Prime Minister’s Questions
Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) began as a concession to elderly Prime Ministers. In 1881, when PM Gladstone…
Paganism
‘Pagan’ has in the past been used as a derogatory label for an uneducated, unrefined peasant, but…
Pink Floyd
Active from 1965 to 1995, Pink Floyd set the standard for pyrotechnics at rock concerts and were…
The first king of Scotland
Up to the early ninth century, the Scots and the Picts had not yet unified to form…
Political parties
Newspapers and TV focus heavily on just two political parties ~ Conservative and Labour ~ but there…
The Maunder Minimum
Annie Russell Maunder (1868-1947) and her husband Edward Walter Maunder (1851-1928) were the first scientists to analyse…
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Sir Noel Coward (1899-1973) was a prolific playwright, composer and actor, whose wit shines through all his…
Caxton’s printing press
Kent-born William Caxton (c.1422-91) was the first to bring the printing press to Britain and to publish…
Family responsibilities
Family responsibilities are central to the British way of life. Most of us have a ‘family tree’…
May Day
May Day is on 1st May and it is an ancient pagan celebration of the seasonal warming…
Harry Potter
The ‘Harry Potter‘ series of seven fantasy novels was written by Joanne Rowling (pen name J.K. Rowling)…
Income tax
Income tax was first used to finance wars. This began in 1799 with the Napoleonic wars and…