Interesting Facts

According to a survey carried out by adult retailer Lovehoney, 3% of people in the UK admit to saying "I love you" on a first date and and 13 per cent took the plunge in the first week. (Two-fifths declared their love by the end of the first month, but A third of women have told a partner that they loved them when they didn't, and a fifth of men admitted to doing the same thing. The usual excuse is their partner had said it first and so they felt under pressure to say it back. I guess they were just being polite, but really - don't say it unless you mean it.)

In Anglo Saxon times, the second month of the year, corresponding roughly with the Roman (and modern) month of February, was called Solmonath. (‘Monath’ is the Old English word for a month, and the direct ancestor of our modern English word ‘month’. ‘Sol’ is the Old English word for ‘mud’, so Solmonath meant ‘Mud Month’, which is very appropriate given the British weather at this time of year.  According to Dictionary.com a lesser-used term was Kale-monath, which meant “cabbage month.”  I guess that reflected the wonderful English cuisine of the time.)

Today is the start of a new year (Nava Varsha) in Nepal. So, Happy New Year to all Nepalese! Nhu Dan Ya Bhintuna! (Nepal has its own calendar which is 56 years 08 months and 16 days ahead of the Christian calendar. From today (14th April) they start the year 2062 BS. The era (BS) is called Bikram Sambat and is named after a King of the valley.)