Dame Shirley Bassey
Dubbed the ‘Tigress of Tiger Bay’, Dame Shirley Bassey (1937-) was born in a poor, cosmopolitan part of…
Discover British history, culture, geography, achievements and more in snippet size
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…
Chelsea Flower Show
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show is held for five days every May in the grounds…