The Queen celebrates two birthdays Each year the Queen celebrates her actual birthday (21 April) and her official birthday (a Saturday in June). Why two dates? When the monarch’s actual birthday is not in the summer, an official date is selected to mark the Sovereigns’ birthday. For example although King Edward VII was born on 9 November, his official… More Queen’s 90th birthday
Graffiti The early 1980s graffiti boom gave art back to the people, turning the streets into art galleries. In Brixton graffiti was seen as a way to brighten the area rather than as a problem. Consequently, the council began commissioning street art. Brixton now has a lot of art adorning it streets, which the London Mural Preservation… More David Bowie mural becomes listed
Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a celebration held on 17 March, the traditional date of his death in 461 AD. St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as you would expect, but is also… More The Feast of Saint Patrick – 17th March
Take a tour of Evelina’s Georgian London Described as a “landmark in the development of the novel of manners”, Evelina is the first novel written by a self-educated female author of enlightenment, Fanny Burney. It was first published in 1778. Follow Evelina’s journey around the streets of Georgian London while learning more about the themes running through the novel; how women of differing… More Celebrate International Women’s Day
Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759. Each year his life and poetry is celebrated on Burns Night. The celebrations, which began at the end of the 18th century, include the traditional Scottish dish and drink – Haggis and Scotch Whiskey – and recitations of Burns’s poetry. Addressing of the haggis
History of Carols According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol The first known Christmas hymns may be traced to fourth century Rome. In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Christmas “Sequence” or “Prose” was introduced in Northern European monasteries and in the twelfth century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing… More Christmas Carols
Lewis Carroll Until recently I had no idea that Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, had also written a Christmas poem. Entitled Christmas Greetings (From a Fairy to a Child) it has been put to music by Carsten Braun Through the Looking-Glass Treasure Hunt Treasure Hunts in London is… More Christmas Greetings by Lewis Carroll
St Andrews St Andrews in Fife on the east coast of Scotland is named after Saint Andrew. The name St Andrews derives from the town’s claim to be the resting place of bones of the apostle Andrew. According to legend, St Regulus brought the relics to Scotland, where a shrine was established for their safekeeping and veneration.
Guy Fawkes, from ‘Peeps into the Past’ Born in York to Edward and Edith Fawkes, Guy Fawkes was baptised a Protestant at St Michael le Belfry on the 16th April 1570. His father was a proctor of the ecclesiastical courts and advocate of the consistory court of the Archbishop of York, who died when… More Guy Fawkes
Christopher Wren was born on 20th October 1632 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire. He became a mathematician and scientist but is perhaps best known as an architect. After the Great Fire of London in 1666,Christopher Wren came up with plans to rebuild the city. He designed 51 new city churches, as well as the new St Paul’s Cathedral.… More Christopher Wren’s Birthday – 20th October