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It is feared that there may be just one million hedgehogs left in Britain. This compares to about 36 million during the 1960s. About 150,000 hedgehogs are killed on our roads every year. With this in mind, England’s first ‘hedgehog crossing’ road signs have recently been launched in several Borough Councils around the country. The...

You may worry that your letter will be lost in the post, but you probably don’t worry that your letter may be eaten by snails. But perhaps it is time to start. Especially if your letter is being posted in rural Northumberland. It seems some hungry snails there have developed a taste for eating the...

All in the month of September Bridge over the Firth of Forth The coming of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer Breaking the land speed record The ‘Father of English Medicine’ England’s largest festival of history and culture – 6th to 15th September Public will be able to feel the tree rings of Sycamore Gap Reading is...

It was: 400 years ago, on 10th Sept 1624 that Thomas Sydenham, English physician, was born.  He became known as the ‘father of English medicine’. His textbook on medicine became the standard medical textbook in England for the next 200 years. 250 years ago, on 4th Sept 1774 that British explorer Captain James Cook became...

Sixty years ago, on 4th September 1964, the Forth Road Bridge opened in Scotland. It links Edinburgh to Fife across the Firth of Forth. (A second bridge, the Queensferry Crossing, opened in 2017 and largely replaced it.) The crossing of the Firth of Forth has a long history. In the 11th century Margaret, queen consort...

Some 75 years ago, on 1st September 1949, the Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was released. It was sung by the American movie-star and singer Gene Autry, nicknamed the “Singing Cowboy”. The song was adapted from a poem/story written by Robert L May for a children’s colouring book:  it was an assignment given him...

Four hundred years ago, on 10th September 1624, Thomas Sydenham, the English physician who became known as the “father of English medicine”, was born in Dorset. His textbook on medicine, Observationes Medicae, became the standard medical textbook in England for the next 200 years. Sydenham came from a Puritan family, and his medical studies were...

One hundred years ago, on 25th September 1924, British racing driver Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record for the first time. He recorded a speed of 146mph in a 1921 Sunbeam Grand Prix car at Pendine Sands, Carmarthen Bay, Wales. Born in Kent in March 1885, Major Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE was a man...

Members of the public are now able to feel the rings of the felled Sycamore Gap tree, thanks to a new art exhibition. The 200-year-old sycamore was cut down last year in a “malicious act of vandalism”. But it has now been ‘brought to life’ through a series of five prints, created from a disc...

Heritage Open Days is England’s largest community-led festival of history and culture, involving thousands of local volunteers and organisations. Every year in September (6th to 15th) it brings people together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life. It’s your chance to see unexpected places and...

Reading is an “invisible privilege,” according to Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the new Children’s Laureate. He was responding to studies which found that children who have not been read to when they were young face “massive barriers” as they go through life. Cottrell-Boyce stresses: “For too long, the life-changing benefits of children’s reading have not been taken...

All in the month of August Explorer 6 – sending the first images of earth from space The one and only Alfred Hitchcock The discovery of oxygen George Stubbs and his horses International Bat Night – 24th August ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, June)...