FRIDAY 15th JANUARY 2016 05:50 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 
Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK
 WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
15th January 1759
The British Museum opens
On 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. The British Museum Act 1753 also added two other libraries to the Sloane collection, namely the Cottonian Library, assembled by Sir Robert Cotton, dated back to Elizabethan times and the Harleian library, the collection of the Earls of Oxford. They were joined in 1757 by the Royal Library, assembled by various British monarchs. Together these four "foundation collections" included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf.

The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public and aiming to collect everything. Sloane's collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary and antiquarian element and meant that the British Museum now became both National Museum and library.

The body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the site now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost and the unsuitability of its location. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759

The British Museum is now one of the greatest, ranked 4th in the world, and attracts nearly 7 million visitors per year.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Weekend Prep
Start of Pearl Wedding Anniversary Weekend

Twitter Followers = 2,069 (up 4)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
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Unfollowers eliminated = 0
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New Followers followed back = 4
@Elainechapmann, @manuel_arnedo, @talkingtiana, @BoruchAkbosh 
Spammers not followed back = 0
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3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

Sleep patterns are proving erratic for both self and Missus. Missus hit the sack for 20:00 and by 21:00 I was nodding myself and so duly retired to bed also. However I was woken by a rock-hard urine-boner at 03:00, and after the required pee, found the brain would not shut down again. At 03:45 I gave in and got up, much to the delight of one of the cats, who got an early breakfast.

Pearl Wedding Anniversary celebrations reach a climax (in every sense!) with a weekend devoted entirely to Missus. This is on the understanding that as I will be limiting my time online to the odd browse, Daughter will not be in contact at all. 

This is an entirely sacrificial weekend from my viewpoint - considerable hassle and organization I would prefer to do without. However, that doesn't mean I resent it - I consider it a necessary investment. Now very conscious of ageing and mortality, we don't know how long we have. I for one don't need a stroke or cancer to be made aware of this. Ageing IS dying and I can feel it happening. This is sufficient prompt to make best use of the time.

There are no guarantees we'll make it to the next major milestone, so we'll mark the occasion, subsequently circulate the recorded event and give Missus another happy memory to treasure. And who knows, I'll probably get some joy out of it myself!

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are you aware of the limits to your time, and making best use?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD

Moon:

Weathertrack

Air Pressure: 1016 millibars and rising

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
To understand paranoid people better, follow them around :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
QI - Hypochondria

8. TRIVIA
Shopping is influenced by several subconscious appeals to consumers. For example, if shoppers like the type of music retailers are playing, shoppers will be more likely to enter the store and like the products. Additionally, the slower the tempo of the music, the slower people will walk through the store, and the more they will buy. A faster tempo will encourage shoppers to walk faster and, consequently, they won’t buy as much.

9. ZEN WISDOM
The courage to meet and talk with people is absolutely crucial. Choosing dialogue is itself the triumph of peace and of humanity.