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It was 200 years ago this Christmas, on 23rd December 1823, that the famous poem ‘The Night Before Christmas’ was first published (anonymously) in the Sentinel newspapers in Troy, New York. It was light-hearted and full of fun, and not at all what you might have expected from its author, Clement Clarke Moore. For Moore...

Do you stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve? If so, this year will be special – it is 100 years ago, on 31st December 1923, that the BBC first broadcast the chimes of Big Ben to welcome in the New Year. For it was not until 31st December 1923 that the chimes of...

It was 80 years ago this month, on 22nd December 1943, that Beatrix Potter, the children’s writer and illustrator, died. Her animal characters such as Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, and Jemima Puddle-Duck brought her worldwide fame – and made her loved by children right round the world. Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 –...

You are bound to sing about donkeys this Christmas, especially the little one that carried Mary to Bethlehem! But how much do you know about donkeys? They are really rather special. Here are some fun facts: There are more than 44 million donkeys in the world, of all shapes and sizes. There are more than...

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This ground-breaking global pledge was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10th December 1948. It set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The UDHR enshrines ‘the inalienable rights that everyone is...

All in the month of November Remembering the National Service – 60 years on Re-Enchantment Remembering the first heart transplant surgeon</strong King Charles’ celebrates his 75th birthday Remembering T S Eliot – poet extraordinaire C S Lewis – remembering the creator of the Chronicles of Narnia Pothole breakdowns have soared ** Editor:  We continue our...

It was: 100 years ago: on 8th Nov 1923 that Christian Barnard, South African cardiac surgeon was born. He carried out the first successful human heart transplant in 1967. (Died 2001.) Also 100 years ago, on 11th Nov 1923 that the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe...

This year marks 60 years since the end of National Service. The Royal British Legion and the nation will be celebrating all that a generation of young men did for this country during those years, when conscription became just a part of growing up. National Service drew in a staggering number of young men –...

If you have a craving for feelings of awe and wonder, you are not alone. When the huge American advertising agency, Wunderman Thomson surveyed 3,000 adults in the UK, USA and China, they found 75% said they ‘just want to feel something, to feel alive’. So, they wrote a report for the benefit of their commercial clients,...

100 years ago this month, on 8th November 1923, Christian Barnard, the South African cardiac surgeon, was born. He made history when he carried out the first successful human heart transplant in 1967. Barnard qualified in medicine at the University of Cape Town in 1946. After practising for several years in Cape Town, he moved...

King Charles was born 75 years ago this month, on 14th November 1948, at Buckingham Palace in London. He was the longest-serving monarch-in-waiting in British history and did not ascend the throne until he was 73, following the death of his mother in September 2022. Charles was crowned in the first coronation in seven decades,...

75 years ago this month, on 4th November 1948, an American-born British poet and playwright, T S Eliot, won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His influence on modern poetry was so profound that he has been hailed as one of the major poets of the 20th century. T S Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher,...