TODAY - August 28

 

NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

 

ON: AUGUST 28

 

New edition

 

TODAY’s LENGTH:

 

This day is here in Denmark 3 hours and 49 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 14 hours and 17 minutes – from 06.11 to 20.29.

 

See more – also in English – about where you are on: www.dagenslaengde.dk

 

TODAY’s NAME:

 

This day is called AUGUSTINE's DAY.  He was born in North Africa and lived in the period 354-430 AD. He is one of the so-called Church Fathers ( the three others are Antonis, Gregorius and Hieronimus ). He was bishop in the city of Hippo Regius ( in nowadays Algeria ). According to the legend he prayed to God, when the city was attacked by the Vandals in 420 AD.

 

As father of the church he developed the lessons about the Original Sin.

 

The day’s name in Belgium is the same:  SAINT AUGUSTIN.

 

TODAY’s EVENT:

 

1963: Martin Luther King makes in Washington DC his famous speech ”I have a dream”.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

 

Haparanda - what is so special about that?

 

This is a small town in the very north of Sweden - at the bottom of the Botnic Bay. It has about 10.000 inhabitants. And it is just at the border to Finland. On the other side of the border (which is a small river) you find the Finnish town of Tornio.  It has 22.000 inhabitants. The two towns were one area / one town, until Sweden in 1809 had to give Finland to Russia. Then they were split.  Now they are sister cities or twin towns. And twin towns in a very concrete and practical way. It is facilitated by the fact that the citizens on both sides of the border all speak Swedish as well as Finnish (which are two very different languages ).

 

The two towns work together in many different ways, such as:

 

1) they have a number of  common schools

2) they have a joint fire brigade

3) they have a joint border station - which is always open

4) they promote tourism together

5) as they belong to two different countries they also belong to two different postal services. So if somebody in Haparanda wants to send a letter to somebody in Tornio, they letter has first to go to Stockholm, from there to Helsinki and then to Tornio.  The very practical local people have solved this challenge in a very elegant way:   in both towns you will at the border find two mail boxes: one Swedish and one Finnish. So when the Swede wants to send a letter to Tornio, he puts it in the Finnish mail box - and it is delivered the following day without having to pass the very time consuming way via the capitals. 

 

One practical problem, which the two towns cannot influence: they are in two different time zones. Finland (and Tornio) is one hour ahead of Sweden (Haparanda).

 

This gives at least one advantage:  The towns also have a joint golf course. It is placed on both sides of the border.  So the creative golf and tourist people say in their publicity:  Come to Tornio-Haparanda to play golf. It is the only place in the world, where you can kick the golf ball, and it will land more than one hour later!

 

I have visited the twin-towns. It is highly interesting. I can strongly recommend it.

 

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

 

Ants - why do they walk in one long line?

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

 

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

 

     What is sensible is real; and what is real is sensible!

 

     This was once said by the German philosopher 

     Georg Friedrich Hegel .

 

2.  Today’s quote:

 

     Only the shabby people are modest - the clever ones are pleased      with   their deeds.

 

     Whom among today’s persons has said that?

 

 

3.  Famous people born on this day:

    1749:  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ( died 1832 )

    1828:  Lev Tolstoi  ( died 1910 )

    1913:  Robertson Davies  ( died 1995 )

    1969:  Jason Priestley

 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

    430:    Aurelius Augustin  ( 76 years )

    1957:  Erik Tuxen ( 55 years )

    1967:  Charles Darrow  ( 78 years ) 

 

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

 

niels4europe@gmail.com  

www.simplesite.com/kimbrer   + EUROPE AT WORK:  www.europe-at-work.be

 

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