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When do you think capital punishment was abolished in Britain? It was actually 50 years ago this month, in December 1969.  It ended the macabre ritual of a judge donning a black cap, solemnly declaring that the accused was found guilty and would ‘be taken hence to a place of public execution…and there to be...

Robert Louis Stevenson died 125 years ago, on 3rd December 1894. The Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and travel journalist was best known for novels such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped. He travelled widely, but always suffered from serious bronchial trouble. During his early years his parents and nurse immersed him in Presbyterianism and Calvinism,...

Christina Rossetti, British poet and hymn-writer, died of cancer 125 years ago, on 29th December 1894. She was 64. Christina was the youngest child of poet and Dante scholar Gabriele Rossetti, who emigrated to England from Italy in 1824, and the half-Italian Frances Polidari, who he married in 1926. Christina was also sister of the pre-Raphaelite...

It was 100 years ago, on 1st December 1919, that Lady Nancy Astor became the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons. She was not the first woman MP – that was Constance Markievicz, an Irish Republican who, although elected in 1918, did not take her seat. Nancy Langhorne...

How well did you read the News this year?  Try this quiz and find out… What is a Gillet jaune? The famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfield died this year leaving his £150 million fortune to Choupette. Who or what is Choupette? In March an aeroplane left London City airport flight with number BA3271 to Düsseldorf....

 What is a Gillet jaune? A:  A Gillet jaune is the yellow reflective vest French drivers have to carry by law in their cars. It became associated with protest. The famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfield died this year leaving his £150 million fortune to Choupette. Who or what is Choupette? A:  Choupette is a cat,...

All in the month of NOVEMBER How Armistice Day began, 100 years ago 75 years after Monte Cassino, D-Day and Kohima and Imphal Fall of the Berlin Wall – 30 years ago 60 years of the M1 Opioid crisis grows in Britain Is your elderly neighbour starving? Potholes – now deeper than the Grand Canyon...

It was: 200 years ago, on 22nd Nov 1819 that George Eliot (pen name of Mary Anne Evans) was born.  This British novelist became one of the leading writers of the Victorian era, best known for Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Middlemarch and Daniel Dronda. 150 years ago, on 17th Nov...

It was 100 years ago, on 11th November 1919, that the first Armistice Day (now Remembrance Day) was marked in the UK.  King George V had issued a proclamation calling for a two-minute silence at 11:00am to remember the members of the armed forces who lost their lives in the line of duty. The two-minute...

This year The Royal British Legion is asking communities to remember the service, sacrifice, and collaboration of the armed forces of Britain, the Commonwealth and Allied nations who fought together 75 years ago. In 1944 this collaboration resulted in victory in three critical battles; Monte Cassino, D-Day, and Kohima and Imphal.  At Monte Cassino, an...

The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this month, on 9th November 1989.  East Germany reopened its border with West Germany, allowing its citizens to pass freely through the checkpoints. Workers began demolishing the 28-year-old wall the next day. Earlier that year serious unrest in Eastern Bloc countries such as Poland and Hungary had put...

The first stretch of the M1 motorway opened 60 years ago this month, on 1st November 1959. The first motorway service station opened at the same time – Watford Gap, a rather successful attempt to confuse motorists, as it is not near the town of Watford, but close to an obscure Northamptonshire village of the...