With the Solar Eclipse about to hit the USA and a partial eclipse in many other places including the UK, it interesting to note that what is now a special tourist event was once something to be feared. Whilst it is quite well known that comets were once harbingers of doom in days gone by… Continue reading The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!
Category: history
Posts predominantly history related.
Peter The Wild Boy
In the summer of 1725 an uncouth youth was found in the forest of Hertswold near Hameln in northern Germany. It was thought the boy was aged about 10 years old though he walked on all fours and fed on grass and leaves. ‘A naked, brownish, ‘A naked, brownish, black haired creature’, he would run… Continue reading Peter The Wild Boy
I’ve just had my DNA tested
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
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
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
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
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.
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
The British who helped build The White House
In a recent interview Dr William Seale, author and historian, said that Scots in particular were sought out for the project given their expertise in stone masonry and that a group of men who had been working on Edinburgh New Town were hired for the job. They had been found through Edinburgh Lodge Number 1,… Continue reading The British who helped build The White House
The mysterious case of Lord Lucan
It was one of the most mysterious disappearances in the modern era when Lord Richard John Bingham, Seventh Earl of Lucan seemingly vanished without trace. These days he is often mentioned in the same breath as Elvis Presley being seen sighted working in a Fish and Chip Shop in Burnley but the light-hearted jokes paper… Continue reading The mysterious case of Lord Lucan
Stephen Liddell 