Living the Life Ecuador Coast

News Flash!

Late night shopping at SuperMaxi

Last minute shopping for the Jones family. You know the Jones family; they are the ones that have the restaurant called Big Ralph's.

So they went out to Supermaxi for some items to get them through this busy time over the Christmas period. As Ralph entered the store, he found it oddly empty, but he went on to make his purchase and get back to the restaurant so he could get on with the preparations for the Christmas Lunch/Dinner on Christmas Day.

In the aisle in front of Ralph was a lone figure which he thought he recognized. As he got closer to the man, it turned out to be the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa.

With few, if any security guards around, Ralph was introduced to the President by Ralph's wife Andrea, in Spanish. The President shook Ralph's hand and they spoke for a short time. At the end of the conversation, the President concluded it by saying, " I thank you for investing in my country".

So it pays to shop late; you never know who you will meet.

http://www.bigralphhostal.com/the-fish--chips-restaurant.html

A very Merry Christmas to all, and to all a 

                     Good Night!

This Month

December 25th - Christmas Day, commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, it has been celebrated on December 25th by the Western (Roman Catholic) Church since 336 A.D.

December 25, 1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King of England after he had invaded England from France, defeated and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, then marched on London.

December 25, 1776 - During the American Revolution, George Washington took 2,400 of his men across the Delaware River. Washington then conducted a surprise raid on 1,500 British-Hessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians surrendered after an hour with nearly 1,000 taken prisoner by Washington who suffered only six wounded (including future president Lt. James Monroe). The victory provided a much needed boost to American morale.

December 25, 1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted general amnesty to all those involved in the Civil War.

December 25, 1926 - Hirohito became Emperor of Japan.

December 25, 1989 - In Romania, a television broadcast of a Christmas symphony was interrupted with the announcement that Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife had been executed following a popular uprising. A pro-democracy coalition then took control. Ceausescu, a hard-line Communist, had been ousted from power after ordering his black-shirted state police to suppress a disturbance in the town of Timisorara, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 4,500 persons.

Birthday - Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was a mathematician, scientist and author, best known for his work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica on the theory of gravitation. He died in London and was the first scientist to be honored with burial in Westminster Abbey.

Birthday - American nurse and philanthropist Clara Barton (1821-1912) was born in Oxford, Massachusetts. She served as a nurse during the Civil War and in 1881 founded the American Red Cross.

Birthday - The founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was born in Karachi.

Birthday - Film actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) was born in New York City. Best known forThe African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and To Have and Have Not.