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Much beloved by gardeners across the UK, allotments are cherished for the space they provide to grow one’s own fresh vegetables, among other things. This year the theme is Soil Health. As National Allotments Week explains: “Good soil health is widely accepted as way to improve yield when growing edibles, but also contributes positively to...

All in the month of JULY 75 years of the National Health Service Even the BBC couldn’t find the Loch Ness Monster In appreciation of William Byrd Henry Moore and his monumental sculptures Diabetes timebomb: NHS to offer ‘soup and shakes’ diet The sweet smell of rain ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks...

It was: 400 years ago, on 4th July 1623 that William Byrd, English Renaissance composer, died. Regarded as one of the greatest British composers, and best known for his sacred music. 175 years ago, on 7th July 1848 that Waterloo railway station in London opened. 150 years ago, on 19th July 1873 that British-born Australian...

It was 75 years ago, on 5th July 1948, that the National Health Service (NHS) began operating – formally opened at the Park Hospital in Manchester, now renamed Trafford General. The National Health Service Act provided for the establishment of a comprehensive health service for England and Wales. (Separate legislation was produced for Scotland and Northern...

Twenty years ago, on 27th July 2003, a team from the BBC reported that the Loch Ness monster did not exist. They had combed every inch of the loch, using 600 sonar beams guided by satellite navigation, and still found nothing. The operation was covered in the BBC One documentary, Searching for the Loch Ness...

Four hundred years ago, on 4th July 1623, William Byrd, the English Renaissance composer, died. Regarded as one of the greatest of all British composers, he is best known for his sacred music. However, he wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, and his many-faceted but unique music is still...

Henry Moore, the British sculptor and illustrator best known for his monumental semi-abstract bronze sculptures, was born 125 years ago, on 30th July 1898, in Castleford, a small mining town in Yorkshire. He knew he wanted to be a sculptor from an early age, having heard at Sunday school about Michelangelo’s life and work. But...

The NHS is to roll out a ‘soup and shakes’ diet across the UK, aimed at the tens of thousands of patients who are fighting Type 2 diabetes. Health officials said every part of the country will be offering the regime by next March, as the NHS tries to tackle what has been called Britain’s...

Have you ever noticed the sweet, fresh smell after a downpour of rain? That ‘smell of rain’ is called petrichor, and it fascinates scientists. It was back in 1965 that scientists first named it. Petrichor comes from the Greek for stone, ‘petra’, and the golden fluid flowing through the veins of the immortals, ‘ichor’. Petrichor...

All in the month of JUNE 70 years since the last Coronation 75 years since the arrival of Windrush The leasing of Hong Kong The brilliant Pascal Support National Week of the Ocean 4th – 10th June ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, June) down...

It was: 400 years ago, on 19th June 1623 that Blaise Pascal was born. This French mathematician, physicist, inventor, theologian, and philosopher invented one of the first mechanical calculators. 300 years ago, on 16th June 1723 that Adam Smith was born. The ‘Father of Economics’, this Scottish economist and philosopher is best known for his...

Seventy years ago, on 2nd June 1953, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey. It was the first event where the British TV audience (20 million) was greater than the radio audience (12 million). It helped to make television a mainstream medium, though it did not deter the many thousands –...