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On Saturday it was St. Andrew's Day, celebrated in Scotland as their patron saint. On the same day in Slovakia it is the name's day of Ondrej, which is the central European version of Andrew. Both refer to the St Andrew apostle who was crucified on an X shaped cross. He never made it to Scotland, but his bones were carried there by other missionaries. And St Andrew's cross has been the national symbol of the country long before whisky, kilts and the deep fried Mars Bar appeared.

In Slovakia, St Ondrej was associated with folk customs. Girls used to pour hot iron into water and the shape of the solidification determined the profession of their future husband. If it was a gun, he would be a soldier, a hammer stands for a smith and so on. There were more traditions, like preparing the cattle for the winter and starting the Christmas cooking and decorating. With the confectionary and trees on display from October in Slovakia, we can raise a glass with our friends, being a few weeks ahead with the Christmas preparations.

However, the traditions are surviving only in regions where folklore is more resistant to alcohol intoxication than commerce. Let me explain. Having a beer in a Scottish pub in central Bratislava on the 30th, I was one of the few who took any notice of St Andrew's Day. Most of folks were looking forward to St Nicholas Day, six days later than St Andrew's (which I wrote about last year).

People in the Middle Ages were of the same nature as people today; only the form of life was different.

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, all the characters are common people. The tales are the same escapades people tell each other in pubs or at parties nowadays. Sometimes, they share their experiences or the experiences of their friends in order to point out to an injustice in the society ("the old man was lying on the street for two hours, but no one would help him, some kids stole his watch and wallet though, of course").

Sometimes they ponder over money and ways to cash in. In the Middle Ages, people were obsessed with gold, as clear in the story about an alchemist. It reminds me of bitcoin - open source electronic money. Modern alchemists spend their days behind computers, trying to discover the secret formula.

Paul Ciancia, 23, killed one and injured six others at Los Angeles airport security check on Friday, 1 November 2013. He told police that he did not want to cause any damage, only express disagreement with the government. He left a ‘New World Order' note referring to a conspiracy theory that a group of politicians want to impose totalitarian control over the world.

It reminded me of the movie Shooter (pictured above).The main character kills in retribution, after a corrupt official turns him into a scapegoat to cover up their own premeditated murder. Vengeance is mine, he could say in the end of the movie.

But is it really the end? Will there be no more soldiers dying, no more mass graves, no more pilotless-drones? It is the same reasoning that says one village being wiped out for an oil pipe is worth it for the rest to live better. It means that a human life has no value when making decisions based on the general welfare.

Jarmok is a kind of festival mixed with amusement park attractions. Unlike Oktoberfest or other famous festivals, jarmok does not focus exclusively on beer promotion. In fact, nowadays jarmok does not have any special purpose, but there are strong traditions rooted in the past.

The people would gather from time to time to exchange, and later unfortunately trade, their goods and enjoy themselves whilst doing it. Such market meetings took part in the early Autumn, after the end of the harvest season when the farmers looked to sell their crops and buy what they would need for the winter. The farmers and craftsmen were gradually replaced by supermarket suppliers and businessmen, but the idea of jarmok, or city market, remained.

Jarmoks take place over the whole year in different cities and towns, often connected by some kind of holiday- for example the city's anniversary or a Christian holiday. The jarmok in Levice (where I went) used to take place on St Martins day (11 November), but was brought forward to the middle of October for the better weather. My grandparents remember the traditional jarmoks, when the people used to sell real animals. Now, the poor horses serve as an attraction for the kids who consider them unicorns with broken horns.

Military service should be reintroduced because it is the only way to teach young people discipline and improve their fitness.

At times when a war is around the corner it is important for every human to know how to save their own life. Three to six months should be enough to learn the basics of weapon handling - though Counter-Strike players will have an advantage.

Fitness would be a tougher task, but an efficiently planned routine and regime can do wonders. Plus, I reckon that most of the men will preserve some of the habits into their later life. In Slovakia, our fathers still fold their clothes into stacks.

Military Discipline

But the textbook characteristic of a soldier is the discipline. Throughout history, the economic prosperity and cultural development of many nations has been rooted in their pristine military past. Just take the Roman Empire, Ancient Greeks, Vikings, the cultures of the Middle East - yes, those whom we often blame for wars without bothering to read a line about their history that would open our eyes.