Monthly Archives: June 2015

The British Schindler Sir Nicholas Winton and the Kindertransport

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

Not many people have heard of Sir Nicholas Winton even in his own country but his actions undoubtedly mean that thousands of people are alive today that would not have been without him. The Kindertransport has its origins on 15th … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, WW2 | Tagged BBC, charity, Geertruida Wijsmuller, history, Jewish, Kindertransport, Life, refugees, Sir Nicholas Winton, Trains, UK Politics, war, WW2 | 3 Comments

My tribute to James Horner – Movie composer extraordinaire

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

I was sad to hear last night about the death of composer and musician James Horner who died as a result of the crash of solo plane he was flying. Despite being only 61 years of age, James Horner has … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Movies and Films, Popular Culture, Uncategorized | Tagged Braveheart, Composer, Death, Films, Hollywood, James Horner, Life, movies, Music, soundtracks, Star Trek, The Perfect Storm, Titanic | 8 Comments

200 years after Waterloo… the Napoleon small man syndrome!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

Two hundred years today the Battle of Waterloo was fought in Belgium which saw Napoleon defeated in battle by the Duke of Wellington and other allies from across Europe. It gave Europe almost a century of peace, incidentally 99 years … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, Politics | Tagged bad hair day, Dads Army, Duke of Wellington, height, history, Hitler, Kim Jong-un, Life, Napoleon, Politics, Putin, short man syndrome, Waterloo | 5 Comments

The full text of The Magna Carta

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

The Ancient Greeks were amongst the first to enjoy very limited freedoms and some found themselves to live without a master. Their great rivals the Persians similarly had equal rights for men and women and all races were free … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, history, Politics | Tagged Danelaw, Freedom, history, King John, Liberty, Life, Politics, The Magna Carta, UK Politics | 5 Comments

Yours sincerely – The Story of Valedictions

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

Like myself, you might not have been sure what exactly a Valediction is but you probably use them almost every day. Valedictions are those sign-offs that we use at the bottom of emails and even letters, should anyone remember … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, writing | Tagged Emails, English, Grammar, history, Kind regards, kisses, Letters, Life, Rules for letter writing, Valedictions, writing etiquette, Yours Faithfully, Yours Sincerely | 8 Comments

Kindle vs iBooks or making waves in publishing

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

I’ve never been very good at promoting my books. Like many authors, it is not something that interests me or excites me. I like writing, I like making sales and I love receiving reviews but I’m not so keen on … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, writing | Tagged Amazon, books, Ebook, ibooks, iTunes, Kindle, Life, Paperbacks, reading, Sales, Self-Promotion, Twitter, writing | 6 Comments

The Angel of The North

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

Many cities and regions are defined by their buildings. statues and works of art. Some such as The Great Wall of China, Leaning Tower of Pisa achieved this status despite being originally built for very different reasons. Others like the Eiffel … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, history, Life, Northumberland and Durham, Science and Engineering, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Angels, Art, engineering, history, Life, Newcastle, northumbria, photos, Quayside, The Angel of The North, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | 4 Comments

My first England Grand Tour

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Stephen Liddell

I’ve been very busy these last few weeks with my tours but wanted to share a little about one particular tour as it was a first, well at least for me. The last 8 days or so I have been … Continue reading →