BLUE MONDAY 18th JANUARY 2016 07:59 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 
Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
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1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
18th January 1919
The Paris Peace Conference opens
The Paris Peace Conference, also known as Versailles Peace Conference, was the meeting of the Allied victors, following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris during 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities. 

The major decisions were the creation of the League of Nations; the five peace treaties with defeated enemies, including the Treaty of Versailles with Germany; the awarding of German and Ottoman overseas possessions as "mandates," chiefly to Britain and France; reparations imposed on Germany, and the drawing of new national boundaries (sometimes with plebiscites) to better reflect the forces of nationalism.

The main result was the Treaty of Versailles, with Germany, which in section 231 laid the guilt for the war on "the aggression of Germany and her allies." This provision proved humiliating for Germany and set the stage for very high reparations Germany was supposed to pay (it paid only a small portion before reparations ended in 1931).

The "Big Four" were the Prime Minister of Great Britain, David Lloyd George; President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson; the Prime Minister of France, Georges Clemenceau; and the Prime Minister of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando. They met together informally 145 times and made all the major decisions, which in turn were ratified by the others.

The Six Treaties that resulted were:
1. The Treaty Of Versailles - with Germany
2. Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye - with Austria
3. Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine - with Bulgaria
4. The Treaty Of Trianon - with Hungary
5. The Treaty Of Sevres - with Turkey
6. The League of Nations treaty

These treaties, focused on making the Central Powers pay for waging war and liberating racial minorities within these empires, failed to prevent future conflict. The Habsburg empire ceased to exist, turning Austria and Hungary into minor states and effectively powerless, but Turkey and Greece went to war straight away, meaning that another treaty, the Treaty Of Lausanne, was required in 1923.

The peace of Europe was severely undermined by the worldwide economic depression of the 1930's, resulting in young and unestablished democracies in much of Europe to be overturned by Fascist dictatorships. Furthermore, victorious nations' subsequent generations of politicians were too distracted by economic problems in their own countries to "police" the treaties. This combined with the coming to power in Germany of Adolf Hitler, whose aim was to utterly overturn the Treaty Of Versailles. 

The French general Ferdinand Foch, who accepted the original German request for an armistice, and unimpressed by the peace treaties, prophetically sated: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years"

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Housework
Retrieving cats
Meditation
Me Time
Client consultation and follow up
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,071 (up 2)
Non-followed eliminated = 1
untraced
Unfollowers eliminated = 2
@CharlesGlassman, @Jordet
New Followers followed back = 5
@Sleepster, @AndrewAndPete, @LiveALifeDreams, @pdesmondadams, @TurtleMosie
Spammers not followed back = 0
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3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

The Pearl Anniversary Weekend was a great success, although stressful for myself and painfully expensive. Being the carer, I was responsible for organizing everything, meaning that I could never just relax as I always had the next item on the itenary on my mind. Also on my mind was the house. I was slightly disappointed in myself that I couldn't stop worrying about it - applying my training, I could only ease the anxiety by focusing on the best outcome - that we would find it exactly as we left it - which we did!

On the other hand, I was pleased with my reaction to a disrupted journey home due to rail engineering works, of which I was not informed by the rail ticket vendor. This meant a coach, two trains and a taxi were required to get us back home. My acceptance, on which I've worked hard, was strong, and we got home only 45 minutes later than planned.

Only when I got into bed did all the tension finally evaporate. The relief made me want to cry, though I maintained composure for the sake of Missus - I didn't want to spoil her weekend right at the end! An unexpected Skype session with Son proved a good distraction and the perfect ending to a great weekend for Missus.

So was it worth the stress? Yes, absolutely. I proved to myself how much stronger my composure has become. The objective, of marking a significant anniversary with a weekend to remember was fully achieved, deepening further Missus happiness. I have the satisfaction of achievement and there were things in it for me too. For all the cost and stress, it's left me with smile on my face and a deep satisfaction inside.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are you achieving worthwhile objectives?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD

Moon:

Weathertrack:

Air Pressure: 1016 millibars and falling

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
My wife is great at multitasking. She can be mad at me for five different things at the same time 

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
The Graham Norton Show - why Tracey Ullman won't be getting any royal honours

8. TRIVIA
Nearly 40% of men do not feel confident meeting a woman for the first time.

9. ZEN WISDOM
The important question to ask yourself is whether you are on a path of continuous personal growth.