THIS WEEK - 4-10 MAY 2013
SATURDAY
OUT IN FOURTH
People wielding lightsabres celebrated Star Wars Day, all because “May the fourth be with you” sounds like “May the Force be with you”. But, really, it would only work if all the characters from the films had a lisp.
SUNDAY
FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Mexicans dusted off their sombreros and pulled out their maracas to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The day commemorates the Mexican defeat of the French and the end of European colonial power in the Americas.
MONDAY
FUN WITH BELLS ON
Hundreds of grown men wearing tassels and bells descended on the coastal town of Hastings in the South of England. The UK’s foremost morris dancers hit each other with sticks at the annual Jack in the Green event.
TUESDAY
LOST VOCATIONS
School performance league tables hamper vocational provision in England, a report released by thinktank IPPR said. Schools are dropping technical courses as many of the qualifications no longer count in the tables.
WEDNESDAY
A ROYAL FANFARE
Queen Elizabeth II presided over the state opening of the British Parliament in London, England. The Household Cavalry escorted Her Majesty from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.
THURSDAY
V FOR VICTORY
Nostrovia! Russians celebrated Victory Day, or V Day for short. It marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in 1945, which later that year brought about the end of the Second World War.
FRIDAY
A STEP TOWARDS PEACE
On this day 15 years ago, republican political party Sinn Fein threw its weight behind the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. It voted to accept the deal, which was signed a month earlier.
NEXT WEEK - 11-17 MAY 2013
SATURDAY
PUTTING THE BOOT IN
In England, the FA Cup final will kick off between nouveau riche football club Manchester City and less affluent Wigan Athletic at London’s Wembley Stadium. Will relegation-threatened Wigan get a drubbing?
SUNDAY
IT’S A HARD LIFE, EH?
Tanned teachers will descend on London for the conference of the Council of British International Schools. Expect many to look self-satisfied as they discuss their classrooms overlooking the beach.
MONDAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, R-PATZ
Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson turns 27 today. He’s not even 30 but already the actor, nicknamed R-Patz, has starred in a string of hit films and has an A-list girlfriend. Where did it all go wrong?
TUESDAY
RATE YOUR HAPPINESS
The UK government will launch its Measuring National Well-Being survey to find out how happy its citizens are. With the economy bumping along the bottom and salaries all but frozen, it will be a quick poll.
WEDNESDAY
AT SIXES AND SEVENS
Exams group Cambridge Assessment will hold a debate on mathematics teaching in English schools. The seminar will discuss the importance of the subject and how to get “proper” mathematics taught in schools.
THURSDAY
STAMP OF APPROVAL
Margaret Thatcher’s face will adorn the top right-hand corner of letters in the Falkland Islands. The former UK prime minister, who died recently, is being commemorated by the South Atlantic territory in a set of stamps.
FRIDAY
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
It’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which is held on the date that homosexuality was removed from the international classification of diseases by the World Health Organisation in 1990.
