Badminton
Not only did the 10th Duke of Beaufort (1900-84) inaugurate the Badminton Horse Trials, but his grandfather…
Royal Assent
After a Bill passes through both Houses of Parliament, it must have Royal Assent to become an…
The diving bell
Dr. Edmund Halley (1656-1742), of comet fame, lived in the era of seafaring buccaneers who sometimes sank…
Moles
There are two schools of thought about our estimated 41,400,000 moles and their underground activities. One is…
Food words
We mainly have the French to thank for many of our food words (like omelette and mustard),…
Dame June Whitfield
Londoner Dame June Whitfield (1925-2018) studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art during WW2. Beginning with…
Nationalist parties
Considering that the UK has four constituent nations, it was perhaps inevitable that nationalist parties would emerge…
The Official Secrets Act
Concerns over maintaining the confidentiality of information regarding Britain’s national security have parallelled the changing world of…
National Sandcastle Competition
North Devon is blessed with many long, sandy beaches, three of which have played host to the…
The Beveridge Report
Sir William Beveridge (1879-1963) took many years to develop his plan for social reform as detailed in…
West Kennet Long Barrow
West Kennet Long Barrow (WKLB), near the Avebury stone circles in Wiltshire, is one of 180 barrows…
Orthodox Christianity
Before the Norman Conquest of 1066, Britain’s practice of Christianity was ‘orthodox’, i.e. faithful to the original…