Tag Archives: Life

The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, Science and Engineering | Tagged Astronomy, Babylon, Christopher Columbus, Eclipses, Isandlwana, King Henry I, Life, Superstition, The Great American Eclipse | 6 Comments

The Do’s and Dont’s when you meet The Queen

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

If you are ever fortunate or indeed unfortunate enough to meet The Queen then there are certain protocols that are expected. Indeed when meeting any royal, there are rules about who can speak first, where to look, what to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, Life, News | Tagged China, chivalry, Commonwealth Day, etiquette, Life, Manners, President XI, Royal Family, The Queen | 7 Comments

Predicting the weather with Old Wives Tales

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

Most of us are familiar with Old Wives Tales, traditional pearls of wisdom from sources lost through the ages but seemingly tapping into an eternal truth that is only revealed to older married women whose only qualification is a lifetime … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life | Tagged English, Idioms, Life, Old Wives Tales, Red Sky At Night, Sayings, Straight from the Horse's Mouth, Weather | 3 Comments

Do Accents Hold You Back?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

As George Bernhard Shaw commented, ‘It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.Hello madam, how do you do? or alternatively Aye up Hello madam, how do you do? or … Continue reading →

Posted in Heritage, Life, Opinion | Tagged Accentism, Accents, Discrimination, English, Jobs, Life, Prejudice, speaking, Workplace | 3 Comments

The story of the first Black Man in the British Army

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Life, television | Tagged Africa, Battle of Ginnis, Dr Who, Durham, First Black man in the army, history, Khartoum, Life, Mahdi, Mars, Sudan | Leave a comment

Crossing The River Thames By Cable Car

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

Sometimes when I am running tours, I get to do new things even in my home city. Of course, that isn’t too hard when you live in London as not only is there a 2,000 year old back catalogue of … Continue reading →

Posted in London, Travel, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Cable Car, Emirates Airline, Greenwich, Life, London, O2, River Thames, Travel, Video, Ye Olde England Tours | 5 Comments

A brief history of Milkmen

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Stephen Liddell

If you’re anything like me then if you cast your mind back to around 7am or so then up until the late 1980’s you’d likely be very familiar with the jingle of milk bottles and the heavy clunk as they … Continue reading →