Eton Boating Song
The Eton Boating Song was first performed either in 1863 or 1865 ~ sources differ ~ for Eton College’s annual Open Day, […]
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.
“Shanks’s pony”
The expression to “go by Shanks’s pony” means to walk. It usually implies that there is no other method of transport available, […]
Read MoreThe expression to “go by Shanks’s pony” means to walk. It usually implies that there is no other method of transport available, as in “Oh no! I’ve missed the last bus… I’ll have to go by Shanks’s pony”. It is one of the multitude of English idioms which has its origin in times past and whose literal meaning would be difficult to explain today. We know the underlying meaning so it is similar to an in-joke or a code.
Delving into this particular idiom, there is a rather nice theory that it refers to Mr Alexander Shanks, who invented a pony-drawn lawnmower in 1842. The mower was so big that it had to be pulled by a pony, with one man walking in front to guide the pony and one at the back to control the machine.
Image: oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk
Even if this is not the true origin of the expression, it is feasible that it might refer to a Mr Shanks who owned a pony but for whatever reason would walk alongside it rather than ride it!
(Top image: pixels.com)
Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan “Daley“ Thompson was a record-breaking decathlete in the 1980s. He was born in London in 1958 and won his first […]
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Ulster planters
In its empire-building phase of the sixteenth century, England took control of its neighbour, Ireland. When King James VI of Scotland also […]
Read MoreIn its empire-building phase of the sixteenth century, England took control of its neighbour, Ireland. When King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, he was very aware of the tensions between the religions. Ireland was Catholic and he feared that they were plotting against him.
So he decided, in 1609, to encourage ‘planters‘ ~ settlers ~ of the part of Ireland that was closest to Scottish shores, that being Ulster in the north. The Irish leaders had recently fled to Europe and so their lands were confiscated and handed out as incentives to Britons to move in and populate the territory with English-speaking, Protestant farmers and townspeople.
Six of the northern counties now form Northern Ireland, while the rest forms the Republic of Ireland.
Some of the ‘planters’ were not happy in Ireland and they took the long trip over to the north American colonies.
(Top image: Kenneth Allen at geograph.ie / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Smart motorways
The first motorway in Britain was opened in 1959 and since then, the country has seen more motorways and more traffic than […]
Read MoreThe first motorway in Britain was opened in 1959 and since then, the country has seen more motorways and more traffic than was ever envisaged. Smart motorways are an attempt to ease traffic flow in the most cost-effective way. However, they have a major downside.
Motorways generally have three lanes and a hardshoulder – a lane on the left for emergency use only, whose foundations are not designed for regular traffic. Since 2006 the Highways Agency has gradually been re-building hardshoulders in order to give four lanes for traffic without having to acquire extra land.
Stopping for emergencies is now restricted to ‘refuge areas’, provided the driver is lucky enough to be near one, as they are spaced 1.5 miles apart. The breakdown services, such as the RAC and the AA, will only come out to assist if you are parked in one of these refuge areas. They will not come to your rescue if you break down in a lane, as it is much too dangerous. Smart motorways are therefore a highly controversial introduction, requiring more Highways patrols and more surveillance cameras.
However, due to widely-expressed safety concerns, in 2023 the Government directed the Highways Agency to cancel the roll-out of more smart motorways.
(Top image: Department of Transport at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Snooker
The game of snooker was devised by a Colonel in the British Army whilst based in India in 1875. ‘Snooker’ was the […]
Read MoreThe game of snooker was devised by a Colonel in the British Army whilst based in India in 1875. ‘Snooker’ was the term used for a 1st-year cadet, so if someone missed a ball, they were called a ‘real snooker’, hence the name, allegedly.
Snooker has had phases of popularity but it was the BBC that gave it its first boost in 1969 when it televised games in the brand new colour format. With its fifteen red balls and one each of white, black, pink, blue, yellow, green and brown, it was a perfect showpiece.
The diagram below shows the starting positions of all the coloured balls. The white cue ball is then positioned anywhere inside the D by the first player.
(Top image of Steve Davis: Joni-Pekka Luomala at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)
Conkers
Conkers is an old, traditional game that used to be played by schoolchildren (and sometimes adults), but is not so much nowadays. […]
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The creator of James Bond
London-born Ian Fleming (1908-1964) wrote fourteen books featuring the fictional secret agent James Bond, Agent 007. As an intelligence officer during World […]
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April Fools’ Day
April Fools’ Day is on 1st April each year and in Britain it lasts until 12 noon. It is a morning when, […]
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The Sea Cadets
As an island nation, many Britons feel an affinity for the sea. The Sea Cadets is an organisation for 10- to 18-year-olds […]
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The first postmarks
The very first postmark in the world was the invention of Colonel Henry Bishopp (or Bishop or Bisshopp) (1605-91) in 1661. He […]
Read MoreThe very first postmark in the world was the invention of Colonel Henry Bishopp (or Bishop or Bisshopp) (1605-91) in 1661. He had bought the monopoly for delivering letters around the country and had become the first ‘Postmaster General’ in Britain.
He wanted a method of recording the date each letter was handed in to the post office. This was because of complaints from customers about delays in delivery. His ‘bishopmark’ provided the means of better organising the delivery schedules.
The bishopmarks were approximately half an inch diameter black circles with the month and the day inside. Each wooden stamper was chiselled individually in the first year and kept for re-use thereafter. Postmarks, as they later became known, have been used ever since.
(Image: Alwyn Ladell at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The Peasants’ Revolt
English village peasants – poor workers owned by rich landowners – had finally taken enough harsh treatment by 1381. The Peasants’ Revolt […]
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