A short rhyme to help you remember how many days there are in each month.
@brianbilston I'm happy for January to last longer so it doesn't feel like the year is rushing by
@steevc @brianbilston I would rather have August play that role, thanks!
@brianbilston thank you, now how does one keep track of what day of the week it is ?
@elainegallacher @brianbilston For bin day, look for the person who has their bin out. For the other days - not sure.
@HollieK72 @elainegallacher I fully support this method.
@brianbilston @elainegallacher It's tried and tested, isn't it? Someone is bin day person, and everyone else follows their lead on bin colour and day. Disclaimer - I'm not a designated bin day person.
@HollieK72 @brianbilston @elainegallacher
It's our neighbour. Our black bin is every Saturday, so I can remember that.
The green bin is a different matter altogether, and I never remember. I rely on good old Joe next door as he puts his out in plenty of time.
@BintyMcFrazzles @brianbilston @elainegallacher Hooray for good old Joe!
@HollieK72 @brianbilston @elainegallacher
He's retired, the neighbourhood gossip and unfortunately, casually racist. During lockdown, I would ask them if they needed anything when I went shopping. He would often say, "The Sun newspaper". I was always inwardly mortified.
@BintyMcFrazzles @brianbilston @elainegallacher Oh no! At least he's good with bin day ...
@HollieK72 @brianbilston @elainegallacher
He the street lead in bins.
@brianbilston currently doing dry veganuary and I don’t wish to be picky, however, it seems you missed a few days off the total for January (help!)
@Emma_Hughes Oh yes, your January is twice as long, I’m afraid.
@Emma_Hughes @brianbilston was waiting for someone to mention dry Jan. Survived #BurnsNight only to hear my man pontificate, “I’m not going to preempt anything after the end of this” which felt like the end of Jan just zoomed away into infinity…
@lucyweirphd @brianbilston don't panic! Apparently we only have six thousand one hundred and eighty eight to go 
@Emma_Hughes @brianbilston I found myself wandering around the wine isles in the supermarket yesterday. I sat in a bar on the way home and had a non-alcoholic beer (which I actually like, weird as that might sound). What's going on? I thought it only took 21 days to break a habit. By the way, how do you feel after almost a month of abstinence? I feel quite good, even though I begrudge having to admit it...
@lucyweirphd Well I joke about it but it's been pretty easy, I do dry Veganuary to reset my behaviour, so cutting out dairy (I've been veggie for 30 years) and stopping alcohol for a month is a focus for me to look at good healthy activities - up early to swim is a good reason not to drink the evening before, not eating three rounds of toast with half a pound of butter on it does not bloat me out. Eating a lighter healthier breakfast means I have more energy that lasts the whole day
@brianbilston If you think January is bad, just wait for February!
@brianbilston January *is* the loooooooooooooooongest month
@brianbilston Heard it on the @wayword podcast 
@brianbilston The one I learned at my mother's knee was:
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one.
Excepting February,
Which has twenty-eight days clear,
And twenty nine in each leap year.
@brianbilston But March 2020 is up to so many days we've just stopped counting and started pretending it never happened.
@brianbilston It seems like June should be a lot longer.
@brianbilston Ever heard about this one?
“High” months have 31, “low” months have 30, and you have to remember that Februar is kind of special.
@peterp Yes, I know that one. It works!
@brianbilston My aunt saved me the trouble of learning that:
Make a fist. With the forefinger of your other hand, touch each knuckle and each dip between the knuckles and count by month; start over when you get to your pinkyknuckle (July 31). So your forefinger is January (31), the dip between is February (28), the middle finger knuckle is March (31), etc... It works.
#Mnemonic is such a criminally underused word.
A coworrker once asked me if I could devise a mnemonic device to help him remember how many bodies he had buried in 12 different states across the Eastern half of the US.
I was shocked!
He was the first person I met who actually knew what the word "mnemonic" meant and was able to use correctly in a sentence to boot.
@PrettyGnosticMachine @brianbilston I’m not sure I see how your friend’s given you hope. I’d advise sidling away slowly.
@brianbilston intresting i no this a little differently
@kev @brianbilston That's been around for years; love it.