Lough Neagh
The largest freshwater lake in the UK, indeed the British Isles, is Lough Neagh (“lokh nay”) in…
Discover British history, culture, geography, achievements and more in snippet size
Dame Shirley Bassey
Dubbed the ‘Tigress of Tiger Bay’, Dame Shirley Bassey (1937-) was born in a poor, cosmopolitan part of…
Arthur Ransome
‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1930) was a groundbreaking children’s novel written by an extraordinary Yorkshireman, Arthur Ransome (1884-1967).…
Paraffin Oil
The birth of the oil industry took place in Bathgate, 25 miles east of Glasgow, under the…
Cool Britannia
In the 1990s, British creative arts struck a seam of success that coalesced around the idea of…
Children’s Book Weeks
There are two Children’s Book Weeks ~ one in May, the other in November ~ which are among…
Swimming
Public health concerns during the Industrial Revolution led to swimming becoming a popular recreation in the UK.…
Bishops
Bishops today have a very different lifestyle to those in medieval times, when they were very wealthy,…
The Prime Minister
The powers and role of the Prime Minister (PM) have slowly increased and he/she now sets the government’s…
Policing Volunteers
There have always been volunteers helping to keep law and order and today they are to be…
Limelight and a Steam-Powered Coach
Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (1793-1875) of Cornwall first became a surgeon, chemist and lecturer but in 1823 decided…
The Great Fire of London
Restoration London was crammed with buildings made of flammable materials ~ timber, thatch and pitch. Streets were…