Monthly Archives: September 2023
Miniature Golf Day
Miniature Golf Day
On September 21 head on over to your local miniature golf course with your family and friends for a day of fun and adventure, because it is Miniature Golf Day!
An offshoot of golf, miniature golf is a leisure sport that focuses on putting and includes artificial turf and obstacles.
It is believed that miniature golf was first invented, sans their characteristic obstacles and windmills, in Scotland in the late 19th century as a way to allow women to golf. Because it was unseemly for women to use a full sized golf club, the Ladies’ Putting Club of St. Andrews decided to miniaturize the sport.
“This’ll Do”
Miniature golf or put put as it is also sometimes called made its commercial debut in the early 20th century in North Carolina under the name of Thistle Dhu. The name was derived from the Scottish pronunciation of the words “this’ll do”.
The holiday is also sometimes celebrated on the second Saturday of May.
N.B. suspends AIM recycling plant’s approval to operate pending fire review
A Saint John, N.B., recycling plant, which was the site of a massive fire that prompted a city-wide air quality warning, has been ordered to stop operating until a full investigation and review is completed.
Premier Blaine Higgs and Port Saint John CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks said in a news release Monday that a joint task force will be appointed to investigate the fire that broke out last week at American Iron & Metal (AIM).
Port Saint John is also investigating the company’s compliance with the terms of their lease.
The fire at the recycling plant broke out at 1 a.m. last Thursday amid a pile of crushed cars.
Dr. Rita Gad, the acting medical officer of health for the region, said the plume and smoke was likely filled with chemicals and contaminants. Later in the day, the City of Saint John and New Brunswick Public Health issued a shelter-in-place advisory for all of Saint John.
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Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon said last week that the fire was the size of three football fields and about three storeys tall at its peak, leaving an acrid smell in the air.
The fire was contained the next day.
Port Saint John said it has restricted activities at the terminal where the fire took place, and are only allowing emergency operations that are related to stabilizing the site.
“The province of New Brunswick remains committed to ensuring that a full and thorough investigation will take place,” Higgs said in Monday’s statement.
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“We are very thankful no one was injured or hurt at the site during the incident.”
Management from the company issued a statement one day after the fire, saying that the safety and well-being of employees and the public were “paramount” to them.
“We will continue to work with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident and, where necessary, put additional measures in place to mitigate the risk of this happening again,” read the statement.
“We are sorry for this incident’s impact on residents and the community. Our team is committed to keeping residents and stakeholders informed as we move forward.”
Pirate Day
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
International Talk Like A Pirate Day is a parody holiday annually held on September 19. Celebrated for the first time in 1995, the fun holiday encourages people to talk and dress like the sea plunderers of yesteryears.
John Baur (“Ol’ Chumbucket”) and Mark Summers (“Cap’n Slappy”) created this holiday on June 6, 1995. Out of respect for World War II’s D-Day, Baur and Summers chose to move the date of the holiday to September 19.
International Talk Like A Pirate Day was a low-key event until 2002 when it received media attention via syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry. Today, it is celebrated around the world as a way to raise funds for charity organizations, such as Childhood Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
What to do
- Dress up like a swashbuckling pirate. Bonus points if you are able to carry a parrot or a monkey on your shoulder.
- Talk like a pirate the whole day long. Intersperse your speech with grunts and growls and slur your words. Call your friends “matey” and intentionally use bad grammar.
- Host a pirate themed party and ask your guests to come dressed as pirates.
- Watch movies and read books that feature pirates as central characters. Some examples include the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Read more about the history of piracy and famous pirates.