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It was: 200 years ago, on 10th March 1820 that the Royal Astronomical Society was founded in Britain. 175 years ago, on 17th March 1845 that one Henry Jones, a baker from Bristol, was granted a patent for his invention of self-raising flour. 100 years ago, on 25th March 1920 that the British special constables...

Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for people living with a terminal illness and their families, will shortly launch their annual Great Daffodil Appeal, held across the UK every March. As part of the Great Daffodil Appeal, Marie Curie needs volunteers who will give two hours of their time to help hand out their iconic...

The Royal Astronomical Society was founded 200 years ago, on 10th March 1820. Originally called the Astronomical Society of London, it had been opposed by Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, who persuaded the Duke of Somerset to withdraw his agreement to be the first president. But it survived with William Herschel as...

Editor:  As the church year does not change, much of this material has appeared before.  New material is marked with an asterisk. 1          St David’s Day (two options) 2          Chad – Bishop of Lichfield and missionary c 672 4          Casimir 5          Eusebius 7          Perpetua and Felicitas 8          Woodbine Willie *NEW   8          Felix...

The Way of Benedict – Eight Blessings for Lent Soulful Nature – A spiritual field guide Good Grief – Living with Sorrow and Loss Easter! Fun Things to Make and Do Celtic Lent: 40 days of devotions to Easter Dust and Glory: Daily Bible readings from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day      **   The...

It was 90 years ago, on 12th March 1930, that Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi led 78 activists and followers on a 23-day “salt march” to protest against a British tax on salt and a ban on Indians collecting or selling it. On 5th April he reached the sea and made salt, breaking...

1st March is St David’s Day, and it’s time for the Welsh to wear daffodils or leeks. Shakespeare called this custom ‘an honourable tradition begun upon an honourable request’ – but nobody knows the reason.  Why should anyone have ever ‘requested’ that the Welsh wear leeks or daffodils to honour their patron saint? It’s a...

The Church of England is launching an energy rating system similar to those used for household appliances.  The aim is to help monitor the carbon footprint of its almost 40,000 buildings, as General Synod has recently voted on a major new proposal to reach ‘net zero’ CO2 emissions. The hope is for all parts of the...

On 1st March Wales celebrates its patron saint, David – or, in Welsh, Dewi or Dafydd. He is indisputably British, and is revered wherever Welsh people have settled. As with most figures from the so-called ’Dark Ages’ (he lived in the sixth century), reliable details about his life are scarce, but there are enough for...

By Laurentia Johns OSB, SPCK, £9.99 Our world badly needs Christ’s light and peace. One way to bring these blessings to one another is to attend to our own hearts and to learn to live well. Living Lent well involves turning back to God to receive His blessing. In this deep and practical book, a...

Chad (d 672) should be the patron saint of any modern bishop whose consecration is questioned by another bishop.   Chad was consecrated a bishop, then deposed – and then re-consecrated! It all began when Oswiu, king of Northumbria, made him bishop of the Northumbrian see.   But due to a scarcity of appropriate bishops, two dubious...

Casimir is a good patron saint for anyone whose father drives them crazy.  For he did not let an unhappy background stop him from becoming the person he wanted to be.  Yet Casimir’s father, the King of Poland back in 1458, was no picnic as a dad. For if you think your teens were difficult,...