Ever since I wrote the post Thomas Harrison – Executed whilst cheerful! who was hung drawn and quartered, I have been thinking about the tulmultuous events leading up to the execution of King Charles I. Regicide as it is known, is very rare in British history and usually when it was comitted, it was done so 1500… Continue reading The Divine Right of Kings and the Execution of King Charles I
Month: August 2018
William Lenthall -The man who risked his life to uphold democracy and defy the King.
Not many people are familiar with William Lenthall but if history were fair then we all would be. For William Lenthall was once the Speaker of the House of Commons and by his actions changed the course of the world forever. On 4 January 1642, King Charles I entered the House of Commons to arrest… Continue reading William Lenthall -The man who risked his life to uphold democracy and defy the King.
ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD
Recently when I was in the area for my Hadrians Wall walk, I took a detour to a place I had long wanted to visited. Not too many miles from the ancestral home of George Washington which I visited on the same trip. Whilst sights such as the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral… Continue reading ST PAUL’S MONASTERY IN JARROW AND THE OLDEST STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN THE WORLD
Spencer Perceval – The only British Prime Minister to be killed in office
It is said that the more things change, the more they say the same. This is perhaps never more true than in May 1812. Britain was in turmoil. Social and political unrest spread had spread across the country, as old economic models clash with new technologies, and the spectre of global trade tariffs loom large.… Continue reading Spencer Perceval – The only British Prime Minister to be killed in office
Petrichor – The sweet smell of falling rain.
It’s a sensation most of us familiar with though if you’re living in much of the Northern Hemisphere then like me, it might not be one you’ve been familiar with recently. The sweet smell of rain or Petrichor. The name was first coined by two Australian scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Thomas in… Continue reading Petrichor – The sweet smell of falling rain.
Amiens and The Hundred Days Offensive
This week marks the centenary of one of the pivotal but less known battle of the Western Front in WW1, Amiens and the more broadly labelled 100 Days Offensive. The Western Front is often categorised as being a static war with little or no progress made by either side despite major attempts costing too many… Continue reading Amiens and The Hundred Days Offensive
Imprisoned childen, phone zombies… do you ever feel like you’re living on another planet?
Whilst walking to the cinema this week in the never-ending heatwave, it occurred to me that something wasn’t quite right. The weather was perfect, the schools are on holiday and yet I didn’t see a single person as I walked the 15 minutes to the cinema at 10.30am on a weekday morning. I couldn’t and… Continue reading Imprisoned childen, phone zombies… do you ever feel like you’re living on another planet?
The Gumball 3000 London to Tokyo 2018
Yesterday when I was giving one of my tours round London, I stumbled across an unexpected sight. A collection of over 100 souped up cars all ready to take place in the Gumball 3000. It wasn’t a total surprise as I seem to come across this event every summer in London, even though the startingn… Continue reading The Gumball 3000 London to Tokyo 2018
Washington Old Hall – The Ancestral Home of George Washington
A few weeks ago when I was walking along Hadrians Wall, I took the opportunity to make a few deviations along the way. One such side-trip was to the ancestral home of George Washington in the aptly named old village of Washington. Washington lies between the large cities of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sunderland and… Continue reading Washington Old Hall – The Ancestral Home of George Washington
Stephen Liddell 