Being the Archbishop of Canterbury is probably not the easiest job in the world. You might have a nice palace in London and an entourage of officials around you but there is no doubt lots of travelling, meetings to have and near constant flak from big business, the media, government and the population at large.… Continue reading The Terrible Tale of Ælfheah – Archbishop of Canterbury
Category: Cool Britannia
A tragic hero, forgotten in his own time but now remembered in ours.
Whilst out with his metal detector on the muddy foreshore of Thameside, amateur historian and enthusiast Tobias Neto stumbled on a very small but very special piece of history in December 2016. It was a medal, a VC or Victoria Cross, the highest medal for valour possible in the United Kingdom and old Commonwealth… Continue reading A tragic hero, forgotten in his own time but now remembered in ours.
Queuing by the numbers
There are few things more British than queuing or Standing In Line as it is called in some places. It’s often said that we will stand behind a queue of one and I’ve seen that quite a few times. It’s one of those characteristics like a stiff upper lip, a pot of tea, talking about… Continue reading Queuing by the numbers
From the Palace to the Jungle
You don’t have to have been to London to know what The Household Cavalry look like. With their bright red uniforms, highly polish breastplates and distinctive tasseled helmets. Their traditions date back to 1680 and are the personal mounted escort of The Queen and to a degree, the public face of the Army to the… Continue reading From the Palace to the Jungle
Up Helly Aa – The Modern Day Viking Festival
This coming Tuesday sees one of the most spectacular event of the British cultural calendar though it is a long from most people in the British Isles. It is known as Up Helly Aa and takes place in the town of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. I’ve always wanted to go to the Shetlands, partly… Continue reading Up Helly Aa – The Modern Day Viking Festival
140 London Underground Facts
Some people say that we are living in a post-fact world. This epic list of facts relating to the London Underground says otherwise! So whether you use it every day or just see it on movies, here are some facts that only Fox News could ever disagree with. 1. The average speed on the Underground is… Continue reading 140 London Underground Facts
The Bacton Altar Cloth Revealed To Be The Only Surviving Gown of Queen Elizabeth I
One of the things I like to do both when I am giving tours or merely pottering around the countryside in my own time is to stop off an explore village churches. Each one is a veritable box of delights and you can never tell what you will find inside. Almost always there will be… Continue reading The Bacton Altar Cloth Revealed To Be The Only Surviving Gown of Queen Elizabeth I
A Cute Salute At Windsor Castle
It’s not often if ever I post anything considered vaguely cute on my blog but having seen this yesterday, I thought it was too good not to share. The footage of four-year-old Marshall Scott who visited Windsor Castle on Wednesday to celebrate his 4th birthday has gone viral after someone filmed his adorable salute standing… Continue reading A Cute Salute At Windsor Castle
A timely Sherlock Holmes tour of London
Originally posted on Luxereporter:
It’s 130 years since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Holmes novel and his character is, after numerous incarnations on screens large and small, probably going stronger now than it has since the early 20th century. Back in the 1880s, though, Holmes’ creator wasn’t finding life particularly easy. He…
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub & The Rude Parrot of Fleet Street
Following on from my discovery and subsequent blog post on John “Mad Jack” Mytton – The craziest man in history! I was overjoyed to stumble across another hilarious character of history whilst out on a Charles Dickens Walking Tour on friday. Everything was going well and then we reached one of the points of the tour, the… Continue reading Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub & The Rude Parrot of Fleet Street
Stephen Liddell 