On 20th April 1918, Mora Dickson, Scottish author, painter and campaigner, was born.

In 1958, Mora and her husband, Alec, had the idea for the Voluntary Service Overseas, or VSO, scheme, in response to the ending of National Service. They ran it from their London home until 1962, when a dispute led to Alec's replacement as director. This prompted them to set up the Community Service Volunteers, or CSV, a volunteer programme focussing on Britain. In contrast to the highly selective VSO, CSV's philosophy was to take all comers. They were reunited with VSO in the 1990s, and Mora was elected an honorary vice-president.

On 20th April, 1934, the first public meeting of the Scottish National Party was held.

The meeting was held in the Central Hall, Tollcross, Edinburgh with Compton Mackenzie, the Lord Rector of Glasgow University, and W. Oliver Brown, prospective Nationalist candidate for East Renfrewshire, as guest speakers. The Scottish National Party was formed by the amalgamation of The National Party of Scotland and The Scottish Party.

Today's recipe: Nick Nairn's easy chicken stir-fry for one.