60 million tourists in Greek airports, ‘60 million and more’ slave deaths, $60 million for Trump but not for Gaza, 60 million readers of this blog to date

Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Iraklion … more than 60 million passengers travelled through Greece’s 39 commercial airports from January to August 2026 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This blog reached a new record, with a total of 60 million readers or hits by about 9 pm last night (4 October 2026). Already, September has been an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a steady, overwhelming rise in viewing and reading figures, having passed the million mark on 10 occasions last month alone.

These viewing and readership figures continue to be overpowering as this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 39 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone, and more than 10. 4 million last month (September), the highest total in any single month since I began blogging.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been within a little more than six months or so, with 30 million hits since 29 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven were last month alone, two were in May and one was in April. Although traffic has slowed down in the past few weeks, the daily averages remain high, with an average of almost 350,000 hits a day last month, and about 130,000-140,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The dozen most popular posting on this blog over the years, in rounded figures, have been:

1, About me (1 May 2007), 95,000 hits
2, All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well (5 September 2008), 43,000 hits
3, ‘When all that’s left of me is love, give me away’ … a poem before Kaddish has gone viral (15 January 2020), 37,000 hits
4, What is a degree from Cambridge Theological Seminary worth? (29 July 2010), 35,000 hits
5, The Transfiguration: finding meaning in icons and Orthodox spirituality (7 April 2010) 33,000 hits
6, Poems for Lent (3): ‘Indifference,’ by GA Studdert Kennedy (27 February 2012), 25,000 hits

7, Poems for Lent (39): ‘All in an April Evening,’ by Katharine Tynan (3 April 2012), 23,000 hits
8, Talking about history, memories, war and vision in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (13 February 2015), 22,000 hits
9, Poems for Easter (2): ‘Easter Wings’ by George Herbert (9 April 2012), 19,000 hits
10, A year later, I get to find and visit Castle Matrix (19 February 2018), 19,000 hits
11, A visit to ‘Howth Castle and Environs’ (19 March 2012), 18,000 hits
12, Readings in Spirituality: the novelist as a writer in spirituality and theology (26 November 2009), 17,000 hits

Geologists at Trinity College Dublin have found that oxygen-producing life forms were present on Earth 60 million years earlier than previously thought (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 60 million into perspective:

Around 50 to 60 million people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. The population of the United Kingdom had passed 60 million by 2001, according to a report in the Guardian on 25 August 2001.

About 60 million people worldwide are living with an amputation.

Beloved, the 1987 novel by the American writer Toni Morrison set after the American Civil War, tells the story of formerly enslaved people in Cincinnati. The epigraph to Beloved, ‘60 million and more’, is drawn from a number of studies on the African slave trade, which estimate that about half of each ship’s ‘cargo’ died in transit to America.

The children’s author and comedian David Walliams has sold more 60 million copies of his works worldwide. Hachette UK Distribution ships more than 60 million books globally each year.

Donald Trump spent $60 million of taxpayer dollars on his birthday UFC fight on the White House lawn in June.

When Trump claimed last year that the US gave $60 million in aid to Gaza, Federal officials could not answer questions about which agency or group received the funding and when. The State Department had previously said the US had approved a $30 million grant for aid but that by then the funds had not been distributed. Eventually, it turned out that the US gave $3 million in Gaza food aid, contradicting Trump’s lies about $60 million.

The centre:mk in Milton Keynes had a £60 million investment programme in recent years, with a multi-year transformation involved a significant modernisation of the space, a new multi-storey car park, and a 75,000 sq ft Primark letting.

More than 60 million passengers travelled through Greece’s 39 commercial airports from January to August 2026, with a record-breaking 4.5% increase in traffic compared to the same eight-month period in 2025.

The Greek government is offering a financial support package worth nearly €60 million to help ferry operators cope with rising marine fuel costs while preventing additional fare increases for passengers. The initiative comes as the price of marine gas oil (MGO), one of the sector’s main operating expenses, continues to fluctuate. Although fuel costs have increased significantly, ferry companies had avoided introducing another round of ticket price rises.

Geologists from Trinity College Dublin have found that oxygen-producing life forms were present on Earth three billion years ago – a full 60 million years earlier than previously thought. These life forms were responsible for adding oxygen to the atmosphere, which laid the foundations for more complex life to evolve and proliferate.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth, covering more than 155 million sq km or 60 million sq miles or more than 30% of the Earth’s surface.

60 million minutes is equal to 114 years, 0 months, 29 days and 16 hours, which means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in September 1912, weeks before Thessaloniki was incorporated in the modern Greek state.

I retired from active parish ministry 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 60 million hits, I am truly grateful today to the real readers among that 60 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.


A walk on the beach at Damai in Sarawak … the Pacific Ocean covers more than 60 million sq miles (Patrick Comerford)

59 million metres of waterways, 59 million tonnes of waste food, 59 million pages in a dictionary, 59 million readers of this blog

There are 59,000 km (59 million metres) of total waterways in England … boats on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Rugeley, Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

This month has been an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a steady, overwhelming rise in viewing and reading figures. These figures reached 59 million late yesterday afternoon (28 September), having reached 58 million five days before that (23 September), 57 million five days earlier (18 September), and 56 million three days before that (15 September).

This is the eleventh time these figures have passed the million mark since the end of last month. In a steady climb, the figures reached 55 million on 12 September, 54 million two nights before that (10 September 2026), 53 million hits the day before that (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days previously (7 September), 51 million on 5 September, 50 million on 4 September and 49 million on 31 August.

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 38 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone, and 10 million so far this month (September) soon after 10 pm last night.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months or so, with 29.5 million hits since 27 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. September is already the busiest month for traffic on this blog, with 10 million hits so far in September, the highest total in any single month since I began blogging.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them have been in this month alone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 583,320 (11 September 2026)

• 563,301 (9 September 2026)
• 557,448 (12 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

Although traffic has slowed down in the past week or so, the daily average this month has been more than 350,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 20 volumes in 1989, with 59 million words of text (Photograph: Dan, mrpolyonymous on Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 59 million into perspective:

Measles vaccination saved almost 59 million people, mainly children, from death between 2000 and 2024, according to figures from the World Health Organisation.

In Europe, 59 million tonnes of food are either lost or wasted every year. At the same time, 42 million people cannot afford a nutritious meal every other day.

The OED2, the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, was published on paper in 20 volumes in 1989, with 59 million words of text, 21,730 pages and 290,500 entries.

Italy has an estimated population of 59 million people.

It is estimated that 59 million adults in the United States are unpaid family caregivers for aging members of their families.

An estimated 59 million people require urgent protection and assistance in the Middle East and North Africa region.

There are 59 million millionaires in the world today and about 2,780 billionaires.

59 million metres is 59,000 km. There are 59,000 km of total waterways in England, but public access is highly restricted and heavily contested. While the total network spans tens of thousands of kilometres, the vast majority consists of non-navigable streams, tributaries, and rivers flowing through private land.

According to advocacy groups like Paddle UK (formerly British Canoeing), only 3.4% of rivers in England and Wales have an uncontested public right of navigation. Under English law, the banks and beds of most non-tidal rivers are privately owned, with landowners holding the right to restrict access for paddlers, swimmers and other recreational users.

Out of the 59,000 km, only 4,500 km are classified as Statutory Navigations. These include most managed canals and major rivers, such as the River Thames and River Trent, where legislation explicitly grants public access, usually managed through a licensing system.

59 million minutes amounts to 112 years, 2 months and 4 days. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in early July 1914, before the beginning of World War I.

I retired from active parish ministry 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 59 million hits, I am truly grateful today to the real readers among that 59 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.


How can tourists behave responsibly in Venice? … Italy has an estimated population of 59 million people (Patrick Comerford)

58 million sq m of Irish Sea, 58 million German Christians, 58 million minutes from 1916, 58 million readers of this blog

Flying over Malahide, Donabate and Portrane and above the Irish Sea … the Irish Sea is one of the smaller regional seas, with a surface area of about 58,000 sq km or 58 million sq metres (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This month continues to be an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a continuing, steady and overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading. These figures reached 58 million shortly before 4 pm this afternoon (23 September), having reached 57 million five days ago (18 September), and 56 million three days earlier (15 September).

This is the tenth time these figures have passed the million mark since the end of last month. In a steady climb, the figures reached 55 million on 12 September, 54 million two nights before that (10 September 2026), 53 million hits the day before that (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days previously (7 September), 51 million on 5 September, 50 million on 4 September and 49 million on 31 August.

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 37 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months, with 29 million hits since 25 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. September is already the busiest month for traffic on this blog, with 9 million hits so far.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them have been in this month alone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 583,320 (11 September 2026)

• 563,301 (9 September 2026)
• 557,448 (12 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

Although traffic has slowed down in the past week or so, the daily average so far this month is still running at almost 400,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral … the German population includes about 58 million Christians (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 58 million into perspective:

The average distance from the Sun to the planet Mercury is roughly 58 million km.

The number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050, a 42% increase.

Walford, an Edwardian mansion on Shrewsbury Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, sold for a record-breaking €58 million in 2005 at the height of the Celtic Tiger economic boom, making it Ireland’s most expensive house ever sold.

Spain, the world’s second-most visited country after France, had a record-breaking 58.1 million international tourists between January and July 2026, marking a 4.6% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Germany is home to about 58 million Christians, the second-highest number of Christians in Europe, after Russia, and the tenth globally.

58 million metres is 58,000 km and 58 million sq metres is 58,000 sq km.

The Irish Sea is one of the smaller regional seas, with a surface area of about 58,000 sq km or 58 million sq metres. 58,000 sq km is the surface area of Lake Michigan, a lake between Canada and the US, and the fifth largest lake in the world measured by surface area, following the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior, Lake Victoria and Lake Huron.

Karl Bushby, an English walking adventurer and author from Hull, is currently attempting to be the first person known to completely walk an unbroken path around the world. His trek, known as the Goliath Expedition, started it in the southern tip of Chile in 1998 and he is expected to return to England this month or next (September or October 2026). He originally expected to finish the 58,000 km trek in 12 years, but with numerous unplanned and unexpected delays, his expedition is now expected to last approximately 27 years.

58 million minutes equals 110 years, 3 months, and 9 days. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in early June 1916, after the Easter Rising in Dublin, in the middle of World War I, at a time when my grandfather was being sent home from the war in Thessaloniki.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 58 million hits, I am truly grateful today to the real readers among that 58 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

58 million minutes brings me back to mid-1916, when my grandfather was being invalided home from Thessaloniki during World War (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

€57 million for Greek ferries, 57 million children with no school, 57 million tourists in Italy, and 57 million readers of this blog

A Cretan Lines ferry in the harbour in Rethymnon in Crete … Greece has introduced a €57 million support package for ferry operators (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This month continues to be an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a continuing, steady and overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading. These figures reached 57 million shortly after midnight, in the early hours of this day (18 September), having reached 56 million by mid-afternoon three days ago (15 September).

This is the ninth time these figures have passed the million mark since the end of last month. In a steady climb, the figures reached 55 million six days ago (12 September), 54 million two nights before that (10 September 2026), 53 million hits the day before that (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days previously (7 September), 51 million on 5 September, 50 million on 4 September and 49 million on 31 August.

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 36 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months, with 28.5 million hits since 23 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. September is already the busiest month for traffic on this blog, with 8 million hits before dawn this morning.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them have been in this month alone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 583,320 (11 September 2026)

• 563,301 (9 September 2026)
• 557,448 (12 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

The daily average so far this month is 460,000-500,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The Coliseum at night … global tourism rankings show Italy has 57 million arrivals a year (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 57 million into perspective:

An artificial intelligence (AI) model is being trained on a set of NHS data for 57 million people in England, from which personal information has been stripped away, in a world-first pilot project run by researchers at University College London and King’s College London.

A comprehensive study of electronic health records for 57 million people in England has revealed the evolving burden of cardiovascular diseases before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was led by scientists at Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh and UCL.

More than 57 million people worldwide live with dementia, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and almost 10 million people are newly diagnosed every year.

Around the world, 57 million children of primary school age are being left out of the world’s classrooms and at least 250 million primary-aged children are admitted only to leave within a few years, unable to read even a single sentence.

Researchers say the world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year.

The Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs has introduced a €55-57 million support package for ferry operators to stabilise ticket prices against rising fuel costs.

Global tourism rankings show Italy has 57 million arrivals a year.

57 million minutes equals 108 years, 4 months, 14 days, and 8 hours. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in early May 1918.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 57 million hits, I am truly grateful today to the real readers among that 57 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

An artificial intelligence (AI) model is being trained on a set of NHS data for 57 million people in England (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

56 million for frequent fliers, 56 million people in England, 56 million library books, and 56 million readers to date

Flying over Singapore … a small group of frequent flyers who travel 56,000 km (56 million metres) a year are responsible for more than half the global climate emissions from aviation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This month continues to be an exceptionally busy time on this blog. There is a continuing, steady and overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading. These figures reached 56 million by mid-afternoon today (15 September), passing the million mark for the eighth time since the end of last month. The figures reached 55 million three days ago (12 September), 54 million two nights before that (10 September 2026), 53 million hits the day before that (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days previously (7 September), 51 million on 5 September, 50 million on 4 September and 49 million on 31 August.

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 35 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months, with 28 million hits since 20 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. Although we are just half way through September, this is already the busiest month for traffic on this blog, with over 7 million hits by late this afternoon.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them were in this month alone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 583,320 (11 September 2026)

• 563,301 (9 September 2026)
• 557,448 (12 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

The daily average so far this month is 470,000-500,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

England’s population is more than 56 million people, according to census and official statistics (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 56 million into perspective:

England has a population of about 56.5 million people, according to census and official statistics. The 56,490,048 residents of England make up about 84 per cent of the total population of the United Kingdom.

The Open Library digital collection managed by the Internet Archive lists over 56 million books and texts, while the New York Public Library has about 56 million items in its extensive cultural collections.

A mere 1% of the world’s population is responsible for more than half the global climate emissions from aviation. This comes about through a small group of wealthy frequent flyers who travel about 56,000 km a year.

EBay and three former top executives agreed in July to pay almost $56 million ($55.7 million) to resolve a lawsuit by a Massachusetts couple who fell victim to a bizarre stalking and harassment campaign carried out by several of its employees in retaliation for their coverage of the e-commerce company in a newsletter they publish.

The settlement brings an end to a case brought by David and Ina Steiner after several former eBay employees were prosecuted for targeting them in a cyber-stalking campaign that involved sending them cockroaches, fly larvae and a bloody Halloween pig mask. As part of the settlement, eBay agreed to pay $46.15 million to the couple; fund $6 million in charitable contributions to nonprofit organisations; and issue a ‘strongly-worded’ statement about the conduct of the three former executives.

When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they caused so much death and disease that it changed the global climate, a new study finds. European settlers killed 56 million indigenous people over about 100 years in South, Central and North America, causing large swaths of farmland to be abandoned and reforested, researchers at University College London (UCL) have found.

56 million metres in 56,000 km and 56 million sq m is 56,000 sq km. The total land area of Croatia is approximately 56,594 sq km, making it the 127th largest country in the world. The Greater Bay Area of China, comprising Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province, has a total area of around 56,000 sq km.

56 million minutes equals 106 years, 6 months and 10 days. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in March 1920.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 56 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among that 56 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

Hong Kong is part of the Greater Bay Area of China, which includes Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province, and has a total area of around 56 million sq metres or 56,000 sq km (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

55 million bottles of Champagne, 55 million famine deaths in China, 55 million displaced people, 55 million blog readers to date

Glasses at a reception in a Cambridge college … Champagne sales dropped by 55 million bottles in a two-year period (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This month continues to be an exceptionally busy time on this blog. There is a continuing, steady and frankly overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading.

These figures reached 55 million around 10:30 last night (12 September), passing the million mark for the seventh time since the end of last month. The figures reached a total of 54 million two nights before that (10 September 2026), 53 million hits four days ago (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days before that (7 September), 51 million on 5 September, 50 million the day before (4 September) and 49 million four days previously (31 August).

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 34 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months, with 27.5 million hits since 16 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. Although we are less than half way through September, this is already the busiest month for traffic on this blog with over 6.3 million hits by late this afternoon.

Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them were in this month alone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 583,320 (11 September 2026)

• 563,301 (9 September 2026)
• 557,448 (12 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

The daily average so far this month is almost 500,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

Outside the courts in Chichester Street, Belfast … £55 million has been paid out in the Troubles victims payment scheme in Northern Ireland (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 55 million into perspective:

The Great Leap Forward was an industrialisation campaign in China from 1958 to 1962, led by the Chinese Communist Party. Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to transform China from an agrarian society into an industrialised society through the formation of people’s communes. The Great Leap Forward led to between 15 and 55 million deaths in mainland China during the 1959-1961 Great Chinese Famine it caused, making it the largest or second-largest famine in human history.

Kenya has a population of about 55 million people. By 2100, Dhaka in Bangladesh is projected to be the largest city in the world, with 55 million people.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the global total of internally displaced people has hit a record 55 million. Of these 55 million, 48 million were displaced due to conflict and violence, while seven million were displaced by natural disasters. Over 23 million of those displaced individuals were children under the age of 18.

About 55 million people face acute food insecurity, including 13 million malnourished children and 3 million facing emergency-level hunger. The food crisis is driven by severe humanitarian aid funding collapses and regional conflict rather than drought or poor harvests. Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger account for 77% of the food insecurity, with parts of northern Nigeria facing catastrophic conditions.

£55 million has been paid out so far in the Troubles victims payment scheme in Northern Ireland. The scheme offers financial support for people who suffered physical injury or psychological trauma during the conflict, but there are concerns over the length of time it takes to process applications.

After three consecutive years of declining shipments, Champagne closed 2025 with a further 2% drop, totalling 266 million bottles – the lowest level in two decades outside the pandemic year of 2020. The decline from the recent peak of 326 million bottles in 2022 has been steep, with the region losing 55 million bottles in just two years.

Individual Harry Potter novels, including titles such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, have each sold about 55 million copies. Terry Pratchett, the English fantasy author behind the Discworld series, sold more than 55 million books during his lifetime.

The Northern White Rhino subspecies survived for around 55 million years, weathering everything from ice ages to meteor strikes – but not human hunters and poachers. The Northern White Rhino is now functionally extinct, representing a devastating loss for global biodiversity. Decades of intensive poaching for their horns, valued in traditional medicine and as status symbols, combined with civil war and habitat destruction in their native regions of Central and Eastern Africa, drove the population to collapse.

The crisis peaked in March 2018 when the last male, Sudan, died in Kenya. Today, only two females remain alive, leaving the subspecies unable to reproduce naturally. This loss is deeply sad for the world and underscores the destructive impact of human greed on the planet.

55 million minutes is equal to 104 years, 6 months, 25 days, 19 hours, and 40 minutes, calculated using a standard calendar average. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in February 1922.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week. As this blog moves beyond 55 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among that 55 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

Livraria Lello is said have inspired JK Rowling while she was living in Porto … Harry Potter books have each sold about 55 million copies (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

54 million km from Mars, £54 not found in Lichfield, $54 million Trump bounty, 54 million blog readers

At its closest, Mars is about 54 million km from Earth

Patrick Comerford

This month is proving to be an exceptionally busy time on this blog, with a continuing, steady and often overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading. These figures reached 54 million earlier late last night (10 September 2026), passing the million mark for the sixth time since the end of last month.

The figures reached a total of 53 million hits two days ago (9 September 2026), 52 million hits two days before that (7 September), 51 million late last Saturday (5 September), 50 million the day before (4 September) and 49 million four days previously (31 August).

These viewing and readership figures are still overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 33 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means half of all hits or reader figures have been within the past six months, with 27 million hits since 12 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, seven of them were in this month alone (1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and one was in April (29 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 671,341 (10 September 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 563,301 (9 September 2026)

• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 407,835 (4 September 2026)
• 356,335 (1 September 2026)

The daily average so far this month is almost 490,000 hits a day. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

The Friarsgate development in Lichfield could not find a private backer to meet its £54 million cost (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 54 million into perspective:

Iran’s parliament has debated legislation to pay $54 million to any individual or entity that kills Donald Trump.

Myanmar and Colombia have populations of about 54 million each.

54 million viewers tuned in across Canada, Mexico and the US for the opening matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 featuring the three host nations.

At its closest, Mars is about 54 million km from Earth … although sometimes it is over 400 million km from Earth – that’s how huge space really is. The closest distance to Mars from Earth was recorded in August 2003.

Friarsgate, a planned shopping and leisure scheme in Lichfield, was axed in 2018 after the local council voted against funding the development. Friarsgate was highly anticipated but could not attract a private backer to meet its £54 million cost which left Lichfield District Council having to decide whether or not to fund the scheme itself. The Birmingham Road Site, including the old bus station and former Tempest Ford garage, has since been broken down into smaller, phased regeneration plans rather than one large single development.

54 million metres is 54,000 km, and 54 million sq m is 54,000 sq km. Indonesia has a coastline of over 54,000 km, the third longest coastline in the world after Canada and Norway.

Nyerere National Park in Tanzania is East Africa’s largest park, and one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. It extends to over 54,000 sq km.

The Saharan halophytics is an area of seasonally flooded saline depressions that is home to halophytic (salt-adapted) plant communities. The Saharan halophytics cover 54,000 sq km, including: the Qattara and Siwa depressions in northern Egypt, the Tunisian salt lakes of central Tunisia, Chott Melghir in Algeria, and smaller areas of Algeria, Mauritania, and the southern part of Morocco.

54 million minutes is equal to 102 years and 9 months. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back at the beginning of 1924.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog moves beyond 54 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among that 54 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

Nyerere National Park in Tanzania extends to over 54,000 sq km or 54 million sq metres and is East Africa’s largest park

53 million unfinished books, 53 million at risk from floods, 53 million famine deaths, and 53 million blog readers or hits

About 53 million people across Europe live in regions that are at risk from floods (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

This month is proving to be exceptionally busy time on this blog, with an overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reading. These figures reached a total of 53 million hits by late this afternoon (9 September 2026), passing the million mark for the fifth time since the end of last month. The figures reached 52 million hits two days ago (7 September), only two days after reaching 51 million late on Saturday (5 September), 50 million the day before (4 September) and 49 million four days previously (31 August).

I continue to find these viewing and readership figures overpowering, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 32 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

This means two-thirds of readers or hits have been this year alone (32 million out of a total of 53 million), and half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 26.5 million since 3 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures have often been overwhelming. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, six or more than half of them were in this month alone (1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 September), two were in May (1 and 14 May) and two were the previous month (29 and 30 April):

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 618,234 (8 September 2026)
• 563,301 (9 September 2026)*
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)

• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 407,835 (4 September 2026)
• 356,335 (1 September 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)

The daily average has been about 490,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

Floods in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice … about 53 million people across Europe live in regions identified as being at risk from floods (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 53 million into perspective:

The richest 1% of the population in the United Kingdom holds wealth equivalent to the combined bottom 80%, or 53 million people.

According to Professor Alex de Waal of Tufts University, five men – Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, King Leopold II of Belgium and Pol Pot – each deliberately made famines that killed more than a million people, with a total of 53 million deaths, almost 40 per cent of aggregate global famine mortality since 1870.

The Securitas depot robbery in Tonbridge 20 years ago was the largest cash heist in the UK. It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21 February 2006 and ended in the early hours of 22 February, when seven criminals stole almost £53 million. The gang left behind another £154 million because they did not have the means to move it.

About 53 million people across Europe live in regions identified as being at risk for floods.

Calculations earlier this year show that the EU population will fall by 11.7 per cent by 2100, losing approximately 53 million people. Japan’s population is projected to fall from a peak of 128 million in 2017 to less than 53 million by the end of the century.

About 53 million books are left unfinished in the UK each year because busy readers run out of time. Research shows that roughly 53,094,541 books are abandoned annually before reaching the final chapter.

53 million minutes is equal to 100 years, 9 months and 7 days. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back at the turn of 1925 and 1926.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog moves beyond 53 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among that 53 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

*Figure update at midnight to give the total figure for 9 September 2026

About 53 million books are left unfinished in the UK every year, abandoned before readers reach the final chapter (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

52 million civilian war dead, 52 million missing £50 notes, 52 million light years away, 52 million readers of this blog

The National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill, Edinburgh … the first £52 million from the Scottish Local Growth Fund for Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland was released last week (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

These are exceptionally busy days on this blog, with an overwhelming rise in figures for viewing and reader hits. These figures climbed to a total of 52 million hits by late last night (7 September 2026), passing the million mark for the fourth time since the end of last month and only two days after reaching 51 million late on Saturday night (5 September 2026). These figures come soon after reaching 50 million four days ago (4 September 2026) and 49 million four days previously (31 August 2026).

I continue to find these viewing and readership figures overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 31 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 26 million hits since 1 March 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, four were this month (1, 4, 5 and 7 September 2026), two were in May (1 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), and one was in March.

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 513,725 (7 September 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)

• 407,835 (4 September 2026)
• 356,335 (1 September 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 322,038 (26 April 2026)

The daily average was about 118,700 hits a day throughout August, but it has been about 430,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

Estimates suggest 52 million old paper £50 banknotes are still unreturned across the UK

Some curious though random statistics help to put this new figure of 52 million into context:

Colombia has an area of 1.15 million sq km and a population of around 52 million, and South Korea has a population of almost 52 million.

Westminster City Council recently approved a £52 million package of investment focused on improving neighbourhoods, supporting local businesses and tackling inequalities as part of its 2026/2027 budget.

The UK Government last week released the first £52 million from the £140 million Scottish Local Growth Fund to Edinburgh and South East Scotland, Glasgow, Tay Cities, Ayrshire and Forth Valley. Local leaders across Scotland will decide how this £52 million is spent, backing jobs and growth where they are needed most.

Civilian deaths significantly exceeded military deaths in World War II. Aggregated national estimates indicate approximately 24.8 million military deaths, compared with about 52 million civilian deaths, including roughly 32.1 million from military activity and war crimes and 20 million from war-related famine and disease.

ARP 214 is a peculiar barred spiral galaxy around 52 million light years away in the constellation of Ursa Major. Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name, meaning greater or larger bear, refers to and contrasts it with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE, drawing on earlier works by Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian astronomers. It is the third largest of the 88 modern constellations.

NGC 3079 is a starburst spiral galaxy located 52 million light-years from Earth. It has a horseshoe-shaped structure at its centre that indicates the presence of a supermassive black hole. The structure itself is formed by superwinds from the black hole.

The timing of the collision of continents of the Asian and Indian plates, marking the start of the formation of the Himalayan mountain range, has been subject to much discussion in geology. PhD research by Wentao Huang at Utrecht University has found that this began 52 million years ago.

The Indian and Asian plates started moving towards each other, and met about 52 million years ago. A block from the Indian plate collided with the continental block of the Asian plate, and formed the Himalayas.

It is estimated that 52 million old paper £50 banknotes are still unreturned, sitting in homes or circulating across the UK. The older paper £50 note features Matthew Boulton and James Watt. Paper £20 and £50 notes stopped being accepted as legal tender in October 2022 when they were replaced by polymer plastic versions.

52 million minutes is equal to approximately 98 years, 10 months and 13 days. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in mid-1927.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog moves beyond 52 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among that 52 million. In particular, I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.


The Indian and Asian plates started moving towards each other, and met about 52 million years ago. A block from the Indian plate collided with the continental block of the Asian plate, and formed the Himalayas

51 million km for a future Tsar, 51 million Soviet war dead, 51 million radio listeners, and 51 million blog hits to date

The ‘Eastern journey of Nicholas II’ a journey of Nicholas II was a 51 million km the included a visit to the Acropolis in Athens

Patrick Comerford

Once more I am overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures reached a total of 51 million shortly before midnight last night (5 September 2026), passing the million mark for the third time within a week. It comes soon after reaching the 50 million early the day before (4 September 2026) and 49 million four days previously (31 August 2026). These figures passed the million mark on three other days last month: 48 million (24 August), 47 million (17 August) and 46 million (9 August).

I continue to find these viewing and reading figures overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 30million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 25.5 million hits since 28 February 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, three were this month (1, 4 and 5 September 2026), three were in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), and one in March.

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 407,835 (4 September 2026)

• 356,335 (1 September 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)

The daily average was about 118,700 hits a day throughout August, and has been about 400,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

Souvenir Santas at St James’ Park … Matias Fernandez-Pardo has joined Newcastle United for a reported fee of £51 million (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this new figure of 51 million into context:

Matias Fernandez-Pardo joined Newcastle United this month on a long-term contract from Lille. The 21-year-old forward arrived at St James’ Park for a reported fee of £51 million.

The figure of 51 million people is associated with an extraordinary, incredible and unbelievable claim by Trump that Vladimir Putin actually fought in World War II. In a claim that seems typical of the man’s fantasism, Trump said: ‘I talked to Putin. He lost 51 million people [in World War II] and he did fight … He fought with us in World War II and everybody hates him.’

Putin was born on 7 October 1952. Nor could Trump have ever fought in World War II – he was born on 14 June 1946, and, in any case, he had ‘bone spurs’ when it came to conscription.

More people than ever are listening to UK radio, with the latest figures reporting a record weekly audience of 51 million people.

51 million sq metres is 51,000 sq km – the size of both Bosnia Herzegovina and Costa Rica – and 51 million km is 51,000 km. The ‘Eastern journey of Nicholas II’ in 1890-1891 was a journey made by Nicholas Alexandrovich – then Tsarevich of Russia – around the greater part of Europe and Asia between October 1890 and August 1891.

His journey by rail and sea took him to Vienna, Athens, Alexandria and Egypt, and on to present-day Sri Lanka, India, Java, Singapore, Siam (Thailand) and China. The 51,000 km journey included 15,000 km by rail and 22,000 km by sea. In Japan, the future tsar survived a failed assassination attempt before travelling on to Vladivostok and back to St Petersburg.

51 million minutes, taking account of leap years, is 96 years, 352 days and 16 hours. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in late 1929.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog passes 51 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 51 million hits. In particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

50 million in modern slavery, 50 million Black Death victims, 50 million European ancestors, 50 million readers of this blog

Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster … the UK has a target to welcome 50 million international visitors annually by the year 2030 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Yet again I am overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures reached a total of 50 million before dawn early this morning (4 September 2026). This comes soon after reaching the 49 million mark four days ago (31 August 2026), and passing the million mark on three other days last month: 48 million (24 August), 47 million (17 August) and 46 million (9 August).

I continue to find these viewing and reading figures overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 29 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 25 million hits since 25 February 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, one was this month (1 September 2026), three were in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), two in March, and one in February:

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 356,335 (1 September 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)

• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)

The daily average was about 118,700 hits a day throughout August. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

A large family tree of the Wedgwood and Darwin families in Erasmus Darwin House, Lichfield … mathematical projections in genealogy show how we are all related (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this new figure of 50 million into context:

Modern slavery entraps 50 million people on any given day: about 28 million people are working under duress in private economies, state projects or commercial exploitation, 22 million are living in forced marriages without consent, and one in four victims of modern slavery is a child.

Around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally.

The UK government has set an official target to welcome 50 million international visitors annually by the year 2030. Greece too aims to attract 50 million annual tourist arrivals by 2030, according to a strategic target set by the Greek Tourism Confederation.

There are 29 countries with a population of more than 50 million. The population of the UK reached 50 million by 1948 and has been growing ever since: the population was 40 million in 1898, it reached 50 million by 1948 and 60 million by 2005, and is probably at 70 million this year (2026).

The Black Death killed 50 million people, or 60 per cent of Europe’s entire population, between 1346 and 1353. As a proportion of the population that lost their lives, the Black Death caused unrivalled mortality. It overshadows the horrors of World War II, and is twice the number murdered by Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union.

In the year 1000, Europe had a population of ~50 million. Some simple maths shows that everyone who was alive in Europe around the year 1000 is either an ancestor of everyone in Europe today, or the ancestor of no one. This means that someone in Sweden, Norway or Italy has the same set of ancestors as someone who thinks their family is 100% British, Irish, French or Spanish.

At times I have used mathematical projections to help my genealogical projects, and the maths are quite simple. Every person has two parents, four grandparents and so on. Going just 30 generations back, say around 1066, that means I have one billion direct ancestors (2 to the power of 30), even though there were not one billion humans alive at that time.

A white paper published by FamilyTreeDNA used an example of a Swedish man with 8.5 billion genealogical ancestors (2^33) living in the year 1000. ‘Genealogical ancestors’ does not mean actual ancestors, as there were not even one billion living humans alive at that time, meaning many ancestors will appear multiple times across various branches.

The paper notes: ‘Think about that for a moment. If you have a single European ancestor, you are genealogically descended from every European from the year 1000 who has living descendants now.’

The population of ~50 million people in Europe in the year 1000 means we are all related in more ways than we imagine.

50 million minutes is 95 years, 24 days, 4 hours and 22 minutes. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in late September 1931.

I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog passes 50 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 50 million hits. In particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

William de Comberford’s monument in the Comberford Chapel, Tamworth … he died in 1349, a year after the Black Death killed one-third of Tamworth, at a time when the Black Death killed 50 million in Europe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

49 million hungry in the US, 49 million child refugees, 49 million wait for El Niño, and 49 million blog readers

Čumil or ‘Man at Work’, a sculpture by Viktor Hulík in the old town in Bratislava … Slovakia covers 49 million sq metres or 49,000 sq km (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I continue to be overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures reached a total of 49 million about 10:30 last night (31 August 2026), having reached 48 million a week earlier (24 August 2026), 47 million a week before that (17 August 2026) and 46 million eight days previously (9 August 2026), and more than 3.6 readers for the month of August.

These viewing and reading figures are overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 28 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 24.5 million hits since 23 February 2026. I first began blogging back in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the ten days of busiest traffic on this blog, three were in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), three in March, and one in February:

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)

• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)
• 301,449 (2 March 2026)

The daily average was about 118,700 hits a day throughout August. Yet, I recall how ten years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

There are 49 million child refugees and displaced minors across the globe, or 40% of all forcibly displaced people (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this latest figure of 49 million into perspective:

The UN World Food Programme warns that the strong El Niño weather that is forecast for later this year could push 49 million more people into acute hunger, raising total global food insecurity to roughly 274 million people.

There are 49 million child refugees and displaced minors across the globe who are impacted by conflict, violence, and persecution worldwide, representing 40% of all forcibly displaced people.

More than 49 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery worldwide, according to a recent report, and children account for 12 million of them. Human trafficking generates over $236 billion every year, making it one of the largest criminal economies in the world.

As of 2026, Spain has a total population of approximately 49.8 million people, having officially surpassed the 49 million threshold for the first time in 2025, largely driven by immigration over the past two decades.

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, has territory of about 49,000 sq km or 49 million sq metres. The country is bordered by Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. Bratislava is the capital, and there is a population of over 5.4 million people.

Back in 2013, it was said in the US that 49 million Americans, including one-in-four children, go hungry every day, despite the US having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all. Inspired by the documentary A Place at the Table, a companion book edited by Peter Pringle offered insights from people at the front lines of tackling hunger in the US.

The contributors showed the inequities in America’s hunger crisis and suggested strategies for solving the crisis, argued the case for school lunch reform, uncovered the hidden persuaders of web food advertisers, explored the role of faith groups in feeding the hungry, discussed the health impacts of hunger and proposed increases in child nutrition programmes.

They argued for the need to move beyond charity-based emergency feeding programmes, and called for providing healthy food for all children. A Place at the Table showed how these problems could be solved once and for all, if the American public decided that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of everyone.

But all those warnings and all those proposals were ignored by decision makers, while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the hungry continue to go hungry. And a good example of the rich getting richer came in recent financial disclosure filings that show that one day alone in June Donald Trump made over $49 million in stock and securities purchases during a portfolio reshuffling.

49 million minutes is equal to 93 years, 2 months, 21 days, 18 hours and 40 minutes. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in mid-June 1933.

I retired from active parish ministry over four years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 130-140 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or almost 1,000 people each week.

This evening, as this blog heads towards 50 million hits, I am truly grateful once again to the real readers among those 49 million hits to date. In particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.

49 million Americans, including one-in-four children, go hungry every day, according to Peter Pringle’s book

£48 million Cambridge grants, 48 million in tourism saturation, 48 million litres in wine fraud, and 48 million blog hits

Trinity College and the University of Cambridge are providing £48 million in the Trinity Cambridge Research Studentships programme, supporting up to 300 PhD students (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I continue to be overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures reached a total of 48 million early this morning (24 August 2026), having reached 47 million a week ago (17 August 2026) and 46 million eight days previously (9 August 2026), the third time this month these figures passed the million mark. Last month, the readership figures also passed the million mark three times: 45 million on 29 July, 44 million less than a fortnight earlier (16 July 2026), and 43 million 12 days before that (4 July 2026).

These viewing and reading figures are overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 27 million hits or visitors in 2026 alone, and almost 2.7 million hits already this month.

Half of all hits or reader figures have been in the past six months or so, with 24 million hits since 20 February 2026. I first began blogging back in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the ten days of busiest traffic on this blog, three were in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), three in March, and one in February:

• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)

• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)
• 301,449 (2 March 2026)

The daily average was over 187,000 throughout May, but that figure was distorted by the exceptionally high number of hits on three days. There was an average of almost 88,000 hits a day last month, and an average of about 110,000-120,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I remember that ten years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.

Anti-fraud authorities in France uncovered a massive wine scam involving over 48 million litres or 64 million bottles of wine (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

To put this latest figure of 48 million into perspective:

Sudan, Uganda, Iraq and Algeria have populations of about 48 million people – although that depends on who is counting and how they are counting.

Save the Children reports that 48 million children a year are affected by climate disasters.

The US Centre for Disease Control estimates that roughly 1-in-6 Americans – or 48 million people – fall ill from contaminated food each year, leading to 128,000 hospital cases and 3,000 deaths.

Greece continues to experience an unprecedented surge in tourism, with predictions that it could be heading for record-shattering visitor numbers by the end of the year, near to or exceeding 48 million over the annual cycle. These figures are driven by major increases in arrivals from the EU, the UK, and the US, and Greece’s South Aegean and Ionian island regions have recorded the highest tourism saturation of any region in the EU.

The islands of Santorini, Rhodes and Kos are proving to be particularly popular, and the Ionian islands, which include Corfu and Zakynthos, are in second place when it comes to tourism saturation.

Trinity College Cambridge and the University of Cambridge are providing £48 million in the Trinity Cambridge Research Studentships (TCRS) programme, funding up to 300 fully supported PhD students over a decade.

About 48 million tons of plastic waste is generated in the US each year – and less than 10% of it is recycled.

About 48 million kangaroos live in Australia, outnumbering human residents by nearly two to one.

The Еuropeana online archive collection contains digitised versions of more than 48 million works of art that include thousands of photographs, paintings, books and other artefacts, collected from more than 100 museums and archives all over Europe.

48 million litres is equal to 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools or 64 million bottles of wine. French anti-fraud authorities uncovered a massive wine scam involving over 48 million litres of table wine falsely sold under prestigious regional labels like Côtes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape between 2013 and 2016.

The Pan-American Highway is the world’s longest motorable road network. It spans roughly 48,000 km (48 million metres) from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina. It crosses 14 countries, including Canada, the US and Mexico, and several in Central and South America, but the route is interrupted by the Darién Gap, a 160 km swampy jungle between Panama and Colombia with no paved road. 48 million minutes is equal to 91 years, 3 months, 28 days and 8 hours. In other words, if this blog was getting only one hit a minute, I would need to have been blogging since April or May 1935, more than four year before World War II began.

I retired from active parish ministry over four years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 130-140 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or up to 1,000 people each week.

This evening, once again, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 48 million hits on this blog to date, and in particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of 150 or so people who join me in prayer, reading and reflections each day.

The blue-domed churches of Santorini in a poster in Milton Keynes … with predictions of 48 million or more tourists visiting Greece, islands like Santorini are suffering from tourism saturation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)