Hello Folks and welcome to another edition of the Spark! designed to start your working week with a smile. Hopefully this little confection of trivia will set you off with a spring in your step!
On This Day – 13th May 1787 – The ‘First Fleet’ leaves Portsmouth for Australia
After James Cook travelled to Australia in 1770 and claimed the territory of New South Wales for the British Crown, the government were considering means of establishing a British colony. Sir Joseph Banks, who had been the scientist on Cook’s voyage, pushed for a settlement to be established. This was exacerbated by the American Revolution which made it impossible for convicts to be sent to penal colonies in the Americas.
Captain Arthur Philip RN was appointed commodore of the fleet and Governor General of New South Wales. The fleet consisted of 11 ships comprising two Royal Naval Escorts, 6 convict transports and 3 storeships and departed Portsmouth, UK on this day in 1787.
After an 8 month voyage, the fleet arrived in Botany Bay. 48 people had died on the voyage whilst another 28 were born en-route. The convicts had been sentenced to death for various offences which had been commuted to transportation for various terms, from 7 years to life. In a number of cases, they were accompanied by their families. The convicts were guarded by four companies of Marines who had volunteered for the trip and who were again accompanied by their families.
These settlers formed the core of the anglophile presence down under and established the nation that it has grown to be. There is now a First Fleet memorial garden in Wallabadah, NSW and an “Australian Settlers” sculpture by the waterfront in Old Portsmouth.
Read more here.
Also on this day:
1909 – The first staging of the Giro d’Italia, a long distance cycle race, starts in Milan
1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, predecessor of the RAF, is formed
1940 – Winston Churchill makes his “Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat” speech, his first as PM
1950 – The inaugural Formula One Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone circuit
1981 – Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in Rome
Arrivals
1842 – Arthur Sullivan, British composer (“The Gondoliers”, “The Mikado”, “HMS Pinafore”)
1922 – Bea Arthur, US actress & singer (“All in the Family”, ”The Golden Girls”)
1936 – Harvey Keitel, US Actor (“Mean Streets”, “Taxi Driver”, “The Irishman”)
1950 – Stevie Wonder, US musician and composer (“For Once in my Life”, “Happy Birthday”, “Superstition”)
1964 – Stephen Colbert, US comedian and chat show host
Departures
1961 – Gary Cooper, US actor (“Lives of a Bengal Lancer”, “Sgt. York”, “High Noon”)
1977 – Mickey Spillane, US mobster and criminal
2012 – Donald “Duck” Dunn, US musician and producer (Booker T & The MG’s, The Blues Brothers)
2018 – Margot Kidder, US actress (“The Great Waldo Pepper”, “Superman”, “Smallville”)
2019 – Doris Day, US singer and actress (“Calamity Jane”, “Pillow Talk”, “The Pajama Game”)
The Funnies:
Recipe of the day: Bacon & Pea Pasta Bake
A quick and easy BBC Food recipe that is simple to make and contains bacon!
Ingredients
250g/9oz dried pasta
250g/9oz frozen peas
2 tsp vegetable oil
4 rashers bacon (about 150g/5½oz), cut into small pieces
½ of the batch-cooked tomato sauce (about 600g/1lb 5oz cooked weight)
100g/3½oz cheddar, grated
salt and ground black pepper
Method
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 6 minutes. Add the peas to the pan and cook together for a further 5 minutes until the pasta and peas are both cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium–high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crisp. Add the tomato sauce to the pan and stir to combine. Continue to cook over a low heat until the tomato sauce is hot.
Preheat the grill to high.
Drain the pasta mixture and combine with the tomato sauce mixture. Pour into a shallow baking dish and sprinkle over the cheese. Put the dish under the grill for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is golden-brown.
Quote of the Day:
“Vimes had never got on with any game much more complex than darts. Chess in particular had always annoyed him. It was the dumb way the pawns went off and slaughtered their fellow pawns while the kings lounged about doing nothing that always got to him; if only the pawns united, maybe talked the rooks round, the whole board could’ve been a republic in a dozen moves.” (Thud)
– Sir Terry Pratchett
Comic of the Day:
Mouseover: *‘*Certain hybrid events can only happen in certain locations where all the conditions are present; chasers flock to the area in and around Kansas known as tumbleweed-colliding-with-possum alley.’
Image Credit: https://xkcd.com/2931
Explain XKCD: explain xkcd
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
If you missed @Repairatrooper ’s pressurised Spark! from Friday, find it here:
(Spark! Pro Series - May 10th, 2024 - #18 by GeorgeSVFC)
