Category: history

Canterbury Cathedral:- The murder and martyrdom of Thomas Becket

Recently on the 29th December, a remembrance service was held in Canterbury Cathedral. The service is held every year as it has been for centuries, in memory of one of most dramatic and tragic figures of early Medieval English history, Thomas Becket. The death of Thomas Becket. is one of the most dramatic and well-known… Continue reading Canterbury Cathedral:- The murder and martyrdom of Thomas Becket

Why I did all my New Year Resolutions at Christmas.

So did you have a nice Christmas?  I hope you did.  Mine was everything that I hoped it would be, well mostly.  Having said goodbye to our last paying guests on Airbnb my wife and I had the house to ourselves pretty much for the first time since mid September.  We love having guests stay… Continue reading Why I did all my New Year Resolutions at Christmas.

The end of the world is nigh: A brief history of Armageddon

It seems hard to believe that this may be my final ever blog, at least if you are one of the millions of people who are caught up in the Mayan calendar hysteria gripping parts of the world.  According to the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar,the 21st December 2012 is the year 5125 which is the… Continue reading The end of the world is nigh: A brief history of Armageddon

Guess who is coming for dinner

Well I recently was tagged by my friend and blogger at Tea with a Pirate whose blog I have long enjoyed as his interests match mine so precisely with travelling tales particularly from the Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia as well as being the home of the most delicately crafted Haiku’s on WordPress. My… Continue reading Guess who is coming for dinner

Armistice Day – Remembrance Sunday

Sunday sees the third, final and probably by far the most important in the triumvirate of special days in the UK autumn calendar, Armistice Day. Regular readers of my blog will know that I take an interest in visiting memorials around the country (and indeed the world) and Sunday will see the whole nation do… Continue reading Armistice Day – Remembrance Sunday

Remember, Remember The 5th Of November

The second in our group of 3 special days at this time of year is Guy Fawkes Night, now more commonly known as Bonfire Night. Not having an Independence Day or an official National Day, Guy Fawkes Night is a day that children look forward to for many weeks in the U.K.  From an early… Continue reading Remember, Remember The 5th Of November

Halloweens of past and present

This week sees the beginning of special part of the calendar which for various historic reasons see 3 of the most important events of the calendar taking place in what would otherwise be a dark and dreary part of the year. October 31st is of course Halloween and to celebrate we have a Full Moon,… Continue reading Halloweens of past and present

All about Attingham Park (and Croft Castle too)!

Today my blog returns us to the green hills of Shropshire and our final full day of our holiday towards the end of September.  We chose to spend our day at Attingham Park, a grand house a few miles east of Shrewsbury. Compared to the houses we had visited earlier, Attingham seemed to be on… Continue reading All about Attingham Park (and Croft Castle too)!

A visit to Stokesay Castle and then Shrewsbury.

Resuming with postings of my recent week long holiday in Shropshire and we are now at thursday.  The floods and rains had subsided and we were in serious danger of seeing blue skies and indeed by mid-morning we were all started by the appearance of this yellow-white disc in the sky.   According to the history… Continue reading A visit to Stokesay Castle and then Shrewsbury.