Religion
Paganism
‘Pagan’ has in the past been used as a derogatory label for an uneducated, unrefined peasant, but since the 1960s it has […]
Month: June 2019
Pink Floyd
Active from 1965 to 1995, Pink Floyd set the standard for pyrotechnics at rock concerts and were pioneers in psychedelic rock. Not […]
The first king of Scotland
Up to the early ninth century, the Scots and the Picts had not yet unified to form the country of Scotland, but […]
Political parties
Newspapers and TV focus heavily on just two political parties ~ Conservative and Labour ~ but there are currently almost four hundred […]
The Maunder Minimum
Annie Russell Maunder (1868-1947) and her husband Edward Walter Maunder (1851-1928) were the first scientists to analyse records of sunspot activity and […]
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Sir Noel Coward (1899-1973) was a prolific playwright, composer and actor, whose wit shines through all his work. His signature tune was […]
Caxton’s printing press
Kent-born William Caxton (c.1422-91) was the first to bring the printing press to Britain and to publish in English. During the twenty […]
Family responsibilities
Family responsibilities are central to the British way of life. Most of us have a ‘family tree’ and memories of growing up […]
May Day
May Day is on 1st May and it is an ancient pagan celebration of the seasonal warming of the weather, bringing on […]
Harry Potter
The ‘Harry Potter‘ series of seven fantasy novels was written by Joanne Rowling (pen name J.K. Rowling) and has been a phenomenal […]
Income tax
Income tax was first used to finance wars. This began in 1799 with the Napoleonic wars and the tax was so closely […]
Sir Walter Raleigh
Born in Devon, Sir Walter Raleigh (1552/4-1618) seemed to be following in the footsteps of Sir Francis Drake as a swashbuckling hero, […]