Which anniversaries are being 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…
Looking back on 2022
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…
The full British breakfast
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,…
Anniversaries, 2022
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 Instagram
A Bit About Britain is on Instagram. Just thought I’d mention it. If anyone reading this is also on Instagram, plugging stuff about Britain like wot I do, let’s follow one another, shall we? Every little helps. I am currently…
The 2021 Census
The UK census is a decennial occurrence, held since 1801, with some regional or national variations and the exception of 1941 (when we had other things on our minds). Therefore, 2021 is a census year – at least, it is…
Submit a guest post
Received wisdom is that guest blogging is a good idea. A guest post can help increase website readership and traffic, and can be an excellent way of baby writers helping one another. Being a bright sort of chap-chapess, you probably…
Britain’s High Days and Holidays – Smorgasbord Book Review
The lovely Sally Cronin has published a review of ‘A Bit About Britain’s High Days and Holidays’ on her Smorgasbord Blog Magazine. “This book is not only an entertaining and informative guide to the history of the high days and…
Anniversaries, 2021
Which anniversaries will be marked in Britain in 2021? Here is a selection of noteworthy events and birthdays for you. Each one will be on someone’s calendar for 2021 – and each one offers a little insight into Britain’s story.…
Who we lost in 2020
Which celebrities did Britain say goodbye to in 2020? It is a depressingly long list, but a reminder of some wonderful people, and of our recent past. Most – though certainly not all – of these individuals achieved great things…
2020 – a review
2020 was an exceptional year. It began with the US execution by drone of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, horrendous bushfires still raging in parts of Australia – and things just got better from there. I have picked…
High Days and Holidays
Just published and available from Amazon – A Bit About Britain’s High Days and Holidays. High Days and Holidays are special occasions, celebrations, or commemorations. They occur throughout the year, some wanted, some not, some remembered more than others. In…
A bit of a plug about Britain’s history
This is (mainly) an unashamed plug for ‘A Bit about Britain’s History’, the book. (No, no – the film’s not out yet, thank you for asking). So if you know all there is to know about British history (because you’ve…
Britain’s biggest, smallest, tallest, oldest …
What is Britain’s longest river, highest mountain, smallest city, oldest pub, longest road, best-selling album, longest-reigning monarch? If you don’t already have this essential knowledge at your finger-tips, look no further. Why? – because the answer to these, and other…