British dialects
At the time of WW2 there were at least 50 distinct British dialects, some with derived names such as Cockney, Brummie, Scouse, […]
Read MoreAuthor: Purple Brolly
My aim is to give a flavour of these precious islands we call 'the UK'. All research is based on a minimum of two public domain sources, usually more.
Aeroacoustics
With air travel increasing in popularity in the early 1950s, scientists were faced with the new problem of jet noise. Nowadays this […]
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Literary Festivals
In the land that produced Shakespeare it is unsurprising that many aspire to write their own masterpieces but, this being a solitary […]
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The Miners’ Strike of 1984-85
Britain has utilised its vast natural coal resources for 1,000 years and many inventions (including railways) arose by way of improving mining […]
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New Year’s Day
The start of a new year has been set variously at 1st January, 1st March and 25th March in times past, but […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Hawk-Eye
Referees and umpires, we all should agree, have a very difficult job. The assistance of digital camera technology entered into the fray, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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