I’ve always wanted to have my DNA tested and short of getting myself arrested, it seemed the best way to do this was to pay for one of those home-delivery kits. It must be said that I know quite a lot about my likely heritage and have written before about being related to various Anglo-Saxon… Continue reading I’ve just had my DNA tested
Month: July 2017
They Called It Passchendaele
For the last three years or so, I have been post occasional extracts from my WW1 concise history book Lest We Forget, published by Endeavour Press of London. July 31st marks the centennial of yet another of the landmark actions of the First World War, namely the dreadful Third Battle of Passchendaele. Passchendaele is another… Continue reading They Called It Passchendaele
The Do’s and Dont’s when you meet The Queen
If you are ever fortunate or indeed unfortunate enough to meet The Queen then there are certain protocols that are expected. Indeed when meeting any royal, there are rules about who can speak first, where to look, what to call them, how you should stand and when you should sit. It is a mysterious… Continue reading The Do’s and Dont’s when you meet The Queen
Prince Eustace and Joffrey
Once again, much of the television watching world is gripped by the latest installments of Game of Thrones. Not myself sadly as I don’t have access to the channel that broadcasts it in the U.K. so face another long and perilous 7 months before the next Bluray Boxset comes out. As incredible as it may… Continue reading Prince Eustace and Joffrey
Predicting the weather with Old Wives Tales
Most of us are familiar with Old Wives Tales, traditional pearls of wisdom from sources lost through the ages but seemingly tapping into an eternal truth that is only revealed to older married women whose only qualification is a lifetime of experience. They cover all areas of life but not least the weather. Despite being… Continue reading Predicting the weather with Old Wives Tales
My new tour – Sacred, Secret, Gardens of London
One of the joys of doing walking tours around London is that I often come across new areas, secret oasis almost, in the midst of one the largest and busiest cities in the world. I find that my tourists often prefer the hidden gems even over some of the big tourist sites or indeed big… Continue reading My new tour – Sacred, Secret, Gardens of London
Missing Mam, 4 years on.
It’s now well over 4 years since I unexpectedly lost my mother and though I would very much like to say things have settled into a new normal, they really haven’t. Or if they have then the new normal really isn’t a very nice place. However there are a few things that I’d like to… Continue reading Missing Mam, 4 years on.
15 of the best war films of all time.
It’s only a week now until the release of my most anticipated film of the year, Dunkirk. Despite being pivotal to the entire WW2, the brave and often selfless actions of the British Expeditionary Force and allied French and Belgian troops is often forgotten outside these shores. A matter that will be surely changed with… Continue reading 15 of the best war films of all time.
Do Accents Hold You Back?
As George Bernhard Shaw commented, ‘It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.Hello madam, how do you do? or alternatively Aye up Hello madam, how do you do? or alternatively Aye up pet, how’s it ganning like? If you were to meet someone on… Continue reading Do Accents Hold You Back?
The story of the first Black Man in the British Army
A few weeks in a new episode of Dr Who, there was something of a story about one of the characters in that weeks episode. It involved a platoon of Victorian British soldiers who ended up working on some alien mining complex under the surface of the planet Mars. Rather than the actual setting being… Continue reading The story of the first Black Man in the British Army
Stephen Liddell 