Occasional Digest

The feast day was a public holiday in Italy until 1977, when it was removed as part of a law reducing the number of holidays for economic reasons.

In advance of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis in 2026, two combined bills (Noi Moderati and Fratelli d’Italia) were proposed in 2025 to reinstate the October 4th holiday.

On October 1st 2025, the Italian senate gave final approval to the bill after it had passed in the lower house the previous week week with 247 votes in favour and just two against.

The bill, backed by the ruling right-wing parties, calls for cultural initiatives dedicated to Italy’s patron saint and the values he embodied: peace, fraternity, inclusion and environmental protection.

COMPLAINING about people behind their backs yields better results than talking to them directly, scientists have found.

Research showed that while being more cowardly, bitching is a safer way of venting your frustration than telling someone how awful they are to their face, which could get you punched or fired.

Professor Frost, not her real name, of the Institute for Stories said: “Evidence suggests bitching is an evolutionary advantage. None of our ancestors ever got mauled for secretly slagging off a predator.

“Bitching is probably why humanity learnt to talk in the first place. Not to express needs or abstract thoughts, but to mock the sabre-toothed tiger skins the neanderthals in the cave next door are wearing. Civilisation as we know it has these snide comments to thank.

“However confrontation escalates until one side backs down or dies. The only risk associated with bitching is when someone grasses you up. And even then you can lie your way out of it if you’re a nasty little creep.”

She added: “Plus you can bitch from the comfort of your sofa with a big bottle of wine. What more proof do you need?”

Researcher Karen, not her real name, said: “We’re confident our findings are accurate. Unless Hannah f**ked up her data again, but what do you expect from a lazy cow like her?”

Since 1990, the ‘Tag der Deutschen Einheit’ has been a national holiday in Germany. It is the only official national holiday. All other holidays are managed at a federal level.

On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, paving the way towards the reunification of Germany which had been split at the end of the second world war.

The reunification of Germany took place on October 3rd 1990 when the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

Following the GDR’s first free elections on March 18th 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in a Unification Treaty.

Further negotiations between the GDR and FRG and the four occupying powers produced the so-called “Two Plus Four Treaty” granting full sovereignty to a unified German state, whose two halves had previously been bound by a number of limitations as a result of its post-WWII-status as an occupied nation. The treaty was signed on September 20th 1990.

Originally November 9th was proposed to be the national German Unity Day reflecting the huge step taken toward Germany’s unification on that day.

However, the unification treaty declared October 3rd as the official national holiday, ending the division between east and west of Germany.

STARTING at university? You will meet so, so many middle-class girls, usually studying psychology, that you fancy. But they will also have these infuriating traits:

Not fancying you

While wilfully being attractive, the nice girls suddenly surrounded by are annoyingly sensible about who they sleep with, and how long it takes them to decide to. Is it too much to ask that universities are required by law to include ‘ease of getting laid’ in their prospectuses?

Having oddly-named friends

Hang out with middle-class-verging-on-posh girls and you will discover a social circle filled with Arabellas, Octavias, Harriets and maybe even a Jocasta. Worse are the nicknames: Minty? Cheski? Boodie? Were they made to swap names with their horses?

Making the most of university life

Nice girls fling themselves into activities such as rowing or the debating society, tempting you to follow. But nobody, however lovely, is worth getting up at 6am to sit on a cold, wet, miserable river for. Or worth listening to smartarse debates by 18-year-old twats who want to be Tory MPs for.

Questionable music taste

Uni has always been about being into cool bands, but trying to pull a girl devoted to an artist who was her favourite at her Gloucestershire grammar school is work. After your third Idles gig, you’ve been preached at so much you’d rather go to f**king church.

Having privileged existences

Young women at the upper end of the middle-class affluence scale do not realise it. It’s disconcerting when they say ‘You mean you’ve never been to Santa Fe?’ totally aghast, as if you’d just admitted your family lives in a sewer pipe.

Their alternative lifestyle choices

All students explore alternative choices at uni, not least middle-class girls finally free of their parents. Typically that means veganism or New Age woo, both equally hard to put up with. Eventually you will say ‘No, Olivia, I am not going with you to the Cornwall Festival of Druidism.’

Already having boyfriends

It’s disappointing in any circumstances to discover someone you fancy is attached. However at least at university this is the smallest romantic challenge you face, because as everyone knows sixth-form boyfriends last until mid-October.

The day commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus’ voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

While the first voyage in 1492 was immensely significant, Columbus did not actually reach the American mainland until his 3rd voyage in 1498. Instead, while trying to find a sea route to India, he made landfall on an island in the Bahamas that he named San Salvador. 

He was also not the earliest European explorer to reach the Americas.

There is an old saying that ‘two heads are better than one’. In San Marino that saying is literally taken as a form of government.

In a tradition that dates back to 1243 and based on a custom of the Roman Republic, this tiny republic has not one, but two heads of state.

Known as the Captains Regent, two people are elected every six months by the Grand and General Council, the country’s legislative body.

The two Captain Regent are usually selected from different political parties to give a unique balanced government. Once they have served the six months, they cannot become regents again for another three years.

This may sound a bit bonkers to those of us from countries whose leaders are elected for periods of four or five years, but the roles are mainly symbolic and more like that of a king or queen rather than a president.

Women were prevented from taking public positions in San Marino until 1972. The first female Captains Regent was elected in April 1981.

If you are visiting San Marino on April 1st or October 1st, you can watch the investiture of the new Captains Regent which takes place at the Piazza della Liberta, outside the Government Palace.

A 42-YEAR-OLD who was a pariah in youth for not drinking, not having sex, being right-wing and having a mullet is gratified to see those things become cool.

Martin, not his real name, has realised he was not a teenage loser but well ahead of the curve, and believes the person he was 26 years ago would be the most popular kid at school today.

He said: “Sad wanker, they called me, just for having more than 2,000 porn mags. Well Gen Z boasts about how much they goon. Who’s the sad wanker now?

“And joining the Young Conservatives was death for my social life. With today’s edgy online teens, the only concern was that they’re not Nazi enough for lols.

“Being a politically incorrect loner who stays in, doesn’t booze, doesn’t shag and gets socially anxious is ‘based’ now. Pokémon, high-waisted trousers, socks and plastic sandals, and calling everyone a paedo are rewarded behaviours.

“My wispy moustache was mocked. My glasses got me called Deirdre Rashid. I was boring for not going to the pub. Staying in watching The Office was called being a friendless twat then, and now it’s normal. I feel validated, but I’d much rather have been popular.”

Marttin added: “I posted some photos of myself at 20 online and had DMs from hot girls asking which charity shop sold me that cool vintage cardigan. I cried.”

Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault says the objective is to create a chance for Canadians to learn about and reflect on a dark chapter in their country’s history and to commemorate the survivors, their families, and their communities, as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous leaders.

Over the course of more than 100 years, some 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their families and forced to attend church-run residential schools, where many suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition, and neglect. More than 4,000 are believed to have died.

The Gran Chaco or Chaco Boreal is a large lowland plain that today is part of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.

From the late nineteenth century, there had been simmering tensions between Paraguay and Bolivia over their control of the area, as the land was of key strategic interest to both countries. It’s not unrelated that Paraguay and Bolivia are the only two landlocked countries in South America.

The situation wasn’t helped when speculation arose that the region could hold significant deposits of oil. This led to major oil companies taking sides, with Royal Dutch Shell backing Paraguay and Standard Oil supporting Bolivia.

This is the same Good King Wenceslas, who is mentioned in a popular Christmas Carol written in 1853 about St. Stephen’s Day.

Wenceslas was born near Prague in 907 and was the son of the Duke of Bohemia. His father died in 921 and Wenceslas ruled from 922 when he was 15 years old. Raised as a Christian, primarily by his grandmother, Ludmila who had been baptised by the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius who brought Christianity to the region.

The reign of Wenceslas is marked by his support of the church, his aim to unify Bohemia and making peace with Germany.

These policies created enemies within his court and even his family. His brother Boleslav was one of those who plotted against him. Boleslav invited Wenceslas to a church consecration. On the morning of September 28th 935 (or 929, according to some historians), on his way to the mass, Wenceslas was attacked by Boleslav and was killed by supporters of his brother.

Having suffered a martyr’s death, Wenceslas was immediately considered a saint. This lead to a cult of veneration with several biographies being written and miracles attributed to him. He was even posthumously made a king by the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I which is why the carol refers to him as a king when in life he was a duke.

A WOMAN whose boyfriend is sulking and refusing to speak to her is actually treating it as a lovely break from his wittering.

Following a row, Anthony, not his real name, has barely spoken to Jess, not her real name, for two days, failing to anticipate that for her it would turn out to be one of the happiest times in their relationship.

She said: “”Ant’s” in a strop about something and thinks he’s punishing me with his silence. I’d argue the punishment is not that effective, because I’m bloody loving it.

“No pathetic hint-dropping that he wants sex, no tedious work anecdotes I couldn’t give a f**k about, and best of all I have full control of the TV remote. I turned the football over to watch Corrie last night and because he’s so determined not to speak there was nothing he could do about it.

“It got me thinking, if life is so much better without his perpetual blathering, how great would it be if I didn’t have to look at him either? So I’m thinking of dumping him before the weekend then going out on the pull with the girls.”

Ant said: “To be honest, I’ve forgotten what I was in a mood about, but I’m not breaking my vow of silence. That would just be an admission I was in the wrong. About something.

“Jess’s putting a brave face on it and smiling all the time, but I can tell she’s incredibly upset underneath. I’ll start speaking to her again on Friday so I’ll get a shag at the weekend as usual.”

Turkmenistan is the southernmost state in Central Asia and the second largest.

Throughout its history, the region has been conquered by such notable figures as Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. The Turkmen people first arrived in the area in about the 10th century, though there is some debate as to where they came from.

Turkmens first came under the gaze of the Russian Empire in the late 18th century, but resistance wasn’t finally broken until the Battle of Gök-Tepe (now Gökdepe) in 1881, after which the area of present-day Turkmenistan incorporated into Russian Turkestan.

After the Russian Revolution, Turkmenistan formed part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) in 1921, becoming a constituent republic of the USSR in 1925. 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Turkmen Communist Party supported the failed coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but declared independence on October 27th 1991.

On October 27th 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Constitutional Law “On Independence and Principles of State Structure of Turkmenistan.” This act formally declared the nation’s sovereignty as the Soviet Union dissolved.

ON A date, but prefer to keep all that getting-to-know-each-other conversation to a minimum? Choosing these will make the evening as silent as a long marriage:

Cinema

Watching a film together quietly will be excellent practice for the rest of your relationship. But since going to an arthouse flick is cooler than slumping in front of Ludwig,you’ll both be able to invest in the fiction that you like each other and are compatible before moving things along to sex.

Theatre

Like the cinema but more so, the theatre only truly exists to persuade couples they’re doing something other than facing in the same direction while not speaking. Doing this as a date? Legitimises your shared pretence you are classy so means you can skip straight to rutting like beasts, because they did in Pretty Woman. 

Gig

Trickier, as you need to agree on an artist you both like. Or pick someone entirely unknown and hope the audience is cool enough to validate it. But has the appeal of conversation being impossible and you can hold hands so as to not lose each other in the crowd, and once you’re holding hands you may as well do oral later.

Comedy club

Suggests you’re fun because you like to passively enjoy other people being fun. In reality it’s likely to be either dull (weekday) or drowned out by pissed arseholes (weekend) but at least the poor bastards on stage will be the ones straining to say something interesting, rather than you. And it encourages drinking, which encourages sex.

Ice skating

Introduces very real danger into the equation. Your date will be so busy concentrating on not falling over, making a tit of themselves and breaking an ankle they’ll forget to ask if you have a good relationship with your mother or have any pets. Also they’ll clutch onto you a lot and be so grateful it’s over you’ll be banging as soon as you’re in proper shoes again.

Silent disco

Taking off the headphones is cheating, you explain, adding that it’s also expected to move around the venue and you needn’t stick together. Then groove to your heart’s content, meeting up with them at the end. Remove your headphones and say ‘So, fancy coming back to mine for full intercourse?’ It might work.

Since antiquity, the region of modern-day Yemen has been an important strategic and commercial location, effectively forming a long land bridge between North Africa and Asia.

When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918, Imam Yahya Muhammad declared northern Yemen an independent sovereign state and proclaimed the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen in 1926. A King and an Imam, Yaha ruled Yemen until his death in 1948, when he was succeeded by Ahmad bin Yahya

On September 19th 1962 Ahmad died in his sleep. His son, Muhammad al-Badr was proclaimed Imam and King.

From its inception, the kingdom had proved unstable with various revolts and assassinations taking place and Al-Badr’s reign would prove very short-lived. 

Only a week after he ascended to the throne, army officers with the support of Egypt, staged a coup overthrowing the monarchy and deposing al-Badr on September 26th 1962. Abdullah as-Sallal, the commander of the royal guard, declared himself president of the Yemen Arab Republic. This event marked the start of the North Yemen Civil War which would last for the next six years.

A WOMAN who listens to podcasts about violent crime in every spare moment would prefer never to be the victim of a violent crime herself, she has admitted.

Crime aficionado Maria, not her real name, loves nothing more than tales of innocent women being brutally murdered by persons unknown but, despite her obsession, plans to live into old age and to die of natural causes.

She explained: “I watched a documentary about Ted Bundy as a teenager and I’ve been fascinated ever since. There’s not a serial killer I don’t know, even the niche hipster ones.

“I know loads about victimology, criminal profiling and how dangerous predators are caught, but nonetheless I personally would hate to be kidnapped and held in a cellar by a psychopath? Is that weird? It just gives me the ick.”

Criminologist Dr Helen, not her real name, said: “Maria is wrong. When it comes to murder, as with many things, women get confused about what they actually desire.

“If she likes finding out about things it automatically follows she would enjoy being personally involved in those things, even if it does inevitably lead to a shallow grave in the woods.

“The contradiction is further compounded by the fact that Mary, as a young, attractive woman with her life ahead of her, fits the profile of the ideal murder victim. It’s a tragedy for the true crime community. Imagine the content we’d get out of it.”

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match. It is traditionally held on the final Saturday in September to determine the Australian Football League champions for that year.

The final takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. The holiday gives a chance for opposing fans to gather in a holiday atmosphere before the big game.

The day also provides a chance for fans to get up and close to the players as the teams involved in the final take part in the AFL Grand Final Parade in Melbourne. The parade, which has been a pre-game tradition since 1977, starts from the Old Treasury Building and ends at the AFL Grand Final Live Site near the MCG in Yarra Park.

Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Australia. It was invented in Melbourne in 1858 and is a combination of soccer and rugby resulting in a contact sport similar to Gaelic football.

As far as we know, Victoria is the only region in the world that celebrates not one, but two sporting events as public holidays. In addition to AFL Grand Final Eve, Victoria also observes a holiday for the Melbourne Cup horse race, which takes place in early November.

Public transport services will operate to a Saturday timetable, but some services may be altered or will not run.

According to legend, Chuseok originated as a result of a weaving competition held between two princesses in the Silla dynasty. The goal was to see which of their teams could weave the most cloth. The fierce competition lasted for a month, ending on the 15th day of the 8th month on the lunar calendar during the full moon. As punishment, the losing team had to prepare a bountiful feast for the victors. It is believed that archery and martial arts competitions were held as part of the festivities.

During the Harvest Moon Festival, there is an offering ceremony to the family ancestors and visiting of family graves. The Harvest Moon Festival is a reminder that families are connected and bonded in the same fortune.

A NAIVE 18-year-old has decided to take a degree that will do nothing but deepen her understanding of the world and appreciation of the human experience.

Lucy, not her real name, has condemned herself to a lifetime in debt by choosing a course which only broadens her mind and enhances her life instead of leading to a solid middle-management position.

Friend Ellie, not her real name, said: “I explained the point of university is to give yourself an unassailable advantage when applying for white-collar positions at blue-chip companies. But she kept talking about her ‘passion for learning’.

“What can she possibly learn by studying English Literature? All the books are summarised on Wikipedia now anyway, and if you need to do critical thinking about them there’s ChatGPT.

“Closely analysing incredible works by great writers is a waste of three years. All she’ll develop is a keen sense of empathy and a rich cultural understanding of the world around her. Employers don’t give a f** about that.

“And when she’s not making her way through the canon, she’ll be out on the piss and hooking up with boys doing sports science. I couldn’t think of a more dreary existence.”

Lucy said: “Yeah, well if I regret my decision I’ll be able to articulate my despair in a Petrarchan sonnet.”

Since pre-Islamic times, the Arabian peninsula had been occupied by nomadic tribes.

The Islamic prophet, Muhammad united these tribes to create a single Islamic religious state. In the years following his death in 632, the territory under Muslim rule rapidly expanded across the middle east, from Spain in the west to parts of the Indian subcontinent in the east.

In the 16th century, the region first came under the control of the Ottoman Empire and although various sultanates would be formed from time to time, it wasn’t until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World war I that modern Saudi Arabia emerged.

Ibn Saud (the son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal who had been the last ruler of the ‘Second Saudi State’), became the Sultan of Najd, the central region of Arabia in 1921.

After conquering the Hejaz (western Arabia ) in 1925, Ibn Saud was declared King of the Hejaz on January 10th 1926. In 1927, he changed his title to King of Nejd.

Despite being King of both regions, he ruled the two parts of his kingdom separately for the next five years. It wasn’t until 1932, after a two-year campaign to suppress and defeat former allies, that the kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were renamed and unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia National Day only became a public holiday in 2007. In 2005, Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced that from the 75th National Day, the occasion will become an annual national holiday.

Mali is a landlocked country in Western Africa. From the 11th century, the Malian Empire ruled in the upper Niger basin, extending its realm right to the Atlantic coast. Mali’s imperial influence declined in the seventeenth century as other powers in the region gained prominence.

When the Malian emperor, Mansa Musa, made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca in the fourteenth century, he traveled with over 70,000 people and up to 50 pounds of gold. He built a mosque every Friday on his entire trip. Mansa Musa left so much gold to the people along his way, he inadvertently caused inflation in the regions he passed.

In the nineteenth century, France was taking an increasingly interest while Islamic religious wars had led to creation of theocratic states in the region.

In 1898, during the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa’, France conquered Mali, making it a part of French Sudan. 

In April 1959 the French Sudan merged with Senegal to form the Mali Federation. A transfer of power agreement was signed with France on 4 April 1960, which led to formal independence on 20 June 1960.

The Mali Federation proved to be very short-lived and broke up on 20 August 1960, when Senegal proclaimed its independence. 

A month later, on 22 September 1960 French Sudan declared its independence from the Mali Federation as the Republic of Mali.

In 1874, Britain took control over parts of Ghana, naming them the British Gold Coast.

Britain was weakened by the efforts of World War II and following a rising desire for independence, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence, on March 6th 1957.

Dr. Nkrumah was the driving force behind the independence of Ghana from British rule and founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

Nkrumah will always be remembered for the powerful speech he delivered on the day Ghana gained independence, March 6th 1957, proclaiming “Ghana will be free forever”, from British rule, to millions of Ghanaian gathered at the Independence Square now Black Stars Square. The speech was significant as it relinquished the British control over the Gold coast.

In 1960, Prime Minister Osagyefo Dr. Kwame was sworn into office as the first President of the country and the republic was proclaimed on July 1st 1960.

In February 1966, while Nkrumah on a state visit to Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup. Nkrumah never returned to Ghana and died in April 1972.

In September 2009, President John Atta Mills declared September 21st (the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah’s birth in 1909) to be Founder’s Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana.

Nkrumah designed the national flag of Ghana. Its design was inspired by Ethiopia’s green-yellow-red Lion of Judah flag with the lion replaced by a black star. Red symbolizes bloodshed and struggle; green stands for beauty and agriculture; yellow represents mineral wealth; and the Black Star represents African freedom.

IT’S hard to believe, but not everyone likes you as much as you do. These are a few tell-tale signs people actually find you f**king irritating:

You get no eye contact

In the brief face-to face interchanges you have with colleagues, particularly females, they never seem to talk to you directly. Is this because you’re so ruggedly handsome that they fear gazing at you directly? No. It’s because your eyes are routinely transfixed at their chest and they’re all secretly bitching about your pervy ways.

You get fixed eye contact

Male colleagues, on the other hand, give you a fixed, unblinking glare. This isn’t the stoic glower of masculine approval you naively believe it to be. Instead, they’re pissed off because you either stole one of their clients, got the promotion that was rightfully theirs, or hit on their partner at the work do. Or, knowing you, all three.

They take non-existent phone calls

Constantly being on your phone around others is rude. That’s unless the person in question doesn’t like you, in which case it’s the perfect defence barrier. Notice how co-workers and acquaintances only seem to get calls when they see you approach, and how they always have to duck out and take it in private. It’s no coincidence. You’re that annoying.

You’re only in one WhatsApp group

Even tolerable people get roped into several WhatsApp groups like ‘Mark’s birthday gift ideas’ and ‘Soph’s leaving do’. Meanwhile you were only invited to one titled ‘Work’, and that was due to an administrative error. Although considering how annoying WhatsApp groups are, your terrible personality has done you a favour on this occasion.

You’re not invited to social events

Your mates invited you to their birthday parties and weddings a long time ago, but not anymore. And as for your work colleagues, they tend to keep their after work drinks to themselves. You get copied into the Christmas party email, but only because the company is legally obligated to. This behaviour is due to a little thing called your personality.

You’ve been punched in the face

People who are a pleasure to be around are sometimes punched, but only lightly and on the arm. A swift blow to the face is a coded message that your banter is grating and that everyone is tired of your constant one-upmanship. Your failure to pick up on this is also an indicator that you’re thick as shit. A quality that often goes hand-in-hand with being annoying as f**k.