decades. Vaclav Havel was elected president and Alexander Dubcek became federal Czechoslovak Speaker.

PARTNER endlessly scrolling on her mobile? Ever wondered if she’s being entirely honest about what she’s looking at? Here’s the uncomfortable truth.

‘Just catching up on Insta, babe’

It’s Tinder. She’s not that into you and knows it won’t last, so she’s keeping her options open. Unlike you, who thinks you’ve found the love of your life and recently asked her to move in. That romantic marriage proposal you’re meticulously planning won’t end well either. It all feels so unfair, but at least she’s having to swipe through thousands of absolute twats.

‘Just catching up on the news’

By which she means stalking your presence on her friends’ social media profiles. She bloody well knows you fancy Sally, and if there’s a single heart emoji on any of her Facebook profile pictures she’ll find it and you’ll be in the shit. You’ll protest your innocence – too bad you’ve forgotten scrolling while shitfaced a fortnight ago and leaving a heart and three wows on four of her pics.

‘Nothing much, just browsing’

Online shopping. There will be a tsunami of Vinted parcels delivered over the next fortnight, which she’s syphoned the cash for from that joint savings account you set up for a holiday to Greece next summer. Which she knows you won’t be going on, because she’s planning to dump you right after Christmas once she’s had your presents.

‘Just my sister texting again’

The sister who works in her office and is called Niall? He’s been sending her interesting, friendly texts slightly too consistently for it to be innocent. As a man you can instantly spot his ulterior motives, but you can’t really admit to having done exactly the same thing yourself, particularly as it reminds you of not having much success.

‘Aww, this video of a kitten, it’s sooo cute!’

Tragically, she’s telling the truth. Tragic because she’s about to sit next to you and force you to watch it, right in the middle of Match of the Day. You’ll be obliged to feign interest and avert your eyes from the TV just as your team scores that 89th minute winner against United. And the kitten wasn’t even one of those super-adorable fluffy ones anyway.

AN office worker has exposed his lack of mental faculties by describing the solution to a complicated work problem as a ‘no-brainer’.

The use of an annoying informal term in a corporate environment has confirmed the suspicions of Martin, not his real name, colleagues that the interior of his skull is devoid of sophisticated thought processes.

Co-worker Sofia, not he real name, said: “I always thought Martin acted dim to avoid responsibility. Like when he claimed to have never heard of Microsoft Excel.

“But only an actual imbecile would pipe up in a town hall meeting to describe a company merger as a ‘no-brainer’. You could tell from his proud face that he thought we were all laughing with him, not at him.

“Then he doubled down by telling the CEO to bang some heads together, knuckle down, and make some bloody magic happen. I wish I could say he didn’t pretend to do a mic drop while saying ‘bosh’. I really do.

“It’s not very PC, and I sound like a hypocrite, but I’ll be using no-brainer to describe Martin going forwards. It just fits.”

Martin said: “I’ve been inspired to finally send off my Apprentice application. I reckon I can go all the way.”

Since 1901 presidential elections are declared holidays, as mandated by successive versions of the General Elections law.

Since the late 20th century, parliamentary and municipal elections have also been declared public holidays.

General elections in Chile are held on the third Sunday in November every four years, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections.

The election is held on the third Sunday of November of the year immediately before the end of the administration of the president then holding office.

Should there be more than two candidates in the presidential election, none of them obtaining more than half of the votes validly cast, a new election shall be held. The second election (“balloting”), in the manner determined by law, shall be held the fourth Sunday after the first election, limited to the two candidates with the highest relative majorities.

The president is constitutionally barred from serving consecutive terms.

YOUR boss is unfairly expecting you to work at your desk without falling asleep after you have eaten lunch, it has emerged.

The expectation has been condemned by everyone on your team because it is unreasonable to demand productivity once you have eaten two Greggs sausage rolls and a packet of salt and vinegar Hula Hoops.

Colleague Helen, not her real name, said: “I struggle to get anything done before lunch, let alone afterwards. Those last few hours are a always complete write-off.

“And yet I’m still getting invited to meetings and being questioned about my KPIs as late as half four. Even though by that point the entire workforce of the UK is practically unconscious.”

Co-worker Martin, not his real name, said: “This is exactly the sort of cruel treatment that unions used to protect us from. Afternoons are for dossing around on Facebook and sacking off early, everyone knows that.

“I like to wangle out of afternoon work by heading out for lunch then never coming back. Why else do you think pubs open around then?”

Boss Tom, not his real name, said: “It’s really hard setting a standard I don’t live up to myself and getting everyone to go along with it. That’s why I’m paid 12 times more than you.”

Ivory Coast gained its independence from France in August 1960, with Félix Houphouët-Boigny becoming Ivory Coast’s first president. President Houphouët-Boigny stayed in power for 33 years until his death in 1993.  Houphouët-Boigny’s death signalled the start of a long period of political instability that would plague the country in the decades that followed, with two civil wars being fought, between Christians who are dominant in the south of the country and Muslims who are more prevalent in the north.

Although Ivory Coast has marked the National Day of Peace on November 15th since 1996, the events of the recent past have highlighted the need to continue to observe this day as an inspiration for a peaceful future.

Each year, the celebrations take place in a different part of the country. The day is celebrated with speeches from authority figures and government and civil society organizations carry out activities to promote peace and engender a sense of national unity.

Note that the International Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21st. Due to the involvement of the UN in bringing the first civil war to an end, this day is also marked in Ivory Coast, though it is not a public holiday.

A WOMAN has dumped her boyfriend because of a list of faults she has yet to discover are endemic to the male sex.

Eleanor, not her real name, aged 26, ended her relationship with 25-year-old Tom, not his real name, because of unpleasant traits she will soon realise are inherent to his entire gender.

She said: “He farts. He scratches his balls. He believes five hours in the pub is a ‘great night out’. I’m pretty sure he’s looked at porn and maybe even liked it.

“He’s uncomfortable talking about his feelings, is far too into football, he stares at other women’s breasts and once addressed me as ‘mate’ after sex. He’s more passionate about the Iranian embassy siege than he is about me, and used my enriching shampoo on his dog.

“I cannot possibly be with someone who ignores coasters, belches and believes washing his sheets once a month is perfectly acceptable. Other men aren’t like this. I just picked the worst one.

“I’m sure dating apps are filled with gorgeous, rich, monogamous and sexually skilled men eager for commitment who’ll treat me like a princess. Pretty sure I’ll never have to put up with any of that nonsense again.”

Tom said: “I was smashing that relationship. I cooked dinner twice last year.”

Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in September 1974, with Luis Cabral becoming the country’s first president.

Like many other countries who have gained their independence from colonial powers, Guinea-Bissau’s freedom came at a cost of an initial period of political instability and economic stress. As the seventies drew to a close, the new country was struggling to cope economically without the support of Portugal and dissatisfaction with Cabral’s rule grew.

On November 14th 1980, the government was overthrown in a relatively bloodless coup led by Prime Minister and former armed forces commander João Bernardo Vieira.

Cabral was charged with abuse of power and sentenced to death, though after negotiations, the sentence was commuted and Cabral went into exile. 

On gaining independence, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde had forged deep ties as the two presidents of these fledgling nations were members of the same political party that had campaigned for independence for the two nations. The coup broke the political and military ties between the countries and plans to unite Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde were dropped. 

Vieira ruled through a revolutionary council and then, from 1984, through a council of state-supported by an assembly of 150 appointed members, with only one legitimate political party allowed. In 1990, parliament revoked the one-party situation, though, in Guinea-Bissau’s first free election in 1994, Vieira narrowly won the vote as president. He ruled until 1999 when he removed from power in a military coup and exiled.

Vieira returned from exile in 2005, becoming president again, hanging on to power until March 2009, when he was assassinated by renegade soldiers.

While a person is celebrating National Indian Pudding Day and getting ready to make this dessert, they may be tempted to think that it’s a Native American dessert. Unfortunately, they would be wrong. That’s because this isn’t a Native American dessert, despite its name.

As many culinary scientists have pointed out before us, Native Americans didn’t have molasses or milk to cook with, so they couldn’t have made Indian pudding. No, this pudding was the invention of settlers to the New World.

They just used newly discovered cornmeal to make an Old World treat. The British had been making a dessert named hasty pudding since the 16th century, if not earlier. This pudding is made of wheat flour that’s cooked in boiling milk until it’s made into a thick batter.

In a 17th-century cookbook, there were three types of hasty pudding one could make. The first recipe was made with butter, flour, currants, and raisins. The second type was made like a boiled pudding, and the final one was made using grated bread, sugar, and eggs.

When settlers from Britain came to the New World, they simply swapped out the wheat in hasty pudding with cornmeal and used molasses for sugar. This created the iconic dessert that’s well-known in New England but isn’t all that popular throughout the rest of the U.S.

• This dish got its name because its main ingredient, cornmeal, used to be called Indian meal.
• During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian pudding was popular but fell out of favor during the 1920s.
• The rise of packaged puddings was one of the reasons why Indian pudding isn’t well known today.

ARE you worryingly close to the age of 50? Here’s how you’ll suddenly realise you’re really quite old.

Everyone has mysteriously got younger

You could always rely on your boss, famous people and politicians being older than you, the crusty old farts. Not any more. Rishi Sunak is 41, for f**k’s sake, and he’s the sort of square bastard who probably enjoys a ‘wild’ game of Pictionary.

You notice your libido is f**ked

More a problem for men, who will long for the time when they got an awkward, embarrassing erection on the bus at the slightest provocation, eg. a poster of the Cadbury’s Caramel Bunny.

Imminent total physical collapse

You were never exactly as fit as Daley Thompson (who is one of your outdated 1980s cultural references). But now kneeling down to clear out a kitchen cupboard is a punishing workout accompanied by a paranoid fear that you may never get up again.

You suddenly remember all your horribly naive ambitions

Cringe at unrealistic youthful ambitions like becoming the next Steven Spielberg with no film school experience. Then feel even worse as you realise you’ll probably never even get round to piss-easy things like visiting the Isle of Wight.

Homely things have taken over your life by stealth

Your priorities used to be going out on the piss, advancing your career, getting a shag, and maybe clubbing and drugs. These days you get all the gratification you need from changing into your slippers and perusing your burgeoning collection of loose teas.

You realise you’re not even a proper 50-year-old

You haven’t even got the mundane perks of being 50 you once sneered at, like a mortgage, kids and an unnecessarily large car. You’re still renting a flat and your only ‘assets’ are an old Playstation and numerous pairs of too-tight jeans.

After declaring independence from Portugal in 1975, the new-found sovereignty was short-lived when Indonesia annexed the nation. This led to the start of the war of independence that would last until 1999.

On November 12th 1991, thousands of young people attended the funeral of Sebastião Gomes, a supporter of the independence of East Timor who had been killed by the Indonesian army. After attending Mass at the Church in Motael, Dili they marched to the Santa Cruz cemetery. Their peaceful march gave rise to singing and the waving of banners expressing their deep yearning for justice and freedom.

“Chega!”, the report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor, records what happened next as Indonesian soldiers opened fire on the students as they arrived at the cemetery. “Soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons into the unarmed and peaceful crowd, many of whom fled into the grounds of the cemetery”, said the report. Independent estimates put the number killed as high as 271, with 250 listed as missing.

The Santa Cruz massacre was a turning point in Timor-Leste’s struggle for self-determination as footage of the event was smuggled out of the country by two American journalists and a British television presenter. It was later broadcast on British television and it caused the wave of outrage around the world.

Events for the day include a Mass at the Motael Church, a procession between the church and the cemetery, and a Commemoration Service in the cemetery. People light candles after the sunset to commemorate those, who died in the massacre. Other cultural and sporting events take place over a number of days.

Polish Independence Day commemorates the re-establishment of the state of Poland at the end of the first world war in 1918.

For 123 years prior to 1918, Poland had been partitioned under the rule of Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

On November 11th 1918, the day that the first world war ended, this partition was removed and Poland was granted its independence.

On this date, the Polish Military Organisation’s secret departments demobilized soldiers and legionnaires disarmed the Germans in Warsaw and other Polish towns. The Regency Government appointed Józef Piłsudski as commander in chief over the Polish forces and three days later he was given complete civil control. He formed a new centralized government, which on November 21st issued key measures including a manifesto of agricultural reforms. Piłsudski also brought in more favourable conditions for the workers and called parliamentary elections.

November 11th was announced a national holiday in 1937. In 1945, when Poland became a communist regime as a result of the Yalta conference, at the request of Stalin following the end of the second world war, the holiday was abolished.

In 1989, following the collapse of the Communist government fell, Independence Day was reinstated as a national holiday.

The intention of the day is to remember the fallen on both sides in the ‘Great War’.

On the face of it, that all appears quite straightforward, yet, as with many holidays if we look a little deeper, we soon see things aren’t quite as simple they seem.

November 11th has an older tradition that is, by coincidence, associated with war and peace. In the Christian calendar, it was known as ‘Martinmas’ or St. Martin’s day.

Martin was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity, and because of his newfound religion, refused to fight under a pagan flag. After leaving the army, Martin (ironically named after Mars, the Roman god of war) became a monk, rising up through the orders to eventually become a bishop in Gaul (modern-day France).

In the context of the modern-day holiday, November 11th marks the signing of the armistice (peace agreement)  between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France.

The armistice took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning – the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.”

However, while this date is used to reflect the end of the whole war, it technically relates to the cease-fire on the Western Front; fighting continued after November 11th 1918 in parts of the Ottoman Empire.

World  War I didn’t legally end until Allied Forces left Constantinople (now Istanbul) on August 23rd 1923.

After the ‘end’ of the war in 1918, it didn’t take long before the signing of the armistice was adopted as a suitable time and date for countries involved in the war to mark the sacrifice of their soldiers, with official remembrance services taking place in the UK and USA in 1919.

HOME from the pub but don’t want the party to end yet? Behold, five questionable mixers you can make without nipping back out to the corner shop.

Red wine and Irn Bru

Sometimes a bottle of Sainsbury’s own brand Merlot just isn’t cutting it, and you need to add a Scottish edge. Watching Four in a Bed alone in a drunken haze on your sofa at 3am, you’ll seriously consider serving it up at your next dinner party. If you had dinner parties.

Baileys and Horlicks

Horlicks was once marketed toward infants and invalids, but with winter coming you can give it a festive edge. It’s like drinking a Malteser that gets you even more mashed than you were when you thought of it.

Vermouth and Vimto

Until needs must, it might never have occurred to you to pair a highbrow botanical-flavoured fortified wine with an unbearably sweet berry drink from your childhood. However while drunk you will realise your concoction is a work of art and consider licensing it to London’s most prestigious hotel bars. They will undoubtedly pay hundreds of thousands.

Tequila and dandelion and burdock

F**k knows why you’ve got a bottle of the stuff but it’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone: finish off the dregs of the tequila you did shots of for your 30th and chuck out that poncy glass bottle that’s been staring at you from the fridge for six months. A bottle containing the juice squeezed out of f**king dandelions. It’ll be, er, herby.

Midori and milk

Makes total sense because they both begin with ‘M’. At least it does to your addled brain, with common sense and the ability to remember things long gone. Sure, it sounds as though the flavours might not go together, but it could be a surprise. Waking up to find the bed covered in lurid green puke certainly will be.

Sir Muhammad Iqbal, widely known as Allama Iqbal, was born on 9 November 1877 in Sialkot, within the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan).

Inspired by his teaching at Government College Lahore, Iqbal pursued a higher education in the west, qualifying for a scholarship from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. On leaving university he became a barrister in London but shortly moved to Germany to study doctorate and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich in 1908. While in Germany, he started writing poetry in Persian.

On his return to Lahore he soon devoted his life to literary work, writing poetry in Urdu and Persian. Iqbal has had several volumes of his poetry published and many of these have translated into foreign languages, including English, German, Russian, Arabic, and Turkish.

Tarana-e-Hind’ is a song written by Iqbal that is still used in India as a patriotic song about communal harmony.

Iqbal is known as a Muslim philosopher and great poet and is considered one of the most important figures in Urdu literature. He is widely admired by Pakistani, Indian, Iranian and Turk poets, earning the name ‘Poet of the East’.

‘While studying in England, Iqbal had become a member of the executive council of the British branch of the Indian Muslim League. In 1931 he represented the Muslims of India at the Round Table Conferences held in England to discuss the political future of India.

In a lecture in 1930 lecture, Iqbal first suggested the creation of a homeland for the Muslims of India, though Iqbal died before seeing the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Iqbal died on 21 April 1938 in Lahore, Punjab, British India. His tomb is located in a garden between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort.

The Pakistan government have declared him as the national poet

A MAN on holiday with his girlfriend does not realise she, her colleagues, her friends, her family and the night shift at an M&S Food in Portsmouth are waiting for him to propose.

After 32-year-old Tom, not his real name, suggested an October break with Hannah. Not her real name, , his girlfriend of three years, she immediately informed nine different WhatsApp groups this was surely it.

She said: “He suggested I get my roots done before we go. Somebody’s thinking about the engagement photos!

“I’ve chosen the Instagram caption, gotten a manicure and put my bridesmaids on red alert. I asked innocently if Tom had bought anything new for the hols and he pointed to his Adidas sliders. Such a tease! But how sweet that he wants it to be a surprise.

“He leaned over to whisper to me on the plane and I thought this could be it, but it was to to suggest sex in the toilets. Then when I asked if there was a question on his mind, he said ‘Who would win in a fight between a duck-billed platypus and a platypus-billed duck?’

“Pretty sure he was going to pop the Q in the restaurant last night but another couple did it first. He looked at them with such disdain, for ruining his plans presumably.”

Tom said: “She’s being all weird. I stopped to tie my shoelaces and she started sobbing ‘this is so unexpected!’ They’re f**king lace-ups, though.”

During the era of the Soviet Union, November 7th was October Revolution Day, which celebrated the Russian Revolution in 1917. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, this holiday was dropped by almost all the former Soviet republics, with only Belarus still observing it.

In Kyrgyzstan, it was decided to use the public holiday to remember a national liberation uprising that ended in tragedy in 1916.

In 2017, Kyrgyz lawmakers approved a resolution to transform the Soviet-era October Revolution Day holiday into a two-day holiday called Days of History and Commemoration of Ancestors.

Amendments to the Central Asian country’s labour laws expanded the November 7th holiday to also include November 8th.

The President Almazbek Atambaev at the time of the changes said the name change was needed to provide “an objective historic assessment on the national liberation uprising and the tragic events of 1916” known as Urkun, in Kyrgyzstan.

The mass uprising began in 1916 when Russia decided to draft Central Asians into the army as unarmed workers in order to build fortifications during the first world war.

Previously Muslims were exempt from conscription and many Kyrgyz (and Kazakhs) Muslims refused the orders and openly rebelled against the Russian authorities.

Though definitive figures are impossible to know, it is estimated that at least 150,000 Kyrgyz were killed by Russian Tsarist troops, and many more fled to the neighbouring Chinese province of Xinjiang.

In August 2016, a public commission in Kyrgyzstan concluded that the 1916 mass crackdown constituted “genocide.”

HELLO, I’m Miss Traherne. I’ve written it on the whiteboard for you. Today we’ll be learning about the inevitable downfall of the ruling class, like Mr Farage says.

Now Kayden, can you tell me who owns that table in front of you? Is it yours? No, it isn’t is it, otherwise you’d have to take it home with you every night. Could you carry that? No.

Is it Elsa’s table? No, it isn’t. It isn’t any of yours. It’s shared by all of you because it belongs to the state, which provides it for the greater good. It’s everyone’s table!

Just like it’s everyone’s chairs, and everyone’s whiteboard, and everyone’s crayons. No that doesn’t mean you can take crayons home, Kaylee. You’ve misunderstood and are acting like a capitalist needing re-education in a gulag.

Now, wouldn’t it be better if the state provided everything? Everything would be free to play like Fortnite but other players wouldn’t be able to buy all the K-Pop Demon Hunters skins while you’ve only got an outdated Neymar one. Wouldn’t that be fairer?

That’s what a wonderful man called Karl Marx taught: fairness. And that’s what we all strive for here because in a fair world, everyone can do what they like. No you can’t go to the toilet whenever you want Ruby, that’s anarchism and completely different.

Now not everyone is a Marxist. One of those men is Mister Farage, who you must never vote for. I shall be assigning homework about that to make sure it goes in. Colour in this picture in a way that shows you hate him.

There we are, that’s our lesson all about Marxism! This afternoon is maths, in which we’ll learn that Reform’s figures don’t add up but nice Green Mister Polanski’s don’t have to.

Okay, playtime! Remember, play equipment is assigned from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs! No pushing Willow. We don’t want to give you another show trial.

The October Revolution was the second revolution that took place in Russia in 1917. In February 1917, revolutionaries in St. Petersburg, overthrew the Tsar resulting in his abdication and the end of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire. Russian was put under the control of a provisional government under Prince Georgy Lvov.

After the February Revolution, ‘Soviets’ were created across Russia. The Soviets were worker’s councils, popular due to disaffection with the ability of the provisional government to improve the conditions of workers.

Many leaders of the Soviets were Bolsheviks, which strengthened the Bolsheviks in Russia to the point, under the leadership of Lenin, they initiated the October Revolution, an armed insurrection in Petrograd on November 7th 1917. This revolution established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the world’s first self-proclaimed socialist state.

You may have noticed this holiday is called October Revolution Day yet celebrates an event that took place in November. The reason is that in 1917, Russia was still using the Julian calendar which was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar at that time, so the revolution took place on October 25th.

Belarus is the only country that was part of the Soviet Union that still observes a public holiday to mark the October Revolution.

During the period of the Soviet Union, November 7th was a public holiday across the union and was one of the biggest state celebrations of the year. 

In Russia, the day is a normal working day. The public holiday has been replaced by National Unity Day, celebrated on November 4th.