Author: Purple Brolly
Vicars and Vicarages
The leader (‘incumbent’) of a Church of England parish church is known as a vicar, the equivalent of a priest, and his/her […]
Read More
Police & Crime Commissioners
The hierarchy of UK police ranks, in ascending order, is generally as follows:- Constable Sergeant Inspector Chief Inspector Superintendent Chief Superintendent Assistant […]
Read More
Hawk-Eye
Referees and umpires, we all should agree, have a very difficult job. The assistance of digital camera technology entered into the fray, […]
Read More
The Chartist Movement
The 1832 Reform Act was a small step towards equal rights, such as they were then perceived, but the oppressed working classes […]
Read More
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (IoW) is a diamond-shaped island two miles off England’s south coast and is much favoured by holidaymakers from […]
Read MoreThe Isle of Wight (IoW) is a diamond-shaped island two miles off England’s south coast and is much favoured by holidaymakers from the mainland. Its population is around 142,000 but it happily accommodates 15 times that number each year in tourists, with the trend veering towards short breaks of 4 or 5 days. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) so loved visiting the IoW that Prince Albert (1819-61) had Osborne House built in East Cowes as their private retreat and that is where she died.
The IoW’s position forms a strait atop the English Channel called The Solent, thereby shielding the harbours of Portsmouth, Southampton and Lyminton, these being the departure/return points for 200 IoW ferries daily. There are remains of a WW2 radar station, historic forts and castles, as well as many shipwrecks in its waters. All but one of the island’s towns are seaward, with Ryde being the largest.
Farming accounts for 80% of the interior, some of which lies in the IoW’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The island’s 63-mile east-west chalk ridge is most conspicuous at The Needles on the westernmost tip. There was once a 120ft. tall chalk stack in the gap, but this eventually collapsed. Sand of 21 different colours can be found in the bay.
(Top image: Alwyn Ladell at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Sir Roger Moore
Londoner Sir Roger George Moore (1927-2017) was gifted with good looks, quick wits, charm and charisma. In TV interviews RADA-trained Moore would […]
Read More
The Booker Prize
In 1967 Lord Jock Campbell (1912-94) from Dunbartonshire was about to head the development of the new town, Milton Keynes, following his […]
Read More
Triton, Hyperion, Ariel and Umbriel
Lancashire-born William Lassell (1799-1880) grew up in Liverpool within a clock-making family, acquiring the precision engineering skills needed for his lifelong passion […]
Read More
The Royal Festival Hall
After the WW2 bombing of London, the County Council decided that a new, up-to-the-minute, airy, Scandinavian-style concert hall was just the thing […]
Read MoreAfter the WW2 bombing of London, the County Council decided that a new, up-to-the-minute, airy, Scandinavian-style concert hall was just the thing to lift people’s spirits. The Royal Festival Hall was thus sited on the southern bank of the River Thames in Lambeth. It was the only permanent building in the ‘Festival of Britain’ exhibition promoting British scientific and engineering expertise and in 1988 it received Grade I listing.
Some 63,000 cu.yds. of material were excavated and half that amount in concrete was put back during construction. Another major element was steel, 260 tons of it in the roof alone. Critics wondered whether the time and resources would be better used for much-needed homes and factories instead, especially during the severe winter of 1949/50 when no expense was spared to maintain the temperature required for concreting operations to continue.
Nevertheless, King George VI (1895-1952) opened it in May 1951 and it has hosted countless world-class concerts ever since. It currently has 2,410 auditorium seats, plus bars and dining areas off its large foyer and riverside balconies. The original contract price of £1,628,260 is dwarfed by the cost of several refurbishments (or ‘restorations’) it has undergone, but these have preserved its status as an uplifting refuge from city bustle.
(Top image: Paul Robinson at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Plough Monday/Sunday
Before industrialisation, Plough Monday was a popular event in farming communities on the first or second Monday of the year, between 7th-13th […]
Read More
Running the sub-4-minute mile
Sometimes called ‘The Dream Mile’, this feat is said to have begun with aristocrats betting on their respective footmen to race each […]
Read More