Birthdays and Anniversaries: Advice

Today is my brother's birthday. Happy birthday Phil, wherever you are. I hope you are still with us.

He was kind of cross that we got married on his birthday; I guess we stole his thunder, but it was only for one day really.

Advice: If you are going to plan something on a special day to someone else, check it out with them first. They may be flattered, or flattened.

I do remember our wedding day in Barnet, the wind blowing, the party at Sally's flat, the evening do at the Raglan Hall hotel. Musician friends singing, lots of work friends attending (who if I look at in the photos now I wouldn't have a clue who they are).

Advice: don't invite work friends to your wedding (unless they are also good friends). Invite people you think will still be in your life in ten years time.

Well, it's 30 years since we got married. A lot has happened in that time; we have two wonderful kids, four albums (in the same band) and lots of happy memories. But the last five years haven't been quite so good, and all good things come to an end, as they say.

Advice: count the good things that were, and measure them st the bad things that are. The glass is probably half full, even if it used to be full and a lot got spilled.

Some other anniversaries you may not be aware of today;

1868: Robert Falcon Scott leader of ill-fated south polar expedition, was born

1903: Aram Khachaturian, the Russian composer, was born

1933: The first concrete was poured for the foundations of the Boulder Dam

1944: D-Day, the allied forces launch their major offensice and land on the beaches of Normandy

1966: James Meredith, the first black man to brave the colour bar at the University of Mississippi, was shot

1968: Robert Kennedy was shot

1975: The UK has it's first nationwide referendum over the continued membership of the European Economic Community

2007: The G8 summit in Germany finally recognises that climate change is a 'bit of an issue'

Feel free to add any more intersting dates in comments below.