November 2021 – Paul Motwani

Blog Post #117: Love Like A Child 😊

Dear Readers,

A friend of mine once asked me if I had an absolute favourite word. Though I was not expecting her question, I could answer almost immediately with “Love” because God is Love and, when people are kind and loving to each other, God’s love spreads in infinitely many good ways to touch more hearts.

Two of my favourite short Bible passages are:

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children.”—Ephesians 5:1

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”—Proverbs 22:6.

Of the many thousands of people whom I know, and billions whom I don’t yet know, everyone should matter to everyone. They should all be SP_ _ _ _ _ .

Please know that YOU ARE SP; y😊u’re truly SPECIAL.

Early this morning via Facebook, I wished very happy birthdays to Danielle and to Stevie, two of my friends there. Today is of course also the birthday of lots and lots of other people, including World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. Everyone is wished a wonderful day, and for Magnus a great game #4 in his current World Championship match with Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai.

Maybe your birthday is coming during the month of December…and if so, let’s say that your Big Birthday is on day number B (e.g. B=either 1, 2, 3,…, 30 or 31) in December…then TODAY is the only day in the whole year when I or anyone can actually wish you a super-happy birthday exactly B days early before December B 😊.

Whenever your birthday is, I want right now to wish a lovely HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR YOU. Good reasons for doing it today, without delay, are that I’m here and able to do it now, and also (I couldn’t resist this one…) HAPPY BIRTHDAY (13 letters) x FOR (3 letters) x YOU (3 letters) is nice because 13 x 3 x 3 = 117 here in Blog Post #117 😊.

I will round off with a wee selection of beautiful ‘happy memory’ photos. Each one is, in its own way, a good reminder to me of ‘Love Like A Child’.

With an unforgettable class of 2012-2013 😊

A super-fun Magic Math Assembly with hundreds of happy children on 23.9.2015 😊

A charity chess fundraising event at St. Columba’s High School in Perth, Scotland,
in the early 1990s 😊

With Mum and her mother and my little brother in 1966 😊

With my dear little brother and my loving grandpa long ago, but never forgotten xxx

With love and kindest wishes as always,

Paul M😊twani xxx

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

Blog Post #116: 003 Birthday Fun for a Great Friend 😊

Dear Readers,

Once in the theatre within my last school, I asked the audience jokingly, “Does anyone here, anyone at all, know Mr. Mo’s favourite number?” Something like 300 hands shot up instantly as every student knew that 3 had long been my absolute favourite number 😊😊😊.

In my current school, the beautiful Musica Mundi School, I am agent 003 to some colleagues who bear bravely with my sense of humour!

Early this morning, I sent a double dose of birthday fun jokes and puzzles to a dear friend who turns 67 today, but of course it had to become a triple…and so here we are in ‘003 Birthday Fun for a Great Friend’!

Remove the digit 6 from 67.

Replace it with 93. My joke/reasoning is: “What’s the difference? 9-3 is still 6.” 😊!

Now my weary 937-year-old friend is invited to figure out 0.03 x 937.

In reality, it’s a piece of cake that should light up his eyes because the result of 28.11 is to wish him a most happy birthday today (28 November), and is definitely to wish all of you a lovely Sunday now, t😊😊.

As my friend is a keen and good chess player, let’s round off with a freshly- baked homemade puzzle in which it’s either White to move and force checkmate in 003 moves OR Black to move and force checkmate in 007-003=004 moves!!

It’s either White to move and force checkmate in 003 moves
OR Black to move and force checkmate in 007-003=004 moves!! 😊

Congratulations, dear friends, for finding 1 Qd8+ Kh7 (or 1…Bf8 2 Qxf8+ Kh7 3 Bd3#) 2 Bd3+ Kh6 3 Qh4# for White or 1…Qb2+ 2 Kd3 Qd4+ 3 Kc2 Qc3+ 4 Kb1 Qb2#, checkmate for Black!

With kindest wishes as always,

Paul M😊twani xxx

P.S.

What happy message can you get if you start with the word EVOLUTION, remove a TON of letters, and rearrange the remaining ones?

My favourite true answer is: I LOVE U 😊

P.P.S.

In a joke that a friend posted a few days ago, a man tells his wife not to worry about her mistakes, but rather to embrace them. So, she immediately gives him a really big hug!

Blog Post #115: Happy Birthday Surprises for Timothée 😊

Dear Readers,

This is the perfect day to post nice surprises for Timothée (a brilliant young pianist at Musica Mundi School) because it’s his birthday, he’s a keen chess fan, and today marks the start of the World Chess Championship between Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the reigning champion, and his Russian challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi. I can confirm that the first game (in progress right now) is already very exciting!

Where is the championship being held? I’ll answer that in the form of a wee puzzle/joke ! 😊

_ _ _ _ _ YOUR TICKETS TO _ _ _ _ _ !

The five ‘blanks’ at the end are for the name of the place, while the two + three ‘blanks’ at the start together sound practically the same as the place name, and we’ll get a proper six-word sentence!

Knowing where the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi really is being held, my answer is: DO BUY YOUR TICKETS TO DUBAI ! 😊

Timothée and I always enjoy discussing a good game of chess 😊

Blog Post #114: For My Friend M.E. and for Mandy 😊

Dear Readers,

What name can you think of involving just M and Y? This was a fun, quick, wee warm-up puzzle because M AND Y makes MANDY, in honour of a lovely friend of mine 😊.

Now get ready to solve for X !

Lots of Math problems say ‘Find X.’ Here, you can’t miss it!! 😊

Punny thoughts for a sunny day: Learn your trig. facts ‘n formulas at the beach!!
It’s all for a good cos., you’ll get a free tan…
and soon the teacher smiling at your work will be a bright sine! 😊
P.S. Congratulations for figuring out that the island is approximately 17.1 metres from the beach.

Blog Post #113: Nice puzzles for 11.11 tomorrow

Dear Readers,

Alice, a young student who knows about the special significance of Armistice Day, 11.11, has the following conversation with Armand, her great-great-grandfather…

Alice: “Great-great-grandfather, my mum told me that you were born not very long after the end of World War I.”

Armand: “That’s right, Alice! As I know that you like Maths, I will tell you this: If you multiply my age now by my favourite whole number and then divide by the age I was last year, the final result should be 11.11.”

Alice: “Wow, that’s cool! I think I can figure out your age and your favourite number!!”

Armand: “Here’s a bonus puzzle: Make a proper 11-letter word using all the letters of CAN REMEMBER.”

Your fun challenge is to join Alice in cracking her great-great-grandfather’s puzzles!

Wander, ponder and wonder with Alice! 😊😊😊

I intend to publish solutions in a few days’ time.

With kindest wishes as always,

Paul Motwani 😊😊😊 xxx

P.S. Here are the puzzle solutions, being posted now on 12 November 2021:-

Armand is 101 years old and his favourite number is 11.

101 x 11 ÷ 100 = 11.11

CAN REMEMBER makes REMEMBRANCE.

Blog Post #112: Happy Holy Days 😊

Dear Readers,

The word ‘Holidays’ originally comes from an Old English word meaning ‘Holy Days’. So, it’s very fitting that many countries recognise today, All Saints’ Day, as a holiday to be celebrated.

A desire to become more holy is a great and happy goal to be honoured and respected. It is possible for you, for me, and for all people who will turn to God and, with the free will that He still grants us now, ask Him to guide us ever closer to Heaven.

Shared on Facebook today by Father Jim Walls, a wonderful Scottish priest

Though we all still stumble on, or sometimes stray away from, the path meant for us, it’s really comforting to know that God forgives our faults if we ask Him sincerely and believe in Him faithfully. Today is a perfect day to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and, through prayer, seek God’s help to live a more holy life.