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It was 65 years ago, on 3rd February 1959, that American rock-and-roll performers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash in Iowa. Thanks to Don McLean and his eight-minute hit song American Pie, it became known as “the day the music died”. Buddy Holly was a rock ‘n’...

One hundred and fifty years ago, on 15th February 1874, Sir Ernest Shackleton was born in County Kildare, Ireland – into a family that was English in origin and had Quaker connections. Sir Ernest was one of the leading explorers during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He led three British expeditions to the Antarctic....

On 14th February our annual National Nestbox Week begins. Now an established part of the ornithological calendar, it aims to encourage people to help out the birds in their gardens each Spring. Everyone is invited to put up more nestboxes in their local area, and a very helpful website gives full instructions on how to...

All in the month of January 27th January – Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 When the bad news on smoking first broke Remembering The Scream Columbia Pictures celebrates its centenary Remembering Clarice Cliff ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, January) down the years. Here is a...

It was: 700 years ago, on 8th Jan 1324 that Marco Polo died. This Venetian/Italian merchant, explorer and writer is best known for his book The Travels of Marco Polo, which detailed his travels along the Silk Road in Asia. 200 years ago, on 8th Jan 1824 that Wilkie Collins, British novelist and playwright was...

‘Fragility of Freedom’ is the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), as 2024 marks the 30thanniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust explains that only “49 years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered...

It was only 60 years ago, on 11th January 1964, that the US Surgeon General published a report that would begin to change medical history in the West. For it concluded that cigarette smoking was very dangerous – causing lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. This was first official US government report on the health issues...

It was 80 years ago this month, on 23rd January 1944, that Edvard Munch, the Norwegian artist, died. He is best known for his disturbing painting ‘The Scream.’ Munch’s body of work has been called “profoundly original” and “one of the most significant contributions to the development of Modernism in the 20th century.” Munch was...

Unless you grew up on Mars, Columbia Pictures has played some part in your life. Who doesn’t recognise that opening ‘logo’ to a film you want to watch – the female personification of the United States? This huge American film studio and production company celebrates its 100th birthday on 10th January 2024. Columbia was founded...

If you like ceramics, and enjoy colour, then you are bound to be familiar with the work of Clarice Cliff. Her glowingly vibrant plates, cups, teapots, and vases are world famous – and still loved. She was born 125 years ago this month, on 20th January 1899, in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. Clarice’s father worked in an...

All in the month of December The first-ever nativity scene The story behind ‘The Night Before Christmas’ Big Ben Beatrix Potter Little donkey, little donkey Universal Human Rights turns 75 ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, December) down the years. Here is a range from...

It was: 800 years ago, on 25th December 1223 that St Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene, in Greccio, Italy, after visiting Jesus’ birthplace in the Holy Land. It proved enormously popular and inspired other communities to stage their own nativity scenes. 250 years ago, on 16th December 1773 that the Boston Tea...