Here is the curse that Gavin Dunbar, archbishop of Glasgow, put on the Border reivers (raiders) in 1525. He really knew how to cast a curse, did Gavin ( Read more... )

...was drunken orgy.

I always knew that Christmas was celebrated in winter because of Yule, Saturnalia, and (in Rome) the supposed birth of Mithras. But until I read Stephen Nissenbaum's The Battle for Christmas I never suspected it was quite such a festival as it was! If you wish someone an "old-fashioned merry Christmas" what you are really ( Read more... )

It's been waaaaaaay too long since I've done a BPAL review or, indeed, made a BPAL post. (Quiet, you in the peanut gallery!) So, for your delectation:

Moscow: A rich, bold blend of imperial rose, carnation, lush jasmine, lily of the valley, dark musk, amber, bergamot and gilded tangerine.

The very perceptive scieppan thought I might like this and sent me ( Read more... )