Around the 16th Century, the salutation “god be with ye” was shortened to “godbwye” which became goodbye.
Britain
Winston Churchill: The Few
On August 20, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill made a speech to the House of Commons, honouring the bravery of and expressing gratitude to the airmen who prevailed. The most famous part of the speech is in the extract below: The gratitude of every home in our Island, in Continue Reading
Socialists didn’t want women to have the vote
The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) lead by Emmeline Pankhurst (labelled the Suffragettes as a term of derision by The Daily Mail newspaper) campaigned for property-owning women to have the vote from 1903 to 1917. The nascent Labour Party and other Socialists didn’t want more votes for the bourgeoisie and Continue Reading
Historical UK General Election Results and Suffrage
With the upcoming General Election in the UK, it might be interesting to look at the Elections and changes in suffrage in UK history. 2017 Not yet known (as of 7 June 2017) 2015 Victory: Conservative Prime Minister(s): David Cameron Theresa May Majority: 16 Image: By Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Continue Reading
S.P.A.M., SPAM, spam (and lobster thermidor)
SPAM luncheon meat was first produced in the Depression era in the United States (1937), by the Hormel Foods Corporation. It was named by Ken Daigneau who had won a contest (and $100). Ken was the brother of a Hormel Vice-President, but that may be entirely coincidental. Hormel insist that the Continue Reading
Richard II’s Sausage and Meatball Pie
The Forme of Cury is a cookbook of about 200 recipes written in the 14th Century by “the Chief Master Cooks of Richard II”. Richard II was an unpopular King but he did like a luxurious lifestyle and taxed the peasants to fund it. He was eventually deposed and died in Continue Reading
Epitaph: Sir Isaac Newton
Mathematician, astronomer and physicist, Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 to 20 March 1726/7), is buried in Westminster Abbey, London. The Latin inscription on the base of his monument is translated as: Here is buried Isaac Newton, Knight, who by a strength of mind almost divine, and mathematical principles peculiarly his Continue Reading
The Metric System was not invented by the French
The Metric System of measures was introduced by the First French Republic in 1799 and has developed into the SI system (International System of Units) recognised as the official measuring system of most countries around the world. However, the system was not invented by the French. John Wilkins, the first Continue Reading
Mutiny Magnet
After losing the HMS Bounty to the mutiny lead by his former friend Fletcher Christian, in 1789, William Bligh was later (1797) given command of HMS Director which he also lost to mutiny. When he was Governor of New South Wales, Australia (1806-1810), colonists forced Bligh to flee to Tasmania during the Continue Reading