English Mysteries Club discussion

My first granddaughter, Raelyn Verena Johnson, was born today. Yeah! Mother and daughter doing great. Father (my son) already wrapped around her little finger. Grandma beaming from ear to ear.

Congratulations, Susan! Its a great feeling indeed!

That's lovely, Susan. Congratulations!

Congratulations. Wonderful holiday gift for your family!

Oh, wonderful! Congratulations!

Congrats! :)

Congratulations !!!!

Congratzzz enjoy the new member of the family!

Nothing like grandchildren. Enjoy every minute--they grow up way too fast!

What a great event. Congratulations.

What a wonderful present! Remember, you get to send grandkids back to their parents (and you will be grateful for that, trust me). It's also fun to watch the parents go through what they put you through. These grow quicker than your own for some reason, so get every minute you can!

Thank you for all of your kind wishes.
@Sandi, I have already learned that trick. She pooped and I handed her to my son. Yeah!

Susan wrote: "Thank you for all of your kind wishes.
@Sandi, I have already learned that trick. She pooped and I handed her to my son. Yeah!"

Good for you!

We are celebrating our 66 years of independence from British rule today. We had the flag hoisting ceremony in school, followed by a cultural programme put up by our students. We teachers wore the traditional red-border white/cream coloured sari.

Sonali, are schools already in session there? We are in the last few weeks of summer vacation here.

I didn't know if everyone had heard of the death of Barbara Mertz who wrote as Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters. Her Amelia Peabody series is one of my favorites.

Happy Independence Day! Sonali: part of my schooling was in Kolkata so your post made me nostalgic.

Ellen wrote: "I didn't know if everyone had heard of the death of Barbara Mertz who wrote as Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters. Her Amelia Peabody series is one of my favorites."

I read about her death while I was on vacation - I loved the Amelia Peabody books, especially the early ones. I liked the setting & Amelia herself was so spunky in that late Victorian way of hers :)

Leslie wrote: "Sonali, are schools already in session there? We are in the last few weeks of summer vacation here."

Leslie,School session in my state is January-December. We have our summer vacation from mid-May to mid-June, when the monsoon begins, bringing us relief from the terrible heat . It's quite pleasant now, 27 to 30 degrees C.with plenty of thundershowers.We are in full session, rushing to complete our syllabus and various tests and exams before the festive season begins from the first week of October.School will re-open for about a week and again close to finish the festivities by the first week of November, followed by Annual Exams, reports etc.

Arpita wrote: "Happy Independence Day! Sonali: part of my schooling was in Kolkata so your post made me nostalgic."
I can understand that Arpita.:-)

Sonali wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Sonali, are schools already in session there? We are in the last few weeks of summer vacation here."

Leslie,School session in my state is January-December. We have our summer vacat..."

What a hectic schedule! How do you find time to read?

On this day (August 17th) in 1834, Charles Darwin reached the top of Campana Chile. Again on this day, just 2 years later, Darwin and HMS Beagle left South-America for last time.

Charles Darwin was a compulsive note-taker and list-maker. As a bachelor, he compiled a one-page list of arguments for and against marriage and then, having made his decision, went out to find someone upon whom to exercise it. As a husband, he recorded every household expense and, despite being independently wealthy, made year-end resolutions for the smallest of savings. As a father, he made notes on how his children cried and when they blushed. As a man often ill -- or, perhaps, hypochondriac -- he tracked and tallied his woes: each headache or bout of flatulence was noted, each morning and evening was ranked, each month proclaimed him feeling well or poorly.

But the most important list Charles Darwin ever made was the one he drew up much earlier, as a twenty-two year-old trying to talk his way around his father, and aboard the Royal Navy brig, the Beagle. Darwin had recently -- and barely -- graduated from Cambridge, and to his father's relief, was about to settle down as a clergyman. Unexpectedly, he received an invitation to tag along on the Beagle's two-year science and survey expedition to South America. Captain FitzRoy was of noble but unstable stock; on his first voyage he had been suicidal from loneliness; he was looking for a gentleman-companion, someone to help with the science, but more for sherry and table-talk.

The Beagle voyage turned out to be five years rather than two. On it Darwin evolved from a gentleman-naturalist to a scientist, bringing back a stack of notebooks and specimens that would be his life's work, and the backbone of his theories. Partial or wacky ideas of evolution were in the air in Victorian England -- Darwin's grandfather had proposed one version of it -- but Darwin's geological and biological data, and his analysis of it, were a breakthrough.

Leslie, there's no post for the 17th in 'Today in Literature'. But there's one here. Is it by mistake or deliberately?

So this is a not about books thread...I have been reading a lot about movie stars from the very early 1900s. They had so much scandal back then that it makes today's "star" reports look like Mr. Rogers neighborhood. The only difference between then and now is that they worked so hard to cover it up. If you look up the actors from way back then some of them will surprise you!

Absolutely correct. Perceptions were different then. I had the same thought a few. days back while reading an article, as I remembered the stories about the stars in magazines then, what conjectures, what denials. Society has become more open, we accept and respect individual choices, even in my country.

[Deep sigh]. Yes, politicians once worked very hard to hide their indiscretions. Nowadays, they get re-elected.

Sonali wrote: "Leslie, there's no post for the 17th in 'Today in Literature'. But there's one here. Is it by mistake or deliberately?"

Mistake!! That explains why I didn't see it when I posted today, so you will get a bonus one today:)

So so very true Portia, so tragically true in my country. And there isn't any alternative to them either. Good people don't join poltics here.

So sad! Mandela was a true hero...

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday! ☃

Happy Holidays everyone