Top 10 fun facts.............Argentina

Hola Gentle Reader, I had my first Argentinian reader the other day, so here for your delectation are my Argentina facts.

 

1. Argentina is named after the Latin word for Silver.

 

        2. Between 1974 and 1983, 30,000 people went "Missing" in Argentina.                 The Military dictatorship was to blame.

 

3. In 2001, Argentina had 5 presidents in 10 days.

 

4. Pope Francis worked as a bouncer in Buenos Aires.

 

5. In Argentinian Spanish, the toothpaste brand "Colgate" means 

"Go Hang Yourself"

 

6. There is a region of Argentina where people speak Welsh.

 

7. Argentina has the highest number of psychiatrists per capita in the world.

8. Argentina has the second highest rate of anorexia in the world after Japan.

 9. Argentina was the first Latin-American country to legalize same-sex marriage.

 

10. In 1971, Evita Peron's body was exhumed and flown to Spain where her widow and ex-president Juan Peron and his new wife kept her corpse in their dining room.

 

#argentina #silver #missing #popefrancis #colgate #anorexia #samesexmarriage #evitaperon

 

52

Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday dear A Scotsman in Riga...

Happy Birthday to me.

Neil's homemade 60 second Ice cream

Hello Gentle Readers, tonight I was going to make a special curry but time got away from me so instead I made Ice Cream in 60 seconds.

Whats that I hear you cry....60 seconds ice cream......HOW?????

Well here's how folks.

Ingredients

400g Frozen Fruit
380g Natural Yoghurt
4 table spoons runny honey.

Method

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and Blitz for 60 seconds.
Serve immediately or put in freezer to keep.

 

Lena put some maple syrup on her ice cream

 

#60secondicecream

Top 10 fun facts: Vietnam

Hello Gentle Reader, I had my first reader from Vietnam yesterday. So in honour of that brave soul here are my top ten fun facts about...Vietnam.

 

1. Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashews in the world, and the second largest exporter of rice.

 

2. Instead of bells, traditional gongs are used to call the Vietnamese children to school.

3. Although Vietnam is a developing country, it has a literacy rate of 94%.

 

4. Among all developing countries, Vietnam has one of the lowest unemployment rates.

 

5. You can find a B52 American Bomber Wreck in  Vietnam’s West Lake.

 

6. An estimated ten million motor bikes travel on the roads of Vietnam every day.

 

7. Ruou ran (snake wine), a Vietnamese specialty of rice wine with a pickled snake inside, allegedly can cure any sickness.

 

8. The most common surname in Vietnam is Nguyen.

9. The Vietnamese keep potbelly pigs as pets.

 

10.The Vietnamese language has six different tones. A change in tone changes the meaning of the word. This makes their language somewhat difficult to learn.

#vietnam

Back to School

 

Hello there Gentle Reader, as I write this on the 22nd August, I am preparing myself for going back to work on Monday. After nearly 9 weeks holiday I always find myself getting more and more apprehensive as the first day of school approaches.

This year I will be teaching IGCSE Geography for the first time in my career, but I don’t feel concerned having taught the equivalent courses in Scotland called Standard Grades for many years.

My homeroom class is the same as last year so I will know most of the kids, apart from one new boy, but I am sad to say that the tallest boy in the class is now taller than me. How is it possible that a 13 year old can be taller than a 47 year old? Maybe my gut which has been steadily growing since I turned 30 is making me shrink.

After all, I am not overweight.....I'm under tall.

Anyway, I guess I just have to suck it up and do my best. I will be blogging a bit more about school this year so stay tuned to A Scotsman in Riga.

#backtoschool #igcse

Riga's Administrative Divisions

Hey Gentle Reader, the city I live in, Riga, is made up of six clearly defined administrative divisions. They are:

Central District (Kirov)

Kurzeme District (Leningrad)

Latgale Suburb (Moscow)

Northern District (October)

Vidzeme District (Proletariat)

Zemgale District (Lenin)

The names of the district were chosen in 1990 to replace the former Soviet era names which I have included in brackets.

Below is a breakdown showing the area and population of the 6 divisions.

Entity	Area	Population
Central District	3 km2 (1.2 sq mi)	26,466
Kurzeme District	79 km2 (31 sq mi)	134,817
Latgale Suburb	50 km2 (19 sq mi)	197,166
Northern District	77 km2 (30 sq mi)	81,972
Vidzeme Suburb	57 km2 (22 sq mi)	173,124
Zemgale Suburb	41 km2 (16 sq mi)	106,068

Neil and Lena's Russian Bacon and Eggs

Hello Gentle Reader, its breakfast time at the weekend so time to cook up a treat.

Bacon and Eggs on toast is awesome anyway but here its been pimped up.

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 eggs
1 pack bacon
6 slices of white bread for toast
butter
salt and pepper
Olive oil
Cucumber
Red pepper
onion

Method

Cook the eggs and bacon the usual way, using olive oil for the eggs.
Toast the bread and spread on butter.
Place the cooked eggs and bacon onto the toast and add the chopped cucumber, pepper and onion.
Mix it up so that the toasts do not look identical.
Add  salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Today in History 21st August

Hello there history buffs, Its back to school for me on Monday so lets strap on our satchels, shine our new shoes and open the dusty books of history.

 

1808: The Battle of Vimeiro fought between British and Portuguese allies against the French becomes the first battle of the Peninsular war. For those of you reading my novel Lazarus Rising, this battle is central to chapter 10. 

 

1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre Gallery in Paris.

 

1957: The USSR successfully  tests the world's first Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, the R-7 Semyorka.

 

1986: Usain Bolt, Double Olympic  sprint champion is born.

1991: Latvia declares it's Independence from the Soviet Union.

 

 #latvia #usainbolt #vimeiro #monalisa #R-7Semyorka

Today in History: 18th August

Hello Gentle Reader, Summer is nearly over, so lets dig out our gloves, hat and scarf and shiver in anticipation of the chilly wind of history.

1227: Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire, dies.

1590: The English settlement of Roanoke in America is found abandoned.

 

1936: Oscar winning actor and director Robert Redford is born.

 

1958: The novel "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov is published.

 

1964: South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games because of Apartheid.

 

1969: Woodstock, the seminal music festival, ends after 3 days of sex, drugs and rock n roll.

 

#roanoke #nabukov #lolita #robertredford #genghiskhan #woodstock #southafrica #olympicgames #aparthied

Lazarus Rising chapter 11 part 2

 Sorry its been a while Folks but here is the next part of the novel.

"I'm sorry to intrude Mr Foxworth" he stammered.
Foxwoth's arrival, although not completely unexpected had been surprising and Lazarus was temporarily flustered.
"My father had the statue made after my birth." Foxworth explained. "It's  a little ostentatious if you ask me. What do you think Mister... erm, I'm sorry. What is your name?"
"L-Lazarus" he managed to gasp, "It's am interesting piece. Your father must have loved you and your mother very much."
Foxworth made a face that indicated to Lazarus that what he had said was somehow amusing.
"My father was an evil bastard Mr Lazarus. He didn't love anyone. The only thing that he desired was money and elevating his position was his only goal."

He pointed to a faded scar on his temple.
"You see that? My father gave me that the last time I saw him. I ran away that night and I didn't return until yesterday."
"If you don't mind me asking Mr Foxworth. Why did you come back?"
"Its a long story Mr Lazarus and I am afraid it will take a lot of explaining."

Foxworth suddenly noticed that Lazarus had been cut on the face and his shirt was dirty and wet.
"My dear sir, I must apologize for my lack of hospitality. Come on up to the house and you can change. You an I look to be the same size in shirt and you can borrow one of mine."
"Thank you sir." Lazarus said and he allowed himself to be guided through the garden towards the dark figure of the house.

"So tell me Mr Lazarus; how long have you been in Stelling Minnis?"
"Two days" he replied, "The strangest thing is I don't know why I came here."

Lazarus and Foxworth reached the steep stone steps that led up to the house. Up close, Lazarus realized, the house was not as imposing as it had looked from the doctor's bedroom window. Yes it was the largest house in the village but not as grand a structure as he had imagined.

Top 10 fun facts about the English Language

Well Hello again, gentle reader. I am going back to work tomorrow after 8 and a half weeks  summer  holidays. So today lets kick back and get an English lesson.

Here are my fun facts about my mother tongue.

1. 1 in 7 people on Earth speak English.

 

2. Every 98 minutes a new English word is created.

 

3. 90% of everything ever written in English uses just 1000 words.

4. The longest word in English with just 1 syllable is "Screeched."

 

5. "LOL" was officially recognized as a word in 2011.

6. 80% of all data stored on computers is in English.

7. The longest word in English without a vowel is "Rhythms".

8. The shortest complete sentence in English is "Go"

9. The most commonly misused word in English is "Ironic"

10. The verb "Unfriend" dates back to 1659.

Neil and Lena's Pork 'n Potato Gratin

Hey gentle reader, here's another recipe for you. Lena did the potatoes and I did the pork.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

400 g pork fillet
800g red skinned potatoes
6 cloves of garlic
2 tea spoons of paprika
100ml single cream
2 large onions
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
one chicken stock cube
30g parmesan
Frozen Veg

Method

Wash the potatoes and using the slicing attachment of a food processor, slice them so they are  really thin. Boil the potatoes for 4 minutes.

Rinse the processor and using the same slicing attachment chop the onions.

Crush 2 cloves of garlic into a pan along with a teaspoon of olive oil and crumble in the stock cube. Add the onions and fry until golden brown.

 

Cut the pork fillet into 1cm thick medallions and flatten using a rolling pin. Slice one side with a knife in a few places and rub a mixture of garlic and paprika into the meat.

When the onions are brown and the potatoes are half cooked. Pour them both into an oven proof dish and stir well so that it is flat and even. Pour over 100ml of the single cream and sprinkle 30g of Parmesan cheese. Place the dish under the grill on a high heat for 15 minutes.

In a frying pan add some olive oils and gently fry the pork turning regularly for about 10 minutes.

Cook some frozen veg and serve all together.