Occasional Digest

A COUPLE who spent close to a thousand pounds on three days in Vienna have called what to others would be a major financial event a mere ‘trippette’.

Allan and Kevin, not their real names,  flew to Jersey on Friday for ‘a little bit of breathing space’ having apparently found the pressure of Zoom meetings in their home and garden offices while simultaneously choosing Farrow & Ball paint colours too much to bear.

Allan said: “We needed a couple of days to recharge. Nothing extravagant. Just flights, a suite and a few tasting menus. No theatre, no opera and not even business class.

“Unfortunately the flights, the dinners, new outfits, cocktails and cake with gold leaf on does add up. No wonder people are so concerned about the cost of living these days. Thankfully Hugh’s art history degree saved on shelling out for a tour guide.

“We’re not wealthy. We both work incredibly hard and budget like everyone else. But skimping on ourselves would be a false economy. The boys will be back from boarding soon enough and we won’t get chance.

“Skiing in February? Still up in the air, depends on Hugh’s bonus. Of course we’re still taking a month in Tuscany in summer, but only because we own the farmhouse.”

Friend Martin, not his real anem, who has not left the UK since 2022 and on payday treated himself to a Charlie Bigham’s paella for one, said: “Nine hundred quid for a weekend? For that I’d want to come back with a new kitchen.”

In Nepal, Lakshmi Puja is celebrated on the third day of Tihar, a five-day festival that culminates on Bhai Tika.

One of the most popular and enduring Hindu deities, the goddess Lakshmi symbolizes good luck. The word Lakshmi is derived from the Sanskrit word Laksya, meaning “aim” or “goal,” and in the Hindu faith, she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity of all forms, both material and spiritual.

Lakshmi is said to be the daughter of the mother goddess Durga. and the wife of Vishnu.

In some parts of India, Lakshmi Puja takes place on the full moon in the month of Ashwin. Often called Kojagari Lakshmi Puja or Bengali Lakshmi Puja, this version is more closely related to Durga Puja than Diwali.

NEED to apologise to get the situation over with? Here’s how to insinuate that you’re not really to blame.

‘I’m sorry you feel that way’

The classic. Technically an apology, but one which cleverly places responsibility for the entire situation on the other person’s misguided feelings. All you said was that Clare is a ‘big fat cow with personal hygiene problems’. She shouldn’t be so oversensitive in meetings.

‘I’m sorry if I upset you’

The word ‘if’ does the heavy lifting here. You’re not admitting you upset them. You’re merely expressing regret that they have somehow become upset in circumstances that remain completely mysterious to you. Strangely, you don’t get off scot-free in court by simply stating: ‘If I didn’t murder him I’m not guilty.’

‘I’m sorry. I thought you understood’

Brilliant, pure genius. Especially effective because it begins as an apology and ends as an accusation. It’s not your fault he didn’t check your relationship wasn’t one of those monogamous ones. Oh we’re arguing about the definition of ‘being engaged’ now, are we? Typical mansplaining.

‘I apologise for my part in what happened’

Perfect if you want to suggest there were multiple parties involved and your contribution was approximately four per cent. It also strongly suggests that other people’s roles were considerably larger. It’s just so true. Angela White keeps making these interesting videos and your wife shouldn’t creep into the house like a f**king ninja. And nor should her mother.

‘I’m sorry, but…’

Followed by anything that makes the first two words completely meaningless. ‘I’m sorry, but you were being incredibly annoying’; ‘I’m sorry, but what did you expect me to do?’; ‘I’m sorry, but birthdays for ordinary people were only invented by the Romans, so as an Anglo-Saxon by heritage I had no understanding of this supposed concept.’

‘Fine. Sorry’

This is the most honest apology because it communicates three things. One, you are apologising. Two, you do not mean it. Three, you’re fully aware this is a tactical masterstroke because once you’ve technically apologised there’s nowhere for the conversation to go. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game, fuming girlfriend.

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. 

DID you stupidly think you’d be happy and sorted by the time you got to middle age? Here are some unpleasant realities you weren’t expecting.

Renting a flat and being single

A waste of money and a bit lonely. However there might be enough 40-something singleton renters nowadays to force the government to give everyone a free house on their 40th birthday. Naturally you’d also get a decent car, an attractive spouse and some well-behaved kids. It doesn’t matter if they’re actors. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Your metabolism goes wrong

Leading to inevitable weight gain. You can’t even drown your sorrows about being fat with booze because hangovers are no longer a minor inconvenience on the way to work, but a nightmarish journey into paranoia, physical exhaustion and irrational feelings that you have lost at life because you don’t own an Audi.

You are not as successful as you assumed you would be

Even quite grounded people can’t resist fantasies of running their own successful business or writing the next Trainspotting. Unfortunately this requires talent, an element of luck, and single-minded hard work. The latter isn’t going to happen because let’s face it, you’re already knackered from just getting dressed in the morning.

Birthdays are no longer exciting

Childhood birthdays were amazing if you got an AT-AT walker, and in your 20s and 30s you were guaranteed a good piss-up. But birthdays in your 40s feel utterly pointless, unless you’re really excited about reaching the age of 43, which makes you a bit weird.

You’re obsessed with celebrities’ ages

A bizarre side-effect of getting older which makes you compare your own age and achievements with celebs who’ve taken an entirely different path in life. It’s still a kick in the teeth to discover you’re older than Danny Dyer, and haven’t even got his incredibly shit filmography.

Spain had occupied Western Sahara since 1884. Morocco had made a claim on the land highlighting a long-standing allegiance between the Moroccan Throne and the local Sahrawi tribes. Mauritania had made similar claims and some of the Sahrawi tribes had declared an interest in independence from everyone else.

In mid-October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague declared that there were legal ties of allegiance between Moroccan Throne and some of the Sahrawi population, but that the local population should determine their own future.

Following the ICJ verdict, King Hassan II announced the organisation of the Green March, on October 16th 1975, to liberate the Moroccan southern provinces from Spanish colonialism.

“We have to do one thing dear people and that is to undertake a peaceful march from the north, the east, the west to the south. It behoves us to act as one man in order to join the Sahara,” King Hassan II said.

On November 6th 1975, in a significant show of national unity, about 350,000 unarmed Moroccan men and women, accompanied by 20,000 Moroccan troops headed towards the Sahara and met in Tarfaia.

This was the largest peaceful march in the world. The marchers carried Moroccan flags, green banners (representing Islam), Qur’ans, and pictures of King Hassan II throughout the march.

On entering Spanish Sahara, the Spanish forces did not open fire. Partly, this was to avoid killing thousands of innocent marchers, but also it was the last days of the rule of General Franco and after seeing Portugal lose its colonies the year before, the Spanish had no appetite to start a major conflict in its territories, especially over territory they had already agreed to give up.

Following the declaration of independence, the Colombians had ordered their army to march on Panama. 

On 5 November 1903, the locals in Colons managed to convince the Colombian forces stationed in Colon not to advance on Panama City. 

Without this action, it is possible that the Colombians may have gained a military advantage and quelled the independence movement.

THE government’s ‘Be Ready’ campaign is advising Britons on how to prepare for threats like extreme weather and cyber-attacks. Here girlfriend Nikki Hollis interprets that advice.

Stockpile scented candles

The last thing you want if food supplies are cut off is to run out of scented candles. And other people will be stockpiling them too so I’ve ordered 200. Can humans even survive without scented candles? I wouldn’t like to try it.

Don’t forget treats

A national emergency is going to be really depressing so you’ll need regular treats: Maltesers, Percy Pigs, Cadbury Flakes. There was plenty of space in our stockpile once I’d thrown out all the toilet paper and toothpaste my boyfriend bought. I even found room for Lindt chocolate truffles by binning all those matches. They’re dangerous anyway.

Buy conditioner

On the ‘Be Ready’ website it says to buy bathroom products, and guess what, I’d already bought 20 bottles of conditioner! Clearly I’m good at emergency planning because my boyfriend just bought some silly retro wind-up radio. Now is not the time for impulse purchases, sweetie.

Get a pet

If we’re stuck indoors for weeks or months because of a virus or radiation, a pet will cheer us up. My boyfriend says unnecessarily adding an extra mouth to feed is the antithesis of emergency planning, but I disagree. A dog will keep our morale up and if society breaks down we can use him to hunt and fight off intruders. I think a cockapoo is ideal for that.

Make a good playlist

When Britain’s infrastructure has been devastated by a cyber-attack, listening to your favourite songs will keep your spirits up. My boyfriend said: ‘Er, Nikki, you’re not planning to listen to that on Spotify on your phone which needs to be charged, are you?’ But then he’s never appreciated Taylor Swift.

Prioritise healthy food options

I understand we need to stock up on food, but what did my idiot boyfriend buy? Loads of instant noodles and baked beans! That’s just pure carbohydrate! Luckily some of us are a bit more health-conscious, so I replaced it all with lettuce, low-calorie ready meals and some apples. A nuclear war is going to be bad enough without fat thighs.

Have birthday cards

I just know that the moment society starts to collapse I’ll need to send a birthday card. Obviously I don’t know whose birthday it will be, so I bought loads of different ones to avoid giving my dad one with unicorns on. Unfortunately we were running out of space in the stockpile by then, so I threw out all the condoms my boyfriend had bought. I’m sure he’ll understand.

It was created in 2004 and celebrates the liberation of Moscow from Polish troops in 1612, led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky. This event marked the end of the “time of troubles” and foreign intervention in Russia. It led to Mikhail Romanov’s accession to the throne.

Speaking in 2021, President Putin said: “National Unity Day marks a dramatic, life-changing period in the history of our country. In the early 17th century, Russia found itself on the brink of losing its sovereignty and could have disappeared from the European and world maps forever. However, the people of Russia did not let this happen. They came together in a volunteer army led by Minin and Pozharsky to defend their homeland, chase out the invaders and traitors, restore a strong state, and stop sectarian strife. They took on the task of saving the country and paved the way for Russia’s revival and strengthening.”

The event was marked by a public holiday which was celebrated in Russia on October 22nd from 1649 till 1917.

The name of the day is in recognition that all the classes of Russian society united to save Russia, even though there was no Tsar to lead them.

There are 193 peoples (tribes or ethnic groups) living in the territory of the country. Russia has a unique religious composition, with the three world religions represented –Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Russia has 277 languages and dialects. More than three dozen languages, along with Russian – which form part of the Russian Federation – are national

Ecuador’s Public Holidays provide a handy guide to this South American country’s road to independence from Spain.

Independence Day commemorates Quito’s declaration of independence in 1809, the first city to do so in Latin America. While that attempt proved unsuccessful, it paved the way for the nationalist movement that would sweep over Central and South America later that century.

Eleven years later, on October 9th 1820, Guayaquil declared its independence during the Ecuadorian War of Independence – this event is marked by another public holiday.

Cuenca,  the economic centre of the southern highlands, declared its independence on November 3rd 1820.

These declarations were important milestones in the war and gave momentum to the liberation of Quito.

After the war and independence, Cuenca became the capital of one of the three provinces that made up the newly-formed republic.

Cuenca is the third-largest city in Ecuador and the capital of the Azuay Province. The historic centre of the city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its many historical buildings.

The use of slaves on Mauritius was widespread. It began when the French took control of the island and established sugar cane plantations, which needed a large workforce of slaves.

By the time the British took control of the island in 1810, slaves accounted for around 80% of the island’s population with most from Madagascar and East Africa.

In February 1835, slavery was abolished in Mauritius. This instantly created a demand for replacement labour on the plantations.

The solution was to use indentured workers. Effectively indentured workers would work as slaves, but only for the term of their contract, after which they would be freed. This process started in Mauritius and was expanded to other parts of the British Empire.

Between 1834 and 1920, half-a-million indentured immigrants (labourers and their families) arrived on Mauritius, with 97% of the immigrants coming from India. The first labourers, called coolies, arrived from Calcutta (Kolkata) on November 2nd 1834.

A commission to look at the practice of indenture first took place in 1872, though it was 1924 before the practice was abolished.

In 1849 an immigration depot was built at Trou Fanfaron, Port Louis, where the coolies lived for two days before heading out to the sugar estates. It was listed as a national monument and renamed to Apravasi Ghat in 1989.

In 2006, the depot, seen as a symbol of human endurance, was included in Unesco’s list of world heritage sites.

The need to disclose ethnic identity was dropped from the census in 1982, so there are no official figures, but over 60% of Mauritians have ancestors from the Indian subcontinent.

This holiday on the anniversary of that first arrival in 1834 celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Indian population and their contribution to Mauritian society.

THE foundations of a father’s identity have been shaken after he decided to put the heating on before November.

Anthony, not his real name, 47, has started to question every aspect of his existence after he apparently voluntarily reached for the central heating controls and made the house a pleasant temperature, even though by any measure it is still only autumn.

He said: “My kids didn’t nag me into submission, and my wife told me to put a jumper on when she saw what I was doing. What the f**k is going on?

“This isn’t who I am. I’m your typical dad who maintains an inhospitable temperature with an iron fist. Or am I? Perhaps I’ve been living a lie all these years and the facade is finally slipping.

“Was I really born in Islington? Do I actually enjoy listening to reggae and cheering on the Gunners, or is that all a sham as well? Maybe I’m actually a 16th century French courtesan lost on the dimensional planes.

“Get your shit together, Ant. There’s only so long you can search for answers in the bathroom mirror you’ve headbutted before people start getting suspicious.”

Anthony’s’ daughter Lucy, not her real name, said: “On the one hand dad is a gibbering shell of his former self, but on the other it’s nice and toasty. I prefer him having a terrifying identity crisis.”

From the start of the sixteenth century, Algeria had been under the partial rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1830, the country was invaded by France. The conquest of Algeria was a long and bloody affair, and unusually for French foreign territories, Algeria’s status was that it was treated as being part of France rather than as a colony.

Emigration from Europe to Algeria was encouraged by the French, with tribal lands confiscated by the French government and Europeans even becoming the majority of the population in some cities like Algiers.

In the middle of the twentieth century, local resentment to the presence of France by the local Muslim population led to the uprising known as the ‘Red (bloody) All Saints’ Day’ (French: Toussaint Rouge).

On November 1st1954, the Christian festival of All Saints’ Day, 70 individual coordinated attacks were made on police and military targets across Algeria by the National Liberation Front (FLN). These attacks signaled the start of the Algerian War. The events of November 1st 1954 became known as the ‘Red (bloody) All Saints’ Day’ (French: Toussaint Rouge).

While France won the conflict and regained control of the country, the brutality of the suppression of the revolution further alienated the Algerians and resulted in a loss of support for France’s control of Algeria, both in France and abroad. This change in attitude directly led to independence from Algeria on July 5th 1962.

A MAN’S attempts to cure his hangovers are getting increasingly complicated to the point where they may be too difficult to do while hungover.

Martin, 41, not his real name, in the difficult position of loving getting shitfaced, but finding that quick, no-nonsense hangover cures have stopped working as well due to being old.

He said: “When I was younger I used to be able to shake a hangover off by mid-morning with coffee, a shower and maybe a quick vomit. Those happy days are gone.

“Drinking a litre of orange juice with a full English breakfast worked for a bit, but I was forced to move on to wanking and sleeping for ages. Sadly nowadays two wanks just wear me out, and spending most of the day in bed isn’t much use unless you can turn up to work at 5pm.

“So now my preparations start the night before by downing a pint of milk thistle juice while having a cold shower, then sleeping sitting upright so the alcohol doesn’t stay in my brain.

“In the morning I do the local park’s boot camp, which purges jets of toxins through my mouth, then I take an ice bath and sit down to a breakfast of dry sourdough toast with whale song playing in the background.

“The only problem is it’s way too exhausting to do with a hangover. A bloke in the pub swears by Thai massage, but hungover I’m not sure I could cope with the social interaction. Or a wank.”

Friend Cad, not his real name, said: “Martin could just meet us in the pub at lunchtime for an ever-reliable hair of the dog, but he’s going to an acupuncturist once he’s finished his kelp and wheatgrass smoothie.”

In November 2025, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI decreed that October 31st of each year will be a national holiday, designated as “Aid Al Wahda” (Unity Day in English), according to a statement from the Royal Cabinet.

The royal proclamation marks the adoption of a United Nations Security Council resolution that supports the Kingdom’s position on the Western Sahara issue, which has been widely described in the news as a “Sahara Victory at the UN.” The move is intended to underscore Morocco’s national unity and sovereign identity.

The Security Council resolution renewed for one year the mandate of the long-standing United Nations peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara, referencing Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal presented in 2007 — which envisions the territory as self-governing under Moroccan sovereignty — as a basis for negotiations.

The resolution is historic as it directly and explicitly joined the growing momentum in support of the Moroccan initiative as the basis to end the dispute under Morocco’s sovereignty.

The creation of “Unity Day” adds a significant new date to the nation’s calendar, reinforcing the importance of the UN’s resolution and its implications for the region. Unity Day will serve as a unifying occasion to celebrate national unity and the Kingdom’s territorial integrity, and it will also be a day on which the King grants royal pardons.

A 28-YEAR-OLD man is delighted to be diagnosed as having ‘anxious avoidant attachment’ by the enthusiastic amateurs on his girlfriend’s group chat.

Rubin, not his real name, who had previously thought of himself as a straightforward sort of bloke who occasionally has a nap, was happy to learn several women he had met briefly had developed a comprehensive psychological profile of him.

He said: “Apparently these women, none of whom have any qualifications but I’m told Marie is very good at matchmaking, have identified a pattern in my behaviour dating back to childhood.

“Thanks to some Instagram reels and a podcast clip, these layman psychologists believe I am commitment-phobic, emotionally unavailable but inexplicably clingy and suffering from a fear of abandonment. Which seems a perfectly rational thing to fear.

“Apparently saying ‘whatever you want, babe’ to restaurant suggestions is a manifestation of my fear of losing control. And I stand accused of ‘weaponised incompetence’ because I forgot our anniversary. I didn’t know we had one. We’re not married.

“Yet for all their expertise regarding the male psyche, they still can’t explain why I get irritated when she asks what I’m thinking and then becomes upset when I tell her it’s football. Sometimes it’s not about her. Very often it’s about Everton.

“Sophie says I need therapy. But I’m already getting it for free against my will in a group chat full of women who claim 20 minutes of silence is a ‘quiet plea for help’.”

Nevada Day commemorates the admission of the state of Nevada into the union on October 31st 1864, when it became the 36th state in the union. 

The words ‘battle born’ appear on the state flag, as Nevada gained its statehood during the American Civil War.

As Nevada Day is a state holiday, all state, county and city government offices will close, along with most schools and libraries. Private businesses can close at their discretion. The US Post Office will be open as will most banks and public transport will operate on nearly normal schedules.

The name ‘Nevada’ is Spanish and means ‘snow-covered’.

The biggest event to mark Nevada Day is the parade in downtown Carson City, the state capital of Nevada. The Nevada Day Parade is the state’s oldest and most historical event, and with the exception of Hawaii and West Virginia, Nevada hosts the only admission day activity of its kind in the country.

Informal celebrations of this holiday began in the 1870s when it was called Admission Day. Nevada Day became a state holiday in 1933 the State Legislature passed a bill, introduced by Senator Ira L. Winters of Carson City designating Oct. 31st as “Nevada Day” as well as a discretionary holiday. Parades and pageants commemorating Nevada’s history along with the usual gatherings of pioneers were among the festivities.

Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, the allies occupied Turkey as part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.

An uprising of Turkish nationalists led to the Turkish war of independence (1919 -1923). The allies left Turkish regions in July 1923.

Mustafa Kemal, the leader of the Turkish troops was named the first president on October 29th 1923 when the First Grand National Assembly declared Türkiye to be a republic officially in the new capital, Ankara, at the First Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Building.

On the same day, it was decided by the parliament to celebrate with 101 guns. 

In 1934, Kemal was given the title Atatürk, which means ‘Father of the Turks’.

A republican constitution was adopted the following April. Islam remained the state religion for several years, though this was eventually removed from the constitution in April 1928, making Turkey a secular state. Turkey remained a single-party government until 1945.

For the Turkish people, Republic Day is one of the national holidays where national unity and solidarity and social solidarity are at the highest level. It was essential to determine a new form of administration in order to eliminate the administrative vacuum that emerged after the War of Independence, which ended with the victory of the Turkish nation.

WISTFULLY staring at manual workers imagining they have it easier than you? Any one of these good, honest careers would cause your underpaid limbs immense pain:

Gardening

Nothing beats leaving the rat race for a job where you literally touch grass. Charlatans like Monty Don has convinced idiots that gardening is a form of mindfulness and artistic expression, overlooking how much of it is digging, sawing, clipping and lugging around literal sacks of shit. A fortnight of it and you’ll hate plants.

Bartending

Ever been an a night out where you’re not drinking and everyone else is? F**king awful, yeah? That’s every night as a bartender. Spending every night with lager-breathed arseholes and pretending to like them is a skillset office workers simply do not have because they are those arseholes, every Friday night.

Farming

Not everyone wants to follow their primal agricultural instincts, though financiers with untaxed nest eggs are powerfully attracted. The romanticism of owning a farm is sullied by the perpetual whinging farmers are legally obliged to do, about foot-and-mouth or milk prices or the bloody weather. But you’ll be enough like Clarkson to be admired by bigots.

Carpentry

Why not do a reverse Harrison Ford and go from six figures to sawing door jambs? Your current job may not be Hollywood but after a few months at a lathe it will f**king feel like it. Dovetail joints look sexy on Instagram but are an absolute bastard in practice. You’ll wish you were back at your desk, ignoring fine examples of woodworking all around you.

Nursing

After watching The Pitt while commuting, you surely know most of what’s covered in a decade of medical studies. And there’s enough cool in being a caregiver to carry you through graveyard shifts as miserable as an annual conference. Where else but A&E would you find sex toys lodged in funny orifices? Annual conferences, actually.

Scaffolding

Inhaling second-hand vape fumes for eight hours straight is not worth it for being four storeys up. Nor is the risk of an early death worth all-chat about which Marvel superhero has the best tits. It’s hard, all-weather, exhausting, labour. You’ll stare in at offices and wish you could be in there with them. And it’s Captain Marvel, definitely.

The area of Czechoslovakia had been a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of the first world war. The Czech speaking areas of Bohemia and Moravia had been under Austrian rule while Slovakia was part of Hungary.

Before the first world war, there had been nationalist movements in both the Czech lands and Slovakia. Despite the Czech area being an industrialised region and Slovakia being a mainly agricultural-based country, the two regions took the opportunity to become a new nation.

‘Czechoslovak’ independence was proclaimed in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on October 28th 1918. The president of the ‘First Republic’ was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who was the leader of the nationalist movement outside the Austro Hungarian Empire.

Known as the Festival of Lights, Thadingyut is the second most popular festival in Myanmar after Thingyan Festival.

Maya, the mother of Buddha died a week after Buddha was born. She was reborn in the Trayastrimsa Heaven as a god named Santusita. To honour his mother, Buddha ascended to the Trayastrimsa Heaven and preached from the Abhidhamma texts to Santusita for three months. 

The full moon of the month Waso (Dhammasetkya Day) marks the ascent by Buddha and the start of the three month period of Buddhist Lent, when the monks retreat to their monasteries. During this time, monks dedicate themselves to meditation and study. During Buddhist Lent, marriages are forbidden and many people give up meat and alcohol. Buddhist lent often coincides with the rainy season in Myanmar.

The full moon in Thadingyut marks Buddha’s return to earth and signifies the end of Buddhist Lent.

Thadingyut is called the festival of lights as the followers of Buddha lit up their houses and temples to mark the return of Buddha. Towns and villages across Myanmar will be illuminated in honour of this auspicious event.

The Declaration of Neutrality was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on October 26th 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament.

The declaration was a direct result of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France between 1945 and 1955. The Soviet Union would not have agreed to the signing of a State Treaty in May 1955 if Austria had not committed itself to declare its neutrality after the allied forces had left the country. The final foreign troops left Austria on October 25th 1955.

Since 1955, neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity. Legally, Austrian neutrality is both a part of the Austrian constitution and of international law. There is some debate as to whether Austria could change this neutral status on its own account and whether Austria is still truly neutral, given it is a member of the EU.