November is a mad month

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November ..." So November starts out with a nod to the Gunpowder Plot, beloved of radicals everywhere, that was devised by some Catholic fanatics who wanted to overthrow the Protestant government in England (because inter-Christian religious wars were still a thing then). Famously celebrated in "V for Vendetta" as a …

Thanksgiving

This is the week Americans (i.e., those that live in the US) celebrate Thanksgiving - it's a bit after the harvest, so it's an odd time of year to do it - but of course there are more complicated historical reasons for why it is when it is. Nothing is ever simple. Lincoln made it …