366 days of gratitude

Shopping for clothes can be an unhappy experience for people like me who don’t have fashion flair.

It’s made worse by an industry which too often doesn’t cater for real women with bodies to which, time, gravity and chocolate have left their marks.

But today, I struck a really helpful shop assistant who knew her wares, and what suited me and what did not.

I left the shop with a jacket that, depending what’s worn with it, could be casual or dressy and which will go well with plenty of clothes already in my wardrobe.

It also has splashes of my favourite colour – blue.

Today I’m grateful for the shop assistant who made today’s retail therapy a very happy experience, and I emailed the shop to let them know.

 

Word of the day

Soigné  – dressed very elegantly; polished and well-groomed; showing sophisticated elegance and class; fashionable; prepared with great attention to detail.

Rural round-up

Connecting all dairying women – Sally Rae:

When the decision was made to convert their Southland sheep farm to dairying, Katrina Thomas knew nothing about cows.

Undeterred, she decided to “jump in” and become regional group convener for the Dairy Women’s Network.

That way, she thought, she would learn.

It worked and Ms Thomas has now taken on a bigger role, as southern regional hub leader which incorporates Otago and Southland, as well as the fledgling Central Otago DWN branch. . . 

Winter feed pays dividends – Sally Rae:

Johnny Duncan’s fodder beet proved unbeatable in the Maniototo Young Farmers Club’s recent winter feed competition.

The competition attracted 50 entries and it was Mr Duncan’s crop that claimed the overall title.

A dinner, auction and prize-giving held at the Maniototo Stadium and attended by 140 people raised $20,000. . . 

What farming isn’t – Sarah Mock:

This past May, I spent more days in a Ram 1500 pickup on dirt roads than in my apartment. I had the incredible opportunity to traverse the American heartland for just over two weeks, seeking out interesting stories from some of America’s most progressive farmers. Since I moved to California just about a year ago, my view of the endless acres of black soil and satellite-straight rows of corn and soybeans has changed, but not in the way I expected.

Farming in the Midwest: farming for the farmer’s market as scuba diving : sky diving. Same basic direction, but otherwise, literally different elements.

We live in an Instagram-ready, organic cold-pressed hemp milk age. To us, the word “farm” brings to mind a rustic (yet modern) retreat where a cornucopia of lusciously crisp fruit and vegetables are picked daily by weathered hands (body optional) and perfectly clean eggs are laid in perfectly clean straw in reclaimed wood barns with just enough dust in the air to create a flawless #nofilter “eggstra” special post. . . 

Concerns over farmers’ mental helath:

Farmers in Northland are being urged to check on their neighbours as winter and financial stress tighten their grip in the dairy sector.

Federated Farmers president John Blackwell said there had been good turnouts at regular dinners organised to bring stressed farmers and their families together.

But he said those most in need of support may not be asking for it. . . 

Polish meat industry delegation in New Zealand – Allan Barber:

On Friday I attended a seminar, officially named a Congress, presented by a Polish delegation which was in New Zealand as part of a series of five exhibition events to promote ‘the taste of quality and tradition directly from Europe.’ A somewhat bizarre coincidence meant the event took place at exactly the same time as the votes were being counted in the British referendum which culminated in the decision to leave the EU.

The Auckland congress was the third in a series of five being held in different countries targeted for export development for Polish pork and beef products; the other target countries being South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan and Kazakhstan. This one was timed specifically to coincide with the Fine Food New Zealand 2016 held over the weekend at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds at which Polish frozen and refrigerated pork and beef products were available for tasting and evaluation by potential importers. . . 

Fertility increase in merinos –

An improved lamb marking rate at a Wimmera Merino stud supports the breed’s key role in Australia’s modern sheep industry. 

Wallaloo Park Merinos, Marnoo, has recorded some of its best results since starting in 1979. Principal Trent Carter said figures across the board were substantially higher than average and showed success was achievable with good management, genetics and nutrition.  . . 

Friday’s answers

Thank you Andrei, J Bloggs and Teletext for posing yesterday’s questions.

Should you have stumped us all you can claim a virtual jelly sponge by leaving the answers below.

Quote of the day

Had I been a man I might have explored the Poles or climbed Mount Everest, but as it was my spirit found outlet in the air. . . . –Amy Johnson who was born on this day in 1930.

July 1 in history

69  Tiberius Julius Alexander ordered his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as emperor.

1097  Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders under Bohemond of Taranto defeated a Seljuk army under Qilich Arslan I.

1520  La Noche Triste: Joint Mexican Indian force led by Aztecs under Cuitláhuac defeated Spanish Conquistadors under Hernán Cortés.

1569  Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and Great Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union, the united country was called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.

1690  Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne ( in Julian calendar).

1770 Lexell’s Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 a.u.

1782  American privateers attacked Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

1837 A system of the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was established in England and Wales.

1855 Quinault Treaty signed, Quinault and Quileute ceded their land to the United States.

1858  The joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society.

1862  The Russian State Library was founded.

1862  American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill – final battle in the Seven Days Campaign, part of the George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.

1863  Keti Koti, Emancipation Day in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands.

1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg began.

1867  The British North America Act, 1867 took effect as the Constitution of Canada, creating the Canadian Confederation and the federal dominion of Canada; John A. Macdonald was sworn in as the first Prime Minister.

1869 William Strunk Jr., American grammarian, was born (d. 1946).

1879 Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower.

1881  The world’s first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine., United States.

1881 General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell-Childers reformsof the British Army, came into effect.

1885 The United States terminated reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.

1892 The Homestead Strike, a strike by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers against the Carnegie Steel Company, began.

1898  Spanish-American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill was fought in Santiago de Cuba.

1899 Thomas A. Dorsey, American composer, was born (d. 1993).

1899 Charles Laughton, English actor, was born (d. 1962).

1903 Amy Johnson, English pilot, was born (d. 1941).

1906 Estée Lauder, American entrepreneur, was born (d. 2004).

1908 SOS was adopted as the international Distress signal.

1915 Leutnant Kurt Wintgens achieved the first known aerial victory with a synchronized gun-equipped fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker.

1916 Olivia de Havilland, Japanese-born British-American actress, was born.

1916  World War I: First day on the Somme – On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army were killed and 40,000 wounded.

1921 The Communist Party of China was founded.

1928 Bobby Day, American musician was born, (d 1990).

1931  United Airlines began service (as Boeing Air Transport).

1933 The Canadian Parliament suspended all Chinese immigration.

1934 Jean Marsh, English actress, was born.

1934 Sydney Pollack, American film director, was born (d. 2008).

1935  Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Policeambushed strikers participating in On-to-Ottawa-Trek.

1935 – Grant Park Music Festival began its tradition of free summer symphonic music concert series in Chicago’s Grant Park which continues as the United States’ only annual free outdoor classical music concert series.

1942  World War II: First Battle of El Alamein.

1942  Australian Federal Government became sole collector of Income Tax (State Income Tax Abolished).

1943 Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture and was dissolved. Since then, no city in Japan has had the name “Tokyo“. (Present-day Tokyo is not a city.)

1945 Deborah Harry, American musician (Blondie), was born.

1947  The Philippine Air Force was established.

1948  Quaid-i-Azam inaugurated Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.

1951 Fred Schneider, American singer (The B-52′s), was born.

1952 Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, was born.

1953 Jadranka Kosor, Prime Minister of Croatia, was born.

1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese Prime Minister, was born.

1958  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation linked television broadcasting across Canada via microwave.

1958 Flooding of Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway began.

1959  The Party of the African Federation held its constitutive conference.

1959  Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) were adopted after agreement between the U.S., U.K. and other commonwealth countries.

1960  Independence of Somalia.

1960 – Ghana became a Republic and Kwame Nkrumah became its first President.

1961 Diana, Princess of Wales, was born (d. 1997).

1962  Independence of Rwanda.

1962  Independence of Burundi.

1963  ZIP Codes were introduced for United States mail.

1963 – The British Government admitted that former diplomat Kim Philbyhad worked as a Soviet agent.

1967 – The European Community was formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.

1967 – Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the British North America Act, 1867, which officially made Canada its own federal dominion.

1968  The CIA’s Phoenix Program was officially established.

1968 – The Nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.

1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL-CIO.

1970  President General Yahya Khan abolished One-Unit of West Pakistan restoring the provinces.

1972  The first Gay Pride march in England.

1976  Portugal granted autonomy to Madeira.

1978 The Northern Territory in Australia is granted Self-Government.

1979  Sony introduced the Walkman.

1980  O Canada officially became the national anthem of Canada.

1981  The Wonderland Murders occurred in the early morning hours, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash.

1983 A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62 jet crashed into the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.

1987 American radio station WFAN in New York City was launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.

1988  The government announced that it had agreed to the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendation that Bastion Point in Auckland be returned to Ngati Whatua ownership.

1991 The Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.

1997 China resumed sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule.

1999  The Scottish Parliament was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth on the day that legislative powers were officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh.

2000 – The Oresund Bridge, connecting Sweden and Denmark, opened for traffic.

2002 The International Criminal Court was established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

2002 – A Bashkirian Airlines (flight 2937) Tupolev TU-154 and a DHL Boeing 757 collided in mid-air over Ueberlingen, killing 71.

2004 Saturn Orbit insertion of Cassini-Huygens began at 01:12 UTC and ended at 02:48 UTC.

2006 – The first operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China.

2007 Smoking in England was banned in all public indoor spaces. With the ban already in force in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this means it is illegal to smoke in indoor public places anywhere in the UK. The ban was also put into effect in Australia.

2008 Rioting erupted in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.

2009  Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader resigned giving no specific reason. Jadranka Kosor was announced as the next Prime Minister, the first woman ever to hold the post.

2013 – Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union.

2013 – The United Nations mission MINUSMA began its operative mandate in Mali.

2013 – Neptune‘s moon S/2004 N 1 was discovered.

2015 – Militants launched attacks on Egyptian Armed Forces checkpoints in North Sinai, leaving dozens of security personnel and insurgents killed.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia