Following the sad events in Paris last week, an alleged terrorist expert by the name of Steven Emerson appeared on Fox News over the weekend and proclaimed that there were areas of London that had Muslim gangs patrolling the streets to enforce an Islamic dress-code as well as incredibly writing off entire cities such as Birmingham as… Continue reading The Fox News Guide To Britain
Category: history
I Salute You – The History of Saluting
Saluting is primarily but not exclusively a military sign of respect with a very long history. This week it hit the news that some senior officers have become upset as recruits are not showing them the respect they are due and recently none other than President Obama have been criticised for taking saluting seriously and… Continue reading I Salute You – The History of Saluting
The Lost Treasures of Bad King John (plus other treasures both found and missing).
Have you ever wanted to get rich quick? Long before Nigerian spammers were in on the act there was the art of metal-detecting. Often metal-detecting enthusiasts are derided as being a little bit odd and depicted as spending their lives wondering around barren fields with not much to show for it but then one of them… Continue reading The Lost Treasures of Bad King John (plus other treasures both found and missing).
The Christmas Truce and football match of 1914.
Whilst we are getting ready to enjoy or in some cases already enjoying our Christmas in 2014, it is worth remembering what was happening 100 years ago not so far from where I am writing today. In what is perhaps one of the most inhuman situations in history a series of events played out that… Continue reading The Christmas Truce and football match of 1914.
Diary Rooms – Being human on the front line in Afghanistan
Following my recent review of Kajaki, I was hit by an unexpected frenzy of interest from those involved with the film participants in the war in Afghanistan in generally. One interesting email I received was from Derek Eland, himself a former Paratrooper who had this time visited Afghanistan in the role of an official war… Continue reading Diary Rooms – Being human on the front line in Afghanistan
Shibam – The original high-rise city
Even going into London as frequently as I do it is hard to keep track of all the new skyscrapers going up with their weird names. The Gherkin, Shard, Walkie-Talkie or as it used to be called The Death Star due to its propensity of reflecting sun into some sort of laser, melting parked cars… Continue reading Shibam – The original high-rise city
The Clifton Suspension Bridge celebrates 150 years!
Whilst not on the main tourists routes, the Clifton Suspension Bridge is an incredible sight and this weekend reached its 150th birthday since it was opened in 1864. The bridge spans the Avon Gorge near Briston and is a remarkable sight either from on the bridge itself or from the river or road that runs… Continue reading The Clifton Suspension Bridge celebrates 150 years!
Red Letter Day
Have you ever heard of the phrase that Today is a Red Letter Day? It used to be quite common but now is just one of those sayings we vaguely remember from school. It may well be for you and you’d don’t even know it. The origins of this saying go right back to the… Continue reading Red Letter Day
Kajaki: A True Story – Movie Review
Until a few weeks ago I thought 2014 was turning out to be pretty weak for films but recently having watched the excellent movies The Imitation Game and Mr Turner I became intrigued by a trailer I had seen detailing a true story from the war in Afghanistan. The events depicted in Kajaki are based… Continue reading Kajaki: A True Story – Movie Review
PS. Thanks for being my hero
As long-time and regular readers will be aware, I have been for some time been interested in a particular family relation of mine, Serjeant Reuel Dunn who served in the Royal Flying Corps, the precursor to the RAF. He was an experience flyer himself and had a number of kills to his name before bad… Continue reading PS. Thanks for being my hero
Stephen Liddell 