The place to learn about the past and present,
Why a friendly, sociable local killed 12 people was a mystery to most. Here, his life is scrutinised to expose how it unravelled before its fatal climax A puzzling episode of Cumbrian history that bewilders locals to this very day. After an angry confrontation with some colleagues, a man named Derrick Bird shot dead his... Continue Reading →
Read about how the Wuppertal Schwebebahn came to be and its 120 years of service This is the story of the oldest suspension railway in the world. But its origins go back much further than when it first opened for business at the turn of the 20th Century. Railway from The Future Film footage (below)... Continue Reading →
The story of Chris Foster, the man who committed familicide rather than face the bailiffs One of the most unsettling crimes you’ll ever read about; on the 26th of August 2008, Chris Foster murdered his wife and teenage daughter and set his house on fire before killing himself. What went so wrong for the once-successful... Continue Reading →
Shed a tear for three British aristocrats, with their millions of pounds and stately homes, who suffered such misfortune, one might barely distinguish them from commoners Privileged aristocrats are human and so suffer poor luck and judgement like the rest of us. But for us unwashed masses there is a certain guilty pleasure in seeing... Continue Reading →
The tiny isle of Lundy has sheltered rebels, eccentrics and even a band of Barbary pirates. This is the story of Lundy’s rich history. Map showing Lundy to the south of the busy Bristol Channel Lundy seems an innocuous island; sitting just 10 nautical miles (19km) off the Devon coastline, it’s a mere three miles... Continue Reading →
Read about the worst that Mother Nature has thrown at Britain When Mother Nature gets angry the effects can be both spectacular and catastrophic. Stories of homes getting obliterated by violent winds, buildings rocking on their foundations or tornadoes tearing across the land rarely emanate from Great Britain, however. The UK has it seems a... Continue Reading →
The story of the hero policeman who sniffed out trouble to save the lives of his neighbours When the nose knows you’d better take notice; that was certainly the case for Police Constable Nick Shaw in the wee hours of the 9th of January, 1987. It was because of this policeman’s sense of smell and... Continue Reading →
My experience of the Czechs and Prague after five years as an expat. (First published in Feb 2019) I arrived in Prague in late 2013 to pursue a life as an ESL teacher and to escape a humdrum existence in the UK, and I’m sure glad I did. The city was so darn great I... Continue Reading →
Here are five ways to help your international business contacts avoid misunderstandings that could cost you dearly. Assuming you’re a Briton, American or another native English speaker (NES), imagine you are holding a video conference with half a dozen proficient non-native English speakers (NNES), say some departmental managers of a manufacturing firm in Spain. Because... Continue Reading →
The little known story of two English nobles who fought the last ever private battle on English soil. The rural folk of one quiet corner of Great Britain have let much of the island's long, tumultuous history pass them by. In the year 1470, a traveller might have set out from London and headed due... Continue Reading →
History and Things 