Received Pronunciation
The relatively modern concept of ‘standard English’ has become known as Received Pronunciation (RP) or even ‘BBC…
Capt. Henry J. Round, ‘the tame wizard’
Staffordshire-born Henry Joseph Round (1881-1966) lived and breathed engineering and was affectionately nicknamed ‘the tame wizard’ by…
The Millennium Dome
Where better to build an enormous structure dedicated to a moment in time than on 0° longitude…
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is usually taken to expire at midnight on 5th January but some argue for 6th…
Speakers’ Corner
Public access to London’s 350-acre Hyde Park was granted in 1637. In the 1800s its proximity to…
Three Lions
Knights began to have personal coats-of-arms for identification on the battlefield in the 1100s and this quickly…
Bell-ringing
The first Christian monks would ring handbells to summon converts to prayer and by the 7th century…
The Good Parliament of 1376
The Good Parliament of 28 April – 10 July 1376 was followed by the Bad Parliament of…
Family Courts
The Family Courts deal with the acrimonious aspects of domestic strife. The judges and lawyers deal with…
The adjustable spanner
For Yorkshireman Richard Clyburn (1796/7-1852) to become a consulting engineer in his early 30s, he must have…
Kindertransport
The scheme to remove children under 17 from their homes in pre-WW2 Nazi Germany, Austria, Poland and…
UK fishing waters
For centuries British fishermen went wherever they knew they could get a plentiful catch and top of…