‘British stuff’ is a catch-all for something that is particularly British. What is behind Britain’s legends and traditions? Why do we do the things we do at Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day – at any time, come to think of it? What anniversaries are being celebrated in Britain this year, including famous people’s birthdays? Who was St George? St Andrew? St David? What are the recurring events on Britain’s calendar, including bank holidays? The answers to these questions, and more, could be found in ‘British Stuff’.
Britain, the haunted island Tracking down Britain’s most haunted places is a tough mission. The entire British Isles is a place of myths and legends, of ghosts and gods and spirits, where folk memories go back thousands of years. Travelling from the east, the first settlers found these islands at the farthest edge of Europe. […]
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Which anniversaries will be marked in Britain in 2024? Below is a selection of more than 80 noteworthy anniversaries for your interest and amusement, from the Millennium Bug to the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Each one is on someone’s calendar for 2024 – and each one offers a fascinating insight into Britain’s story. This is
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The National Memorial Arboretum is a year-round centre of remembrance and needs to be revisited. Not only should a first visit be mandatory, but also it is one of those places that gives more each time you go. It changes with the seasons of course, but also as trees mature and new memorials are added.
National Memorial Arboretum revisited Read More »
Britain has had an affection for tea and coffee for a similar length of time, but despite (apparently) 95 million cups of coffee being drunk every day in the UK, it is ubiquitous good tea that it is famed for, rather than coffee. It is a different story just across the Channel and throughout mainland
We did. A few other people came along too. Actually, we didn’t only go to London; we went to Slough. And Windsor. And London again. As the Coronation of Charles III was a moment in time, it seems appropriate to share a few inadequate photographs of this experience with you, dear reader, as well as
We went to London for the Coronation Read More »
The coronation of their Majesties The King and his Queen Consort on 6 May 2023 provides a wonderful opportunity to take a look at the institution of monarchy. Of course, the United Kingdom has had a brand new squeaky-clean monarch since 8 September 2022, when the late Queen died. That is the way with the
Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2023? Below is a selection of fifty or so noteworthy occasions for your interest and amusement, from the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 to the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. Each one was on someone’s calendar for 2023 – and each one offers an insight into Britain’s story.
Anniversaries in 2023 Read More »
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to anyone who ventures onto the pages of A Bit About Britain – provided you have also bothered to stay and read something, of course. I am neither sufficiently organised nor inspired to write a Christmas post this year – though I can highly recommend several
Looking back on 2022 Read More »
Someone remonstrated with me the other day, saying that I could do more to promote my books. Being the sort of chap that always takes advice, I have consequently embarked upon a brazen, crass, plug of the most vulgar kind. Buy one of my books! No – buy two! If I publish another, buy that
Astonishingly, some people do not visit A Bit About Britain to read articles on the blog or find places to visit in Britain. Many of the most popular sections of the website are those dealing with different periods of British history, historic timelines, British monarchs and prime ministers. What with a new monarch and two
British history timelines Read More »
Westminster Abbey is part of a World Heritage Site. It has been at the centre of English, and British, state occasions – coronations, weddings, funerals, services of commemoration – since William the Conqueror was crowned there on Christmas Day 1066. In fact, its roots are pre-Conquest. The powerful bishop, archbishop and later saint, Dunstan, established
Royal Westminster Abbey Read More »
In the early evening on Thursday, 8 September 2022, the following announcement appeared on the official Royal website. It was also posted on the railings at Buckingham Palace, where the flag had already been lowered. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and
Queen Elizabeth II Read More »
Does your breakfast have a nationality? Should breakfasts be stateless? Travelling around this great land of ours, it is common to see the option of ‘full [insert adjective as applicable] breakfast’ available on hotel menus. Thus: full English, full Scottish, full Welsh – or even full Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Devonshire, Nether Bottom – whatever seems appropriately
The full British breakfast Read More »
Which anniversaries are being marked in Britain in 2022? Below is a selection of more than sixty noteworthy occasions for you. Each one will be on someone’s calendar for 2022 – and each one offers an insight into Britain’s story. A Bit About Britain usually only highlights significant anniversaries – centenaries, half centuries and quarter
Anniversaries, 2022 Read More »
