The Flushing Toilet
Sir John Harington (1560-1612) invented the flushing toilet for his own manor house in Somerset and his…
Welly wanging
This is a sport, honestly. The ordinary welly, or Wellington boot, has predecessors going back to the…
The Domesday Book
The invasion of Britain by William the Conqueror in 1066 was devastating for the English nobility, because…
Remembrance Sunday
After World War 1, also known as the Great War, a two-minute silence was observed every year…
The Quakers
The Quakers (or the ‘Religious Society of Friends’) were one of the breakaway religious groups which formed during…
Cat idioms
An idiom is a phrase which should not be taken literally but whose meaning is alluded to…
Volunteering
There is a myriad of opportunities for volunteering in the UK and it is doubtful that there…
Punk fashion
Following on from the ‘swinging sixties‘ came the ‘punk’ youth culture of the 1970s. Naturally, the aim…
Magna Carta Libertatum
King John (1166-1216) has two claims to fame: as the usurping Prince John of the Robin Hood…
State Pensions
The Old-Age Pensions Act of 1908 was the first UK law on state pensions. Only the poorest…
Saxon treasure at Sutton Hoo
In 1938-9 Basil Brown (1888-1977) carried out a series of archaeological digs in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, his…
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is on 17th March because he died in Ireland on that day in 461.…