Culture Category
Curry houses
In the 1970s/80s, going out for a meal in the evening became very popular and ‘going for…
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was born in Surrey, attended Eton and Oxford and was a gifted, articulate student.…
William Shakespeare
“He was not of an age, but for all time”… so wrote Shakespeare’s friend, Ben Jonson, in…
Crufts
Crufts dog show began in 1891 as a dog biscuit salesman’s sideline. Charles Cruft (1852-1938) applied his…
Big Ben
‘Big Ben’ is the nickname given to the hour bell in the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses…
George Orwell
George Orwell was the pen-name of Eric Blair (1903-50), who died of tuberculosis shortly after the publication…
Sir Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was born in Worcestershire and taught himself to play the piano and the violin…
Punk fashion
Following on from the ‘swinging sixties‘ came the ‘punk’ youth culture of the 1970s. Naturally, the aim…
The Open University
It was the politician Harold Wilson who had the idea of a ‘university of the air’ back…
Cropredy
Cropredy is a village in Oxfordshire which plays host every August to a music festival also simply…
British surnames
In the UK, surnames are passed down the generations and are the last part of a person’s…
Welsh Chapels
‘Nonconformist’ religious movements are those which do not belong to the Established Church. In Wales, these include…