Month: October 2020

Inventions

Rawlplugs

When the British Museum asked their local building contractor, Rawlings Brothers, to attach electrical fittings to the walls with minimal damage to […]

When the British Museum asked their local building contractor, Rawlings Brothers, to attach electrical fittings to the walls with minimal damage to the masonry, they cannot have imagined the revolutionary invention this would produce. The iconic Museum building was the first to benefit from the ingenious yet simple rawlplug, a small, expandable insert which tightly grips an embedded screw and can support incredible weight.

London-born John Joseph Rawlings (1860-1942) filed the patent in 1911. Previously, builders would chisel a hole and pack it with wood, so the time-saving, compact, ready-made rawlplug was an immediate success. The first version was made of brass strips but this was soon changed to fibre, a material ideally suited to the task. The business was re-named Rawlplug Co. Ltd. in 1919. The plastic rawlplug was introduced in the 1960s and its design was developed to include anti-rotation lugs.

Rawlplug Co. Ltd. now manufactures various types of fixings, including the rawlbolt for heavy-duty construction purposes. The massive do-it-yourself market has made a pack of rawlplugs an essential part of every toolkit. It is inestimable how many rawlplugs there are in our homes today. From securing a bookshelf to fitting a kitchen, rawlplugs are an indispensable aid.

(Image: pxhere.com / CC0)

25/10/2020
3 min
4 years
202 words

Sport

The Commonwealth Games

Having a similar format to the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games began life in 1930 as the British Empire Games and went through […]

Having a similar format to the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games began life in 1930 as the British Empire Games and went through a few name changes until the current style was adopted in 1978. The Games, nicknamed ‘the Friendly Games’, take place every four years in one of the Commonwealth member countries. Wales has hosted it once, Scotland thrice and England twice, with a third English event scheduled for 2022.

The constituent nations and dependencies of the United Kingdom send separate teams, so, for example, the Isle of Man has sent its own athletes since 1958 and hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2011.

Also in 1958, when the Games were held in Cardiff, there started the tradition of the Queen’s Baton Relay whereby a message from the Leader of the Commonwealth of Nations ~ formerly Queen Elizabeth II ~ sends a message inside a baton to arrive at the Games’ Opening Ceremony. In 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, the baton arrived outside the stadium atop an elephant!

The host nation helps to choose which sports are included and the variety has gradually increased over the years. Sports such as cricket, netball, lawn bowls, hockey and archery have all made an appearance. Australia has been the most successful participant overall.

(Top image of 2010 badminton team medallists: Doma-w at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

24/10/2020
3 min
4 years
213 words

Basic principles

Individual liberty

London-born philosopher and social reformer John Stuart Mill (1806-73) published his most famous work, ‘On Liberty’ in 1859, in which he defined […]

London-born philosopher and social reformer John Stuart Mill (1806-73) published his most famous work, ‘On Liberty’ in 1859, in which he defined individual liberty by using what was subsequently named the ‘harm principle’. Every citizen should be free to do, believe in, say and think whatever they wish, so long as it does not harm another person or persons. This is clear-cut where the harm is physical or financial but less so where it is in the mind.

For example, breaking off a romance is emotionally hurtful for the abandoned partner but should never be banned for that reason, since it would breach an individual’s right to choose their own companions. On the other hand, stalking a former partner to the point of harassment is illegal because it infringes psychologically on their liberty to go about their everyday lives.

Individual liberty was first set into law in Britain via Magna Carta Libertatum (1215) and then the Bill of Rights (1688/89). These documents sought to prevent tyranny and stop unfounded arrests, imprisonments and punishments. It is for each of us to cherish our ability to make our own choices in how we vote, behave, speak and lead our lives, not for government or despotic billionaires.

(Image: pxfuel.com/ CC0)

17/10/2020
3 min
4 years
206 words

Discoveries / Geography & Environment

British Antarctic Territory

Britain’s two tallest mountains by far ~ Mount Hope (10,627ft.) and Mount Jackson (10,446ft.) ~ sit within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT), […]

Britain’s two tallest mountains by far ~ Mount Hope (10,627ft.) and Mount Jackson (10,446ft.) ~ sit within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT), a sector at 20°-80°W radiating out from the South Pole. Opposite are two other British Overseas Territories, namely the Falkland Islands and S.Georgia & S.Sandwich Islands. It is also seven times bigger than the UK itself, at 660,000 square miles. However, there are no permanent residents, no trees, no land mammals and more than 99% is under snow and ice.

Englishmen William Smith (1790-1847) first spotted some of the islands in 1819 and John Biscoe (1794-1843) the Antarctic Peninsula in 1832. Britain has the oldest claim on the continent, including a huge swathe on the east which was subsequently transferred to Australia and New Zealand.

The BAT is governed from London. Tourism is by official permission and one attraction for hardy couples is that weddings can be arranged to take place during a visit. BAT stamps and coins are a source of income for Royal Mail’s four most southerly outlets, of which the most accessible is the ‘Penguin Post Office’. This is inside BAT’s single gift shop, offering plenty of penguin, whale and seal souvenirs during its summer season of November-March, when temperatures may rise to 3ºC.

*Image of BAT gift shop/Penguin Post Office: Christopher Michel at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0*

(Top image of Mount Hope: euphro at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)

12/10/2020
3 min
4 years
234 words

Entertainment

The Bee Gees

Sir Barry Gibb (1946-) and his twin brothers Maurice Gibb (1949-2003) and Robin Gibb (1949-2012) knew instinctively as children that they were […]

Sir Barry Gibb (1946-) and his twin brothers Maurice Gibb (1949-2003) and Robin Gibb (1949-2012) knew instinctively as children that they were destined to follow a singing and song-writing career together. Born on the Isle of Man, they grew up in Manchester, then Redcliffe and Sydney in Australia in 1958-66.

First singing in public when the twins were only six, they returned to the UK in search of stardom, ensured by their distinctive vocal harmonisation and talent for writing chart-topping songs, not just for themselves but for other artistes too. The group’s name was derived from the same B.G. initials of Barry, their mother and two men who initially helped promote them, hence ‘The B.G.s,’ which transformed into The Bee Gees.

Their first UK no. 1 single was ‘Massachusetts’, in 1967. Eight years on, in 1975, Barry discovered his falsetto range, which then featured extensively in their songs. In the studio, the trio would sing round one microphone and their different vibratos added another dimension to the mesh. Whilst recording the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ album in 1977, they were told it was to be used as the soundtrack for a film their manager was making. It went on to be the best-selling soundtrack of all time.

(Top image: John at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)

08/10/2020
3 min
4 years
214 words

Politics

The 1922 Committee

In 1922, Conservative MPs voted to end the coalition with the Liberals and have a General Election. This they won decisively but […]

In 1922, Conservative MPs voted to end the coalition with the Liberals and have a General Election. This they won decisively but there were many new faces now in Conservative ranks, so one of them, Sir Gervais Rentoul (1884-1946), led the formation in 1923 of a club for ‘newbies’, i.e. the 1922 Committee. It is also known informally as ‘the 22′ or formally as the Conservative Private Members’ (1922) Committee.

By 1926 membership had been expanded to include all Conservative MPs except those in office and in 1965 it was officially acknowledged as part of the Conservative Party structure. Its purpose had also developed into a forum to air views and ideas in weekly meetings away from the House of Commons in order to keep Party leadership informed as to the mood of colleagues and supporters. Its five sub-committees interrogate policies for:

the economy
environment and local government
foreign affairs
home affairs and the Constitution
public services

The 18-member executive committee has a Chairman who is elected annually. This role includes overseeing the voting process for the appointment and removal of the Party Leader. It is important for the Party leadership to maintain the confidence of ‘the 22’ and to respect their participation in the democracy espoused by Parliament.

(Image: Goumbik at pixabay.com)

04/10/2020
3 min
4 years
207 words

Quoting Neil Oliver...

I love Britain more than anywhere else in the world. With all my heart I declare that those of us born here, or who have made a home here by choice, are the luckiest, most blessed of all people. I am British. I will always be British.