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Each year, Burns Night takes place on 25th January to celebrate the life and legacy of Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns. (1759 to 1796) Burns Night is usually a combination of haggis, neeps, tatties, and warming ‘drams’, accompanied by recitals of some of Robert Burns’ famous work. Robert Burns was born in 1759 and died...

This is an important month for Australia. As of 1st January, it has been 125 years (1901) since the Commonwealth of Australia was established, when the six British colonies of New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia were federated. But a British presence in Australia began long before 1901. It...

 Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), held each year on 27th January, marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Under the Nazis, six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered, as well as millions of Gentiles. Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the more recent persecutions and slaughter in Cambodia, Rwanda,...

Depending on whether you are a child with a sleigh or an adult trying to drive home, snow is either your friend or your foe. And sometimes snow can be hard to understand…. Matt Taylot of the BBC Weather, recently named a couple of reasons as to why snow behaves in the way that it...

All in the month of December Jane Austen – still loved 250 years later The many journeys of the Stone of Scone 65 years of Coronation Street All about Christmas trees Fun Facts about Christmas trees The dictators of Russia and China woud like to live forever A Quiz on the year 2025 Quiz 2025...

It was: 250 years ago, on 16th Dec 1775 that Jane Austen, novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion) was born. Over 30 million copies of her books have been sold, 7,000 of them in her lifetime. 175 years ago, on 4th Dec 1850 that William Sturgeon, physicist, electrical...

It was 250 years ago, on 16th December 1775, that novelist Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion) was born. Over 30 million copies of her books have since been sold – 7000 in her lifetime. She was the second daughter and seventh child of the Revd George...

Some 75 years ago, on 25th December 1950, the Stone of Scone, the coronation stone of British monarchs, was taken from Westminster Abbey in London by four Scottish students as a home rule gesture. They transported it to Scotland but broke it accidentally. It was later left by them in the ruined Arbroath Abbey, repaired...

It was 65 years ago, on 9th December 1960, that the first episode of the TV soap Coronation Street was broadcast on ITV. The programme, then as now, centred on a terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield, in Greater Manchester. It was based on Salford, the hometown of the series’ creator, Tony Warren...

How many are sold each year?  According to recent figures, about five million real Christmas trees are sold in the UK each year. How old are they?  Your typical Christmas tree of six to seven feet is between ten and 12 years old. How are they grown?  Seed is collected from trees either in the...

Even before the time of Christ, evergreen trees were seen in winter as a symbol of fertility. It was the 16th century monk, Martin Luther, who is credited with the idea of having lights on Christmas trees. He added candles to his tree, to look like stars in a forest. Windsor Castle got its first...

This month Christians worldwide welcome the Baby whose life and death and resurrection bring us eternal life. But meanwhile, it seems that Putin and Xi Jinping are wondering if they might achieve a bit of immortality without divine help. In a recent meeting to attend the Beijing military parade, the dictators of Russia and China...