Significant events, festivals, or celebrations in 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 »
All Events Yorkshire and the Humber
St George is the patron saint of England and St George’s Day is on 23rd April. Every year. Curiously enough, 23rd April is also the day that William Shakespeare, who put the words “Cry ‘God for Harry! England and Saint George’ “ into the mouth of his King Henry V, died; and it might even
For England and St George! Read More »
British Stuff Events
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 »
Yorkshire and the Humber
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 »
British Stuff History
Do you believe in Christmas magic? Some years ago, when my children were very small, I was dismayed to hear my son pipe up that little Johnny at school said that his dad had told him there was no such person as Santa Claus. I knew the family kept Christmas and wondered how such a
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 »
British Stuff Events
A brief history of Christmas cards Of course, there is nothing new about the custom of contact at Christmas. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole (1808-82), a civil servant, inventor and author, was juggling his heavy workload with his habit of writing Christmas letters to his many friends and relatives. Cole thought that sending a
A bit about Christmas cards Read More »
British Stuff Events
Amazing; moving; humbling; impressive: words you could choose to describe the annual National Service of Remembrance held in London on Remembrance Sunday, the second Sunday in November. Thousands attend every year; thousands watch it on TV; thousands more attend similar, albeit slightly more modest, services throughout the United Kingdom – and beyond. It is an
National Service of Remembrance Read More »
British Stuff Events London
The local supermarket is pretending to be the props department for “Night of the Living Dead”. There are plastic skulls, axes, hairy hands, spiders, broomsticks, masks more gruesome than many of the weekend shoppers in the Trafford Centre – and even life-size ravens with glowing red eyes. Also, a plastic fish skeleton – the relevance
It is hard to associate the Northamptonshire village of Ashby St Ledgers with one of the most notorious terrorist plots of all time. In fact, despite nestling between Dunstable’s tired industrial estates and the fearsome Daventry International Rail Terminal to the north, you may actually struggle to associate Ashby St Ledgers with the 21st century
Terror plot planned in peaceful village Read More »
East Midlands
What have William the Conqueror, Shakespeare, Peter Rabbit, the Big Friendly Giant, Bobby Moore and David Cameron all got in common? Answer: they were all associated with anniversaries in 2016. Of course, some anniversaries were very kindly highlighted by publicists, who ultimately decide which momentous dates will be remembered in Britain. 950th anniversary of the
Anniversaries, 2016 Read More »
British Stuff History