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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...

America is not alone: an opioid crisis is also underway in Britain.  Last year 141million prescriptions were issued for such drugs in the UK – up from 89million in 2008. It seems that great numbers of middle-aged women are fuelling the 60 per cent rise in number of strong painkillers, anxiety medications and antidepressants (prescribed...

Do you have any elderly neighbours or relatives who are housebound?  Why not pay them a visit?  Are they looking too thin?  Record numbers of pensioners are now being admitted to hospital suffering malnutrition. NHS digital statistics show that adult hospital admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition has tripled in the past...

If you hate potholes, here is a statistic that will give you grim satisfaction: the combined depth of potholes in England is now 15 times that of the lowest point in the Grand Canyon.  Plus, a new pothole is reported every 43 seconds. In all, nearly 700,000 potholes were reported on the highways over the...

All in the month of OCTOBER Together we fall Dropping a line Medicine for the heart In memory of Doris Lessing Celebrating Girton – one of the first colleges for women Nietzsche – the man for whom ‘God is dead’ Bugs everywhere you touch ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates...