With Halloween just around the corner I thought I would share with you the legend of Spring Heeled Jack who was once infamous in Victorian times and yet is now largely forgotten. Early 19th Century London was a spooky and often dangerous place to be after dark and ghosts were often reported to follow and… Continue reading The Legend of Spring Heeled Jack
Category: history
Day Tour to Portsmouth Historic Dockyards
Following my successful tour last week to Windsor Castle, I was delighted to be asked to take my two lovely guests from Australia to Portsmouth Historic Dockyards. It’s not always an obvious choice at least for overseas visitors staying in London but it’s always a very busy place with visitors from all over the country… Continue reading Day Tour to Portsmouth Historic Dockyards
A pilgrimage to Walsingham and north Norfolk churches
Yesterday began in a little bit of a strange way. As I always do, I laid my clothes out the previous night so that when I awoke early, I could dress in the dark without anyone waking up. This time I had my only white top which I put on. After a while my shoulder… Continue reading A pilgrimage to Walsingham and north Norfolk churches
A reigny visit to Sandringham House
Todays blog may well be a little shorter than those so far this week. This is partly due to a rather surreal turn of events this morning which I will explain tomorrow and has somewhat delayed me but also as yesterday we went to Sandringham House. Sandringham is one of the homes that The Queen… Continue reading A reigny visit to Sandringham House
The ruins of Binham Abbey and then on to Holkham Hall
Yesterday we decided to visit the stately home of Holkham Hall and set off late in the morning having taken a leisurely breakfast more cups of tea than I usually would. It was another sunny day and if it were to be the last summers day of the year then there could be no complaints… Continue reading The ruins of Binham Abbey and then on to Holkham Hall
A trip to the beach by steam train
On day 2 of our holiday to Norfolk we decided to go to the seaside town of Sheringham but before that we put out some of the goodies which we bought yesterday in Holt. The wind chimes above we got from an Aladdins Cave of a shop which was full of goodies from India, China… Continue reading A trip to the beach by steam train
The Prisoner of War who took ‘keeping a promise’ to the extreme
Earlier this week an amazing tale came to light about a British Army officer who had been captured during World War One and who learnt that his mother was dying and so was granted the freedom to return home on the condition that he returned back to the POW camp. As the 100th anniversary of… Continue reading The Prisoner of War who took ‘keeping a promise’ to the extreme
The Secrets of The Real Downton Abbey
September sees the return to our televisions screens of Downton Abbey in the UK and in January to the USA (more on that in the next week or two). Downton Abbey is actually the real life home of Lord Carnarvon at Highclere Castle set in a massive estate in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. Whilst the… Continue reading The Secrets of The Real Downton Abbey
Slavery Remembrance Day, Abolitionists and modern day slavery
The 23rd August is the annual Slavery remembrance day and is held on the date which remembers the revolt of the slaves on Haiti in 1791 It should be noted that slavery had always occurred throughout the world. Everyone from the Romans to The Mongols to The Vikings captured and used slaves. Much of Eastern… Continue reading Slavery Remembrance Day, Abolitionists and modern day slavery
Eyam – The Plague Village of Self Sacrifice
Of all the posts I have written in the last year or so, one of the most popular has been on The Black Death or The Plague as it is known. This week it was revealed the archaeological work continues right beneath the streets of one of the busiest parts of London with the graves… Continue reading Eyam – The Plague Village of Self Sacrifice
Stephen Liddell 