Small Claims
In 1973, when the Small Claims track for legal proceedings was introduced in the UK, it was…
The fire extinguisher
After the Great Fire of London in 1666 there was a gradual move towards organised firefighting (initially…
The Venerable Bede
Bede (672/3-735) was a monk who spent his life in Northumbria, mostly in St. Paul’s Monastery in…
Sandringham Estate
While the Crown owns thousands of properties in the UK, just a few are registered to the…
Restoration Comedy
Given that youth sub-cultures (e.g. punk, hippy, emo, rocker) deliberately set out on an irreverent, anti-establishment path,…
British dialects
At the time of WW2 there were at least 50 distinct British dialects, some with derived names…
Aeroacoustics
With air travel increasing in popularity in the early 1950s, scientists were faced with the new problem…
Literary Festivals
In the land that produced Shakespeare it is unsurprising that many aspire to write their own masterpieces…
The Miners’ Strike of 1984-85
Britain has utilised its vast natural coal resources for 1,000 years and many inventions (including railways) arose…
New Year’s Day
The start of a new year has been set variously at 1st January, 1st March and 25th…
Rounders
An ancient British game called ‘town-ball’, ‘base’ or ‘base-ball’ were the forerunners of the sport of rounders.…
Vicars and Vicarages
The leader (‘incumbent’) of a Church of England parish church is known as a vicar, the equivalent…