Today’s post isn’t one that I wrote. I’ve been on the internet way before there was a world-wide web. When it was all Gophers and FTPs in the early 1990’s and even in the late 1980’s on local Bulletin Boards or BBS. In some ways the internet of old was a bit better than today;… Continue reading The oldest living English language
Tag: Northumberland
Visiting the home of Joseph Hedley whose murder in 1826 shook the world!
A few weeks ago whilst out on a 11 day tour of Newcastle. Northumbria, Durham and the Lake District, with the lovely Lorraine from Tasmania, I had the opportunity to revisit the Beamish Open Air Museum. The working and living museum is 50 years into an incredible 200 year plan to preserve and re-enact for… Continue reading Visiting the home of Joseph Hedley whose murder in 1826 shook the world!
A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?
Huddled on the the battered coast of Northumberland you’ll come across many an ancient ruin, castle or church. There is more than enough to spend an hour or so at St Aidan, so named after the saint who died on the spot in 651AD. I first visited this church around 40 years ago and still… Continue reading A close look at a grave of a Pirate or is it?
A 1915 piece of fake news… with good intentions
When German Naval Airship Zeppelin L9 appeared over Blyth on the evening of 14 April 1915, it was only the second time bombs had been dropped on England. Although nobody was killed, it marked the beginning of a series of raids on the North-East which would kill many dozens of people. The Zeppelin L9, on… Continue reading A 1915 piece of fake news… with good intentions
The Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862
My blog is full of disasters from beer floods in London to Grace Darling – A Victorian Heroine. burning building self-sacrifices to heroic against the odd tales of survival I Am The Army – The Incredible Story of William Brydon Many of them remain well known or at least just buried beneath the surface of public consciousness but… Continue reading The Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862
I met perhaps the most famous tree in the world at Sycamore Gap
If you think of how many trees are famous; there are quite a few of them but compared to the countless billions of trees on the planet they are really few and far between. Some famous trees are no longer here such as the cherry tree that George Washington cut down or the famous Californian… Continue reading I met perhaps the most famous tree in the world at Sycamore Gap
First Footing at New Year
First Footing is still very much alive in modern Britain. A survey shows that nearly a third of people in Britain say that First Footing continues to play a part in their New Year celebrations. The greatest number of followers of the First Footing tradition (when the first person over your threshold after the clock… Continue reading First Footing at New Year
Alston Holiday -Day 2 Hexham and Hadrians Wall
For day two of our holiday we visited the lively little market town of Hexham, notable for amongst other things its magnificent Abbey Cathedral. People have worshipped on this site for nearly 1400 years. On top of the moors and in my “home” county. Whitfield Church in an area known as Little Switerzland Hexham Abbey … Continue reading Alston Holiday -Day 2 Hexham and Hadrians Wall
Alston Holiday Day 1
I’m away on holiday for a few days and staying in an old farmhouse, 500 metres/ 1600 feet up in the northern Pennines, an official area of outstanding beauty towards the top of England near the border with Scotland. Going up the M6 motorway approaching the eastern fringes of The Lake District Hart… Continue reading Alston Holiday Day 1
Stephen Liddell 