Festival of Chocolate

How much do you know about chocolate? Test out your knowledge here:

http://www.festivalchocolate.co.uk/chocquiz/

The Chocolate Festival will be held at London's Southbank Centre Square, from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 December. Make your own chocolate creations at a free workshop, try a bowl of Southern chocolate chili, or find out how cocoa butter is used in beauty products. Free admission, open from 11am-8pm Friday and Saturday, 11am-6pm Sunday.

Bonfire Night

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a memorable failure. The plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament, along with King James I, was foiled when Guy Fawkes was caught red-handed in the cellar with several barrels of gunpowder, and sentenced to death.

Although he was only one of the conspirators involved, he had the misfortune to become the fall guy, and the anniversary of his arrest is still celebrated on 5 November, known as Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, and commemorated in the rhyme:
 

“Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot:

I see no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...”

The tradition of burning a straw effigy or "Guy" on top of a bonfire is still going strong.  

Firework displays are held on 5 November and the closest weekend to that date, which this year falls on 3-4 November. 

Chocolate Week

Chocolate Week runs from 7-14 October

How to spot good chocolate? Some tips: 

Ideally chocolate should contain a minimum cocoa content of 60%+ for dark and 30%+ for milk.

 It should be evenly coloured with no cracks or air pockets, streaks or sugar bloom.

The chocolate should smell good as you unwrap it with a complex fragrance. It should be sweetly fragrant but not overpowering.

It should feel silky and not sticky and should just begin to yield to the warmth of your finger.

The texture should be smooth and buttery, gently dissolving into a creamy liquid filling the mouth with its complexity of flavours.

Essentially chocolate is going to be bittersweet, fruity and spicy with a good balance of acidity and should be subtle rather than overpowering.

A should have a clean aftertaste and no residue; and certainly not be overpoweringly sweet.

Guidelines from food writer Sara Jayne Stanes author of 'Chocolate – the Definitive Guide' and  Chairman of the Academy of Chocolate.

http://www.chocolateweek.co.uk/

Five Star Crop Circle

Inside view of a crop circle at Stanton St Bernard in Wiltshire, England. The first formation to appear resembles a church or temple with five spires and five teardrops beneath.  (It is suggested that these represent five stars, or four stars plus Venus, which is known as the Evening Star) A second formation of concentric circles was added at a later date. For aerial views and further details go to Crop Circle Connector.

St Swithins Day

After heavy rain across the UK over the past month, St Swithin's Day is now upon us.

According to the traditional rhyme, if it rains on this day, (15 July) 40 days of rain will follow. If it is sunny, there should be 40 days of fine weather: 

"St Swithin's Day if it dost rain, for forty days it will remain.

"St Swithin's Day if it be fair, for forty days 'twill rain no mair."

Swithin (sometimes spelt Swithun) was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester and legend has it that as he lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried outdoors, at one with nature.

For nine years, his wishes were followed, but then, in 971, the monks of Winchester decided to build the saint a splendid shrine inside the cathedral. There was a heavy rain storm on 15 July which hampered the attempt to remove his remains indoors, and this was taken to be a sign of St Swithin’s protest at the move.

Fire and Stone

Stonehenge was lit up with lanterns, flaming candles and burning coals to create a Fire Garden. The installation by Compagnie Carabosse was organised by Salisbury Arts Festival as part of the extended programme of events marking the London 2012 Olympic games. The Olympic torch passed through Stonehenge and Salisbury on its way to the games.

Transit of Venus

The transit of Venus takes place when the planet passes in front of the sun. While Venus and the earth roughly line up with the sun every 584 days, their orbits are tilted in relation to each other, meaning that a transit only takes place on the rare occasions when the two planets and the sun are almost exactly in line.

On average, transits of Venus take place around 80 years apart, but when they do so, it is in a pair of events which are eight years apart.

 

The last transit was on 8 June 2004 and the transit on 5-6 June 2012 is the second of this pair.

Only the final stages will be visible from the UK, in the early hours of the morning. The entire event will be seen from eastern Asia and Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and north-western parts of North America. The following transit of Venus will not take place until 2117, so 2012 will be the last chance in most people’s lifetimes to view this rare event.

The Royal Astronomical Society issues the following guidelines: *Never look directly at the sun, with or without a telescope or pair of binoculars, without using a safe solar filter. To do is very dangerous and could result in permanent blindness.