Events

Significant events, festivals, or celebrations in Britain.

Anniversaries, 2019

Anniversaries, Abbey Road, 1969, Beatles

Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2019?  Here is a selection of noteworthy events and birthdays for you – each one was on someone’s calendar for 2019 – and each one offers a fascinating insight into Britain’s story.  A Bit About Britain has only highlighted significant anniversaries – centenaries, half centuries and quarter centuries.  …

Anniversaries, 2019 Read More »

Kings and carols

King's College, Cambridge

Every Christmas Eve, millions of people all round the world tune in to their TVs or radios to listen to carols from King’s – or ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ – from King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The broadcasts are an essential part of Christmas for many; for some, they mark the beginning of the Christmas celebrations, …

Kings and carols Read More »

Easter, eggs, bunnies and buns

Easter, daffodils

It should be simple enough to write a bit about Easter, I thought.  After all, it is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, and a good deal of Britain’s heritage, at least for the last fourteen centuries or so, has been informed by a Christian tradition.  So we should be sure of our …

Easter, eggs, bunnies and buns Read More »

Anniversaries, 2018

Hadrian's Wall

Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2018?  The end of public hanging, votes for women, the first traffic light, the Roman invasion and Mick Jagger’s 75th birthday?  Have a quick scan through the eclectic list of selected events below: though some may have slipped your mind, each one was on someone’s British calendar for …

Anniversaries, 2018 Read More »

Christmas at Liberty

Liberty London, shop window, Christmas 2014

Don’t think I haven’t noticed that people are talking about Christmas.  In our local, The Olde Ruptured Duck, decorations started to appear weeks ago and nearby houses are lit up like, well, Christmas trees.  I’ve seen things on TV too, since about October: y’know, shops and what-not, each flogging their own version of seasonal perfection …

Christmas at Liberty Read More »

St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland

St Andrew, St Andrews, Fife

Scotland’s national saint, St Andrew, has his day on 30th November.  As well as being the patron saint of Scotland, St Andrew is the patron saint of Amalfi, Barbados, Greece, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine, singers, spinsters, would-be mothers, fishmongers and fishermen, gout and sore throats.  According to the Scottish Government’s website, St Andrew’s Day “is …

St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland Read More »

London’s Lord Mayor’s Show

The Lord Mayor's Show, London

What are you doing on the 2nd Saturday in November?  If you want to experience a little pageantry – well, quite a lot, actually – get yourself up, down, over, across, or whatever, to the City of London for the 800-year old annual Lord Mayor’s Show.  Other cities may well have their own, rudimentary, mayoral …

London’s Lord Mayor’s Show Read More »

Village open gardens

Open gardens, local events, Great Britain

The British like to see themselves as keen gardeners. Indeed, some consider gardening to be a national pastime and would be mildly surprised to discover that people in other countries do it too. Of course, as an island race, we often prefer well-ordered borders; for some, it is a perennial fixation. According to the Horticultural …

Village open gardens Read More »

Whitby Abbey and the Easter problem

Whitby Abbey, the ruins of the abbey church

The Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby is celebrated for its fish and chips, the semi-precious gemstone, jet, its associations with the explorer Captain Cook, Dracula – and its abbey.  It is less well-known as the place where the timing of Easter was decided. “When is Easter this year?” I hear you say; I’m very glad …

Whitby Abbey and the Easter problem Read More »

Anniversaries, 2017

Sgt Pepper, Beatles, 1967

Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2017?  Have a quick scan through the eclectic list of events below, some of which may have slipped your mind; they were bound to have been on someone’s British calendar for 2017. 1650th anniversary of multiple assaults and near anarchy In 367AD, near simultaneous raids on Roman Britain …

Anniversaries, 2017 Read More »

The custom and origins of Christmas crackers

Christmas cracker, Christmas traditions

We take traditions for granted but, when you think about it, some of them are pretty weird.  Amongst the more bizarre British Christmas customs are Christmas crackers.  I refer, not to dry biscuits eaten with cheese and pâté, but to short tubes of cardboard covered with coloured paper, twisted at both ends, each typically containing …

The custom and origins of Christmas crackers Read More »

Scroll to Top